Cheshvan


Marcheshvan, sometimes shortened to Cheshvan, is the second month of the civil year, and the eighth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar.
In a regular year, Marcheshvan has 29 days, but because of the Rosh Hashanah postponement rules, in some years, an additional day is added to Marcheshvan to make the year a "full" year. Marcheshvan is an autumn month which occurs in October–November in the Gregorian calendar.
Compared to its Akkadian etymon waraḫsamnu, the name Marḥešvan displays the same lenition of ungeminated to found in other month names. Uniquely to this name the initial has also changed to, giving the overall effect of a metathesis.
In the modern form, with the connection to the roots "moon, month" w-r-ḥ and "eight" š-m-n no longer apparent, the first two letters have been re-interpreted as the Hebrew word for bitter, alluding to the fact that the month has no holidays or fasts.
The Ethiopian Jewish community celebrates Sigd on the 29th day of Marcheshvan, as recognized by the Israeli Knesset in July 2008.
The Hebrew Bible, before the Babylonian Exile, refers to the month as Bul. In Sidon, the reference to Bul is also made on the Sarcophaugus of Eshmunazar II dated to the early 5th century BC.

Events in Marcheshvan