FAITHFUL OBSERVATIONS: Passover and Easter

The Jewish calendar year begins in late September or early October with the celebration of Rosh Hashana. Unlike our calendar, which is based on the solar year, the Jewish calendar uses 12 lunar months of 29 to 30 days in length. Every two or three years the Jewish calendar requires the adjustment of a leap year. During a Jewish leap year an additional month of 29 days is inserted before the month of Nisan. This is a Jewish leap year when Passover is pushed farther into April. Both holidays face head-on the daunting power of death — and both announce God’s greater power of life.