Calendar as Catechism

The Jewish calendar is the Jewish catechism: So said the ~nineteenth-century German champion of Jewish Orthodoxy, Samson R. Hirsch, and with good reason. Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Passover: Despite differences in theology and observance, most Jews, even those who are not well-versed in the entire annual cycle of festivals and observances, think they know and understand and agree about the most important dates on the calendar. So do many interested non-Jews. It isn't that simple. Disagreements about the Jewish calendar are often as consequential as disagreements about theology. That's because questions of when to celebrate, honor, and remember are freighted with religious significance.