5785 - The Rarest Year of Them All Part V
As detailed in previous installments in our series, our current year, 5785, is not only a rare one, but calendarically speaking, actually the hands-downrarest of them all. 5785 is classified as a HaSh”A year in our calendars. This abbreviation is referring to Rosh Hashana falling out on Thursday (hei), both months of Cheshvan and Kislev being shalem (shin - 30 day months instead of possibly 29; these are the only months that can switch off in our set calendar), and Pesach falling out on Sunday (aleph).
A HaSh”A year is the rarest of years, and out of the 14 possibilities in Tur’s 247-year calendar cycle, this year type occurs on average only once in about 30.19 years (approximately 3.3 percent of the time). Indeed, at times there are 71 years (!) in between HaSh”A years. The last time this year type occurred was 31 years ago in 5754 / 1994. The next time will be 20 years hence in 5805 / 2044. The next several times after that are slated to be 27 years further, in 5832 / 2071 and then a 51 year gap in 5883 / 2122.
The reasons and rules governing the whys and whens this transpires are too complicated for this discussion; suffice to say that when the Mishnah Berurah discusses these issues he writes “ain kan makom l’ha’arich,” that this is not the place to expound in detail, which is certainly good enough for this author.
Obviously, such a rare calendar year will contain many rare occurrences. This series article sets out to detail many of them. Perhaps as we get nearer to the actual events, we will discuss them in greater detail. Let’s continue on our journey through our unique year.
Fasting on Friday?
A fascinating characteristic of 5785 is that the Taanis Tzibbur of Asarah B’Teves will fall out on a Friday – for the second year in a row. The status of a communal Friday fast is actually exclusive to Asarah B’Teves – as it is the only one that we do actually observe as a communal fast on a Friday. Proof to this, perhaps is from the words of Yechezkel HaNavi referring to Asarah B’Teves that the siege of Yerushalayim leading up to the destruction of the first Beis HaMikdash transpired “B’Etzem HaYom HaZeh”(Yechezkel Ch. 24:2), implying that the fast must always be observed on that exact day, no matter the conflicting occurrence. This would explain why it is fully observed on Friday, with no dispensation given. [Although technically speaking, if other fasts (with the possible exception of Taanis Esther) would fall out on Friday, an impossibility in our calendar, we would also have to fast.]
This is fairly interesting as there is a whole debate in the Gemara (Eiruvin 41a) about how to conduct fasts on a Friday, when we must also take kavod Shabbos into account, implying that it is a common occurrence. However, as mentioned according to our calendar, a communal Friday fast is only applicable with Asarah B’Teves, and it does happen quasi-frequently.
The last few times Asarah B’Teves fell out on a Friday were in 1996, 2001, 2010, 2013, 2020; and last year, 2023 (5784). This means that with Asarah B’Teves falling out on Friday again, this year has a rare back-to-back Friday Fast of Asarah B’Teves. According to calendar expert R’ Yosef Yehuda Weber, author of ‘Understanding the Jewish Calendar,’ this ‘two year in a row’ Friday Fast occurs on average only once every 51.75 years. The last time this occurred was 51 years ago (5733 and 5734 / 1972 and 1973), and the next time we will have such an occurrence will be in another 47 years (5831 and 5832 / December 2070 and January 2072).
In another interesting calendarical twist, but not the Jewish calendar, due to the differences between the Jewish lunar-based year and the Gregorian solar-based year, there will actually be two fasts of Asarah B’Teves occurring in 2025. The first will be on January 10th and the second (Asarah B’Teves 5786) will be Dec. 30th. Not so odd, but often, if the following year is a leap year, then sometimes Asarah B’Teves does not occur at all in a solar year.
The next few times that Asarah B’Teves is slated to fall out on Friday are in another nine years, in 2034 (5795) and several years later, in 2037 (5798).
Halachosof a Friday Fast
The halachos of a Friday fast generally parallel those of a regular fast day. In fact, even though there is some debate in the Rishonim as to the Gemara’s intent that “Halacha – Mesaneh U’Mashlim, a Friday fast should be completed” whether or not one may be mekabel Shabbos early and thereby end the fast before nightfall, nonetheless, the halacha follows the Shulchan Aruch and Rema (O.C. 249:4) that since Asarah B’Teves is a public fast (Taanis Tzibbur) and not a Taanis Yachid (personal fast), one must fast the whole day and complete it at nightfall (Tzeis HaKochavim) before making Kiddush.
There are many Poskim who maintain that it is preferable to daven Maariv earlier than usual on such a Friday night, to enable making Kiddush, and breaking the fast exactly at Tzeis HaKochavim. Although Asarah B’Teves occurring on a Friday is not so rare, nonetheless, for it to occur in our rare year, and especially as a back-to-back Erev Shabbos Asarah B’Teves, is in this author’s opinion, simply extraordinary.
Our fascinating journey detailing the many remarkable facets of our rare year will IY”H be continued…
Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch famously wrote that “the Jew’s catechism is his calendar.” It is this author’s wish that by showcasing the uniqueness of our calendar year and its rare minhagim, this series will help raise appreciation of them and our fascinating calendarical customs.
This author wishes to thank R’ Yosef Yehuda Weber, author of ‘Understanding the Jewish Calendar,’ for being a fount of calendarical knowledge and for his assistance with this series.
Disclaimer: This is not a comprehensive guide, rather a brief summary to raise awareness of the issues. In any real case one should ask a competent Halachic authority.
L'iluy Nishmas the Rosh HaYeshiva - Rav Chonoh Menachem Mendel ben R' Yechezkel Shraga, Rav Yaakov Yeshaya ben R' Boruch Yehuda.
