Image: Symbols of the Jewish New Year: A shofar (ram’s horn), apple, honey, and pomegranate (tomertu/Shutterstock)
At sundown on September 9, 2018 Jewish year 5779 will be proclaimed in synagogues around the world. Sooner or later, someone will wonder, “5779 WHAT?”
The simple answer: 5779 years from the creation of the world, as calculated by counting back years in the Hebrew Bible. The calculation of this date is credited to Maimonides, who mentions it in his tome, Mishneh Torah: Sanctification of the Moon, 11:6, written about 1178 CE, but it was likely in use for some time before that. This kind of numbering is called Anno Mundi meaning “Year of the World.”
Liberal Jews believe that scientific method is better at addressing the “how” of the world, so we long ago quit looking to the Bible for science. Torah explores the meaning of creation, a question that science can’t and won’t address.
The Biblical text cannot be read literally about scientific matters. Human beings weren’t created on the sixth day after God said “Yehi Or!” [Let There Be Light!] (Genesis 1:3)
BUT – long ago we Jews began numbering the years by this ancient calendar. We remember many things in terms of their placement in Jewish time. Also we are “a stiff-necked people” and we cling to some things just to be stubborn. So even though it is a bit anachronistic, we number our years by the old system. On Rosh Hashanah, the shaliach [service leader] will announce the arrival of the year Five Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy Nine.
So the more complex answer to the question, “Why 5778?” is “Tradition!”
Hi Rabbi, you say, “Liberal Jews believe that scientific method is better at addressing the ‘how’ of the world, so we long ago quit looking to the Bible for science.”
I don’t know any Jews of any stream of Judaism that doesn’t rely on scientific method. When Darwin published Origin of the Species Rav Kook danced in the streets. His students asked him, “why are you so happy?” He replied, “Because now no one can take the words of Torah literally.” It’s too bad that he was wrong about that, but as an Orthodox rabbi he didn’t want people to get stuck on P’shat.
I Don’t understand where the Jews would get 5779 from when Creation was in if you count back.. 4000 BC. King Saul was in 1000 BC and before him there was 400 years of Judges and 400 years of the Children of Israel being in Egypt. Then just count back the the genealogy from there and you get around 4000BC .
beautiful