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The Encyclopaedia of Judaism is unavailable, but you can change that!

The Encyclopaedia of Judaism provides a full and reliable account of Judaism, the religion, its diverse history, literature, beliefs, observances, practices, and its place in the context of society and culture from ancient Israelite times to our own day. By reason of its antiquity, influence on other world religions, power to persuade the faithful of its truth, and contemporary vitality, Judaism...

Unlike the solar calendar that guides Christian worship and the lunar calendar that governs Muslim religious observances, the Jewish year (from which both Christian and Muslim religious calendars stem) harmonizes solar and lunar rhythms. In this system, the lunar calendar has a certain primacy. In ancient times, special watch was kept in Jerusalem for the first appearance of the new moon, for this marked Rosh Hodesh, the beginning of a new month. This was honored everywhere
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