42.8 F
Spokane
Monday, March 17, 2025
spot_img
HomeCommentaryAsk a Jew: Why is the Hebrew year 5776?

Ask a Jew: Why is the Hebrew year 5776?

Date:

Related stories

What food did the real St Patrick eat? Less corned beef and cabbage, more oats and stinky cheese

Every St Patrick’s day, thousands of Americans eat corned beef and cabbage as a way of connecting to Ireland. But this association sits uncomfortably with many Irish people.

Ramadan, Lent and the Bahá’í fast align this year revealing a rare lesson in unity

March 2025 brings a rare overlap of Ramadan, Lent and the Bahá'í fast, offering a chance to explore shared spiritual practices and foster unity.

Jesus faced his wilderness to lead us through ours

Jesus faced the wilderness not only to strengthen his faith and endure temptation, but also to help us do the same with his unwavering presence.

What’s the process for choosing a new pope?

Learn how the Roman Catholic Church chooses a new pope after one dies or resigns, how a conclave of about 120 cardinals reach a vote.

Save America: Find peace away from billionaire-controlled social media

Save America by disconnecting from tech, reclaiming peace and breaking free from the control of billionaires and social media.

Our Sponsors

spot_img

What questions do you have about Judaism? Submit them online, or fill out the form below.

By Neal Schindler

Ask a Jew: Why is the Hebrew year 5776? What happened 5776 years ago?

SPO_Ask-a-Jew-ad_042114Just as Young Earth creationists tend to believe the universe is less than 10,000 years old, some Jews think God created the universe in 3760 B.C. (P.S. If there isn’t already a Christian rock band called the Young Earth Creationists, there really should be.) If you add 3760 and 2016, you get… 5776, the current Hebrew year.

Over the years, Jews have used other methods of determining the year, including the Era of the Destruction. This way of computing the current year uses the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70 as its starting point. According to a footnoted version of the Talmudic tractate Avodah Zarah: “This Era was mainly employed by the Rabbis and was in use in Palestine for several centuries, and even in the later Middle Ages documents were dated by it.” However, I don’t think anyone uses this method today; the first I heard of it was in researching my response to your question.

Danish blogger Claus Tøndering, who is more interested in calendars than the average person, states: “The current definition of the Hebrew calendar is generally said to have been set down by the Sanhedrin president Hillel II in approximately A.D. 359.” In the 12th century, Maimonides called A.D. 1178 “the year 4938 of the creation of the world.” If you subtract 4938 from 1178, you get… -3760! Also known as 3760 B.C. Math for the win!

Neal Schindler
Neal Schindler
A native of Detroit, Neal Schindler has lived in the Pacific Northwest since 2002. He has held staff positions at Seattle Weekly and The Seattle Times and was a freelance writer for Jew-ish.com from 2007 to 2011. Schindler was raised in a Reconstructionist Jewish congregation and is now a member of Spokane's Reform congregation, Emanu-El. He is the director of Spokane Area Jewish Family Services. His interests include movies, Scrabble, and indie rock. He lives with his wife, son, and two cats in West Central Spokane.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img

1 COMMENT

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
qunmrdcyqv
5 years ago

acrjrrcnoobgyipwczpfsiukfhyoan

spot_img
1
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x