Re: Why not 13 months? (Was La Systeme Metrique)

Whittet (Whittet@shore.net)
16 Jul 1995 00:07:39 GMT

In article <3u9fno$ng7@gazette.bcm.tmc.edu>, mtuvin@bcm.tmc.edu says...
>
>The following is a follow-up to "jewish calendar". - I don't know how to
>include the posting (Rick Goldstein's) to which I am replying.
>
>So:
>Jewish calendar has several unique features. It is neither solar, nor lunar,
>but both. In other words it is based on solar year but subdivided by lunar
>months. In order to avoid fractionating (1 solar year is not equal to 12
>lunar months; 1 lunar month contains a bit more than 28 solar days) an
>additional month of Adar is added once in a while. It made Jewish
>calendar cyclical but aperiodical. There are no two years which are
>identical in terms of distribution of months, weeks and days; each year has a
>unique pattern of
>Holidays.

stuff deleted

>Amazingly enough Jewish calendar is based on the lunar month's length of
>an impeccable precision - only ~0.3 sec different from that known today
>(calculated in 1920-1930-ies [?]).
>Go figure how they managed it...
> Michael Tuvim

Didn't the Jews get their calender from Moses? I seem to reccolect
something about his brother Aaron having been a priest in Egypt.
Unlike your description of the Jews the Egyptians were known
to be into astronomical observations and to have something of a
reputation for accuracy in measures.

Steve