Jewish Time

What happens when a German Jew (known for punctuality) marries a Chasidic Jew (who believes “there are no clocks in heaven”)?

The wedding starts EXACTLY one hour late…

This quip is but one example of the cultural phenomenon associating “Jewish Time” with being late – maybe a little and maybe a lot. That’s the definition of “Jewish Time” that you’ll find online in the Urban Dictionary.

Jewish Time, though, is real.

In halakhah, we encounter the concept of sha’ot zemaniyot. These Jewish hours are calculated by dividing the minutes of daylight by 12. This means that in the winter, hours are less than 60 minutes, and, in the winter, Jewish hours are more than an hour long.

In Parshat Bo, we encounter the mitzvah of Jewish Time:

“Ha-chodesh ha-zeh lachem rosh chadashim – This month will mark for you the beginning of the months.” (Shemot 12:1)

Before any instructions regarding the first Pesach, Bnei Yisrael are instructed in the importance of time. They need to appreciate that, as free individuals, their use of time is now up to them. Slaves don’t have the ability to use their time the way they please. Free individuals do. Appreciating the power and value of time is a necessary precept to internalize before going free.

Jewish Time – our entire calendar of days flowing into months, years, generations, and millennia – is lachem – unique to us. Jews have a lunar calendar. We have holidays and observances which depend on how the calendar is implemented and followed. We are careful about sunrise and sunset, and when the stars come out. We observe Jewish birthdays, mark Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, yahrzeits, and other major milestones.

Ha-chodesh ha-zeh lachem – Jewish Time shapes the Jewish experience because Jewish Time is much more than chronology. In Judaism, the past, present, and future are linked to form one continuum of experience.

Think about Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet). According to tradition, he makes several “appearances.” Eliyahu shows up at the Seder, which is about the Jewish past. He attends every Brit and “shows” up in the present. Eliyahu will also “arrive” just before Moshiach, heralding the Jewish future. (He’s a busy guy!) In truth, all these epochs blend together to form the canvas of the Jewish experience. We have a past, but those facts and events come alive and are much more than history. All of these moments will then contribute to the Jewish future.

Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, the first Gerrer Rebbe, suggests the concept of Ha-chodesh ha-zeh lachem - Jewish Time - is a call to to infuse newness and freshness - hischadshut – into Jewish life. There is a mitzvah to recreate and build upon the past. In every generation, new ideas and situations present themselves that require us to use the experiences of the past to meet the needs of the current generation. We need to be a part of that process. 

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Historian Jenna Weissman Joselit discusses the day, comparing and contrasting it with Yom HaShoah, observed on the Jewish calendar on Nisan 27. She notes the distinction between history and memory. History is about facts, figures, names and numbers. Memory is more. It also includes the personal experience of how history was lived She suggests International Holocaust Remembrance Day recalls the history of the Holocaust. Yom HaShoah honors the memory of the Shoah.

I would say International Holocaust Remembrance Day marks a moment in time while Yom HaShoah allows us to encounter the Holocaust in Jewish Time.

Ha-Chodesh ha-zeh lachem – Jewish Time - is the foundation for the mitzvot which follow. It demands that we always meet the challenge of the times. We cannot change, but we can remain fresh – b’chol yom yihyu b’einecha k’chadashim – each day should be viewed as new and not merely as the next day forward.

Jewish Time is living a life that combines old with new, young with old, and traditional with trailblazing that Judaism thrives.

What Jewish Time is it?