Deutsch

Sefer Evronot calendar manuscript from Judah ben Samuel Reutlingen Mehler

As with numerous other illuminated calender books, the word tsivva (‘he commanded’) forms the centre of the first page in the decorative ‘entrance gate’ to the calendar work. As Elisheva Carlebach has pointed out, some authors and owners of calendar works consider the copying, studying and the preservation of this tradition to be the fulfilment of a mitzvah, a commandment, namely the sanctification of the new moon, which is obligatory in Judaism.

The scene shows two men – one sitting, the other standing – in a study room, each having an open book in front of them on the table. In a tall bookshelf on the right wall numerous codices, closed with book clasps, are lined up above and next to each other. A shelf at the top of the picture includes kitchen utensils: a pan, various ladles, a plate, and two jugs.
Below, two cloths on a line, a deep bowl, and another jug are depicted. Plates and jugs are also lined up on the shelf below. On the upper right side, there is a door with two metal fittings in a beautiful lily shape, which leads to door hinges. Jugs and plates adorn the lower shelf, while the left side is lined with leaded windows.
The two men seem to be engaged in an lively discussion about the writings before them, transforming the depicted space into a learning or teaching room. It is likely that the subject of study for these scholars is calendar science, which is being orally transmitted from a teacher to a student in this domestic setting. Indeed, on the open pages, the first sentence of the Sefer Evronot can be read: “The Holy One, blessed be He, commanded to calculate the tequfot (the star constellations) and the moladot (the birth of the moon).”

Despite the already established practice of printing, Jewish calendars became established as a new genre of handwritten tradition in Jewish study circles from the middle of the 16th century onwards, especially in southern and central Germany. That counts as a remarkable phenomenon of Jewish book culture.

The image depicts Issachar with a ladder and an hourglass. In the biblical narrative, Issachar was one of the twelve sons of Jacob and Leah, who would later found the twelve tribes of the people of Israel. However, the ladder here does not symbolize an ascent to heaven like the famous Jacob’s ladder. Instead, it is meant to represent the gradual acquirement of knowledge about the secrets of time – a knowledge that is already attributed to the children of Issachar (I Chron 12:32–33) in the biblical chronicles (I Chron 12:32–33).

The illustration shows Moses holding the Tablets of Stone, while the people of Israel await his return at the foot of the mountain. The image illustrates a Talmudic discussion taken up in the text concerning the number of days Moses is said to have spent on Mount Sinai, which is taken into account in calculating the calendar for the holidays.

The illustration shows Eve, who is handing Adam an apple from the Tree of Knowledge, around which a snake is winding itself. The creation story marks the beginning of the Jewish chronology and thus serves as the fix-point for every calendrical calculation. Simultaneously, time in the Jewish tradition is conceived as part of the divine creation plan, which is why the view into the paradisiacal Garden of Eden is a popular motif in calendar manuscripts.

The following illustration shows two weighing scales that serve to illustrate the calculation of Jewish festivals and holidays according to the days in the calendar year.

The author of the calendar, Judah Mehler, explains the two weighing scales depicted on this page as follows:

“The explanation of these scales has already been brought to your attention. If you want to know the order of the festival, you must calculate the molad of this Rosh Hashanah and [the molad] of the following Rosh Hashanah. You must determine the Rosh Hashanah on a day that is suitable. Then you must count how many days lie between this Rosh Hashanah and the coming Rosh Hashanah after that one. Then you look at the scales:
If it is a common year, there will be three days between them. If it is a deficient [common year], see that ח [chet, the eighth letter in the Hebrew alphabet] is written under the three, which indicates to you that it is a deficient [common year]. And if there are four days between them, it is a regular [common year]. And if there are five days between them, then it is a surplus [common year]. But if it is a leap year and there are five days between them, it is a deficient [leap year]. If there are six days between them, it is a regular [leap year]. But if there are seven days between them, it is a supernumerary [leap year].”

The hand shown contains 28 squares in its four fingers, corresponding to the 28 years of the great solar cycle. The times of the tequfot from midnight, 6 p.m., 6 a.m. to 12 noon are inscribed on the fingertips above, from right to left. Above them, are the hours 3 and 9 for tequfat Tishri (beginning of autumn), 4 ½ and 10 ½ for tequfat Tevet (beginning of winter), the beginning of day/night in the 6th hour for tequfat Nisan (beginning of spring), and 1 ½ and 7 ½ for tequfat Tammuz (beginning of summer).
The thumb is also divided from right to left into the four tequfot Tammuz, Nisan, Tevet and Tishri. Above them are three days of the month: in Tammuz: 10, 20, 30; in Nisan: 8, 18, 28; in Tevet: 5, 15, 25 and in Tishri: 3, 13, 23. In the palm of the hand, the trefoil contains acronyms or mnemonics from right to left, which are explained by the author below.

This page shows a so-called volvelle, which can be used to calculate and display holidays and moon phases in Jewish calendar manuscripts. A volvelle is a tool consisting of several movable paper discs placed on top of each other, and was historically used primarily to predict astronomical and astrological phenomena and to establish medical reference points.

The author of the calendar manuscript explains the structure of this volvelle as follows:

“On the outer disc [of the volvelle], you will find the twelve constellations [written]. They all serve the seven planets, which are depicted in the disc below this disc further inside near the Earth, for in the outer circle are the twelve constellations and in the seventh circle are the seven planets. What you find in this illustration are the constellations that serve the course of the planets. As for the reason of their nature, I discovered that all seven planets allude to the names of the Holy One, blessed be He, as you will discover through the smallest of the planets, namely the Earth. For it is known that each of the planets is somewhat larger than its neighbour. And the smallest of all is the Earth. It alludes to the name [of God], whose numerical value is 26. There are 22 letters in the alphabet. And if it [i.e. the Earth] is the smallest [planet] of all, it encompasses nevertheless the entire wisdom of the remaining planets, each according to its size. And [the constellation] Leo, in its simplicity, corresponds to the 72-letter name. And therefore it corresponds to the nature of the sun, which is the largest [of the planets]. And so it is with the planet Saturn, which stands above all others. It is close to the upper waters. Although there is actually no water, it nevertheless indicates coldness as a source of ice. The nature of Saturn is associated with snow, which brings cold and wind, for its nature springs from water. And Mars is the hottest, because it is close to the Sun, which is the largest [planet] among the planets. In this way, we also said that Saturn stands above all others. And the Sun is the largest [planet] of all, and it is burning fire. That is why Mars is also hot. Jupiter is squeezed between these two, because Pisces and Sagittarius, which are hot and cold, correspond to its nature, as we have already said above. And Venus, which is below the Sun, must be cold and dry, so that the heat of the Sun does not burn everything with its heat. And the moon is damp and cold, for it is cold above, because of the upper waters. Below, it is also cold because of the lower waters. Since the earth stands between two cold places – namely between Venus and the moon – it too must be cold. Note this and ponder it!”

The outer disc of this volvelle covers 28 years of the great solar cycle with the tequfot, beginning with Tishri. In addition, the days of the week are written in red and the possible times of the day are written in brown in each of the outer squares. The inner disc covers the tequfot and the prayer for rain with the possible days of the month that can occur during the 19-year minor cycle.

The volvelle shown covers the 19 years of the small cycle in the outer disc with the surpluses of the simple lunar year in relation to the solar year, starting with 10, 21, 204. The middle disc contains the years 5,279–5,291 with the corresponding surpluses, and the inner disc contains the tequfot with the surpluses.