Pregnant?
Please understand that this is nothing personal. We're not trying to enroll you in a Lamaze class, or sell you Pampers or baby food. We are only drawing your attention to the fact we are now in the midst of a year that is known in Hebrew as a Shana Meuberet-a pregnant year!
We are not referring to the 9-month pregnancy, but using a descriptive expression for the Jewish leap year—a "13 month pregnancy." The current Jewish calendar has expanded from its usual 12 months and changed its size by putting on a whole new month.
We are within that extra month right now. This is certainly a good time to be up to date on how our calendar works and understand why this additional month is important to us now.
Our calendar goes back to the first commandment given to the Israelites in Egypt. The Torah instructed the Jewish people to pattern their calendar after the moon rather than follow the more commonly used solar year.
On a monthly basis, the lunar calendar is more practical. The date and time of the month can actually be observed by the phases of the moon. The sun, however, has no real months, as solar 'months' are artificially created by dividing the year by 12.
Historically, we also relate better to the moon than the sun. Just as the moon goes through its phases of waxing and waning, we've experienced brighter and darker periods, times of growth and decline. The sun is constantly bright, but people aren't always perfect or shining examples. Reflecting the moon, human nature also has its darker side, fluctuating between good and bad, highs and lows, and ups and downs.
But the lunar cycle does not keep pace with the seasons, and can confuse our holiday schedule, especially the Passover holiday. Here's the problem: The lunar month consists of 29 1/2 days, which multiplied by 12 add up to 354 days—11 days less than the solar year with its 365 days. This discrepancy adds up to 33 days over 3 years, and eventually will push back Passover, which is supposed to be a spring festival, into the winter.
The leap year puts the Jewish calendar back on track. The extra month added every 2-3 years helps synchronize the lunar calendar with the sun's seasons and keeps Passover in the spring where it belongs.
But our pregnant year has more in it than just numbers and mathematical formulas. Let's bring the pregnancy to full term to introduce something new in Jewish life. According to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the 'pregnant' year carries within it an important personal message. The Leap Year symbolizes the impact of corrective measure, "teshuva" and repentance on our lives. It influences not only the future, but also makes up for past shortcomings.
The Leap Year demonstrates that we can make up for lost time—it's never too late! It's not water over the dam even if we've been remiss and fallen behind in Jewish life. In fact, the literal meaning of teshuva in Hebrew means "bringing back," because it retroactively sublimates and transforms negative past history into something good and positive.
by Rabbi Yisroel Rubin
