When the Syrian-Greeks - in the time of Chanukah - wanted to
undermine and eventually destroy Jewish life, one of the three
commandments they tried to abolish was the proclamation of Rosh
Chodesh. They knew that without a calendar as ordained by the
Torah, the festivals could not be observed and major components
of Jewish life would come to a standstill. Today, there is no
Sanhedrin, no means of establishing Rosh Chodesh according to
sightings of the new moon. How is our present-day calendar
designed? What are its complex computations? Why can't Rosh
Hashanah fall out on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday? How are the
leap years determined, and how is it that the solar years and
lunar years are kept in equilibrium? These are only a few of the
many problems that are analyzed and clarified in this brilliant
presentation by HaGaon Harav David Feinstein, Rosh Yeshivah of
Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, and one of the world's great
poskim. There is much more in this stellar book. It presents the
Rosh Yeshivah's insights in