Shalom, everyone! Rosh Chodesh Hayir I, the first day of the Twelfth Month, begins sundown Tuesday, February 5, 2019, on the ecclesiastical Hebrew calendar, with the sighting of the new moon (first visible crescent). In the Northern Hemisphere, this month’s full moon is also called the “Snow Moon.” “Chodesh Tov” (“A Good Month”) from Twelve Totems to all who celebrate!
About This Month
Hayir is the Twelfth Month of the ecclesiastical Hebrew calendar and the last month of the regular festival/religious year. The word “Hayir” is a Canaanite-Phoenician word meaning “white (of frost).” This month later became known as “Adar” after the Babylonian Exile. The word “Adar” comes from the Akkadian word “adaru.” The month of Adar is mentioned in the Holy Scriptures in Esther 9:21. If the Twelfth Month ends prior to the arrival of the vernal equinox, a thirteenth month, a leap month called “Hayir II” is added to make sure that the mo’edim do not move out of season.
The following are the holidays and special events that occur during the month of Hayir (Adar):
- 13 of Hayir (Adar) – Fast of Esther – on 11 Adar when the 13th falls on Shabbat – (Fast Day)
- 14 of Hayir (Adar) – Purim
- 15 of Hayir (Adar) – Shushan Purim – celebration of Purim in walled cities existing during the time of Joshua
The following are some of the significant events in Israelite history which occurred during the month of Hayir (Adar):
- 1 of Hayir (Adar) (circa 1313 BCE) – Plague of Darkness, the ninth plague upon the Egyptians (Exodus 10:23). This started on the 1st of Adar, six weeks before the Exodus.
- 2 of Hayir (Adar) (598 BCE) – Jerusalem falls to Nebuchadnezzar and Jeconiah is captured.
- 3 of Hayir (Adar) (515 BCE) – Second Temple completed
- 7 of Hayir (Adar) (1393 BCE) – Birth of Moses
- 7 of Hayir (Adar) (1273 BCE) – Death of Moses
- 13 of Hayir (Adar) (522 BCE) – War between Jews and their enemies in Persia (Book of Esther, chapter 9).
- 13 of Hayir (Adar) (161 BCE) – Yom Nicanor – The Maccabees defeated Syrian general Nicanor, in a battle fought four years after the Maccabees’ liberation of the Holy Land and the miracle of Hanukkah.
- 14 of Hayir (Adar) (522 BCE) – Purim victory celebrated in the Persian Empire
- 15 of Hayir (Adar) (522 BCE) – Purim Victory Celebrated in Shushan
- 15 of Hayir (Adar) (1st century CE) – Jerusalem Gate Day – King Agrippa I (circa 21 CE) began construction of a gate for the wall of Jerusalem; the day used to be celebrated as a holiday.
- 17 of Hayir (Adar) (522 BCE) – Yom Adar – the day the Jewish people left Persia following the Purim story
- 23 of Hayir (Adar) (circa 1312 BCE) – Mishkan assembled for the first time; “Seven Days of Training” begin.
- 25 of Hayir (Adar) (561 BCE) – Death of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 52:31).
- 27 of Hayir (Adar) (561 BCE) – Death of Zedekiah in Babylonian captivity. Meroduch, Nebuchadnezzar’s son and successor, freed him (and his nephew Jeconiah) on the 27th of Adar, but Zedekiah died that same day.
- Ancient Calendars – Canaan
- Ancient Hebrew Forum – The Names of the Months in the Ancient Hebrew Calendar
- Feast of First Fruits and the Ancient Canaanite Calendar