Regarding Dates in a Solar Year
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The Rabbi’s Opening Post
Regarding Dates in a Solar Year
Posted on 23/9/2013
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Regarding Dates in a Solar Year
Today I received by email a question from a friend (a thoroughgoing secularist):
In the Day of Atonement issue of Makor Rishon, an article by Yeshayahu Steinberger appeared, titled: A Rest Beyond Rest. In its final section he quotes the Vilna Gaon, who claimed that one day a year we are devoid of the evil inclination and Satan does not prosecute on that day; this is the Day of Atonement. As an indication of this: there are 365 days in the year, while the Hebrew word for “the Satan” has the numerical value 364. One day is missing, that is, “not one among them”—the singular Day of Atonement as opposed to the other days. What does the date of the Day of Atonement have to do with the “gentile” calendar? So what do you say? Our year has 354 days (each month is 29–30 days), and alignment with the solar year is achieved by intercalating leap years. The number of distinct dates in our year is 354 and not 365. So what exactly are the Vilna Gaon and others like him getting at?
Source (the “Atzor Kan Choshvim” forum): http://www.bhol.co.il/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=3023765