1. It’s the Longest Year Possible
Jewish years are not all the same length. While the shortest Gregorian year is only a day shorter than the longest, the Jewish calendar has a lot more range. A year can run anywhere from 353 days to 385!
Two factors make this happen. First, a Jewish leap year gets a whole extra month. Second, the months of Cheshvan and Kislev can vary in length: both can have 29 days, both can have 30, or Cheshvan can have 29 while Kislev has 30.
Put those two factors together, and the longest possible year is a leap year where both Cheshvan and Kislev stretch to 30 days each—385 days in total. And this year is exactly that! So make the most of it and pack it with all the Torah, light, and kindness you can.
Read: 17 Jewish Calendar Facts
2. It Begins and Ends with Shabbat
Here’s something even rarer: this year both opens and closes with Shabbat. For that to happen, the year has to be a full 385 days long. That’s because out of all the possible year lengths (353, 354, 355, 383, 384, or 385), only 385 divides evenly by seven, giving exactly 55 weeks.
But a 385-day year doesn’t necessarily start on Shabbat. It can start on a Monday or Thursday too. A 385-day year that begins on Shabbat is a special treat that comes around only three or four times in an average lifetime! The last time it happened was 5763 (2002–3), and the next time won’t be until 5814 (2053–4).
Technically speaking, 5787 will conclude on a Friday. But Jewish law requires that a few final moments of Friday be added to Shabbat,1 so the year’s very last moments will be Shabbat. Either way, this year is sandwiched between two days of rest, giving the whole year a special glow of tranquility and holiness.
3. Sukkot and Chanukah Begin and End on Shabbat
The Shabbat theme doesn’t stop there. It runs through the whole year! This year, Sukkot and Chanukah—the two eight-day holidays on the Jewish calendar—both start and finish on Shabbat. And other special days land on Shabbat too: the 15th of Shevat (the New Year for Trees) and the second day of Shavuot.
4. It’s 200 Years Since the Cantonist Decree
This year also marks exactly 200 years since the notorious Cantonist decree of 1827. On September 7 of that year,2 corresponding to 15 Elul, Tsar Nicholas I signed a statute in which Jewish boys were forcibly drafted into the army for six years of training followed by 25 years of active duty.
These boys were sent to military schools called cantons, far from home and family, and pressured relentlessly to convert. Yet many held fast to the faith of their childhood, determined to remain Jewish no matter the cost. The decree stayed in force until 1856.
Read: Who Were the Cantonists?
5. It’s 100 Years Since a Major Date in Jewish-Soviet History
A century ago, on June 14, 1927, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn of Lubavitch was arrested in his Leningrad home by the Soviet secret police and thrown into the notorious Spalerno prison. His crime? Standing up for Jewish tradition and for every Jew’s right to practice their religion freely. Originally sentenced to death, the sentence was commuted to ten years of hard labor in the Solovski Islands, and then reduced further to three years of exile in Kostroma.
Then, miraculously, on the 12th of Tammuz (July 12), he received the news that he was free to go home and continue his holy work. His release meant far more than the freeing of one man. It stood as a testament to light overcoming darkness, and to the eternal truth that no force can ever stop the Jewish people from living as Jews.
Read: 13 Powerful Pictures That Illuminate the Arrest and Liberation of the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe
6. It’s a Year of Shechinah and Speech
So what’s the deeper meaning behind 385, this year’s day count?
In Hebrew, the number 385 spells out שפה, which also means “speech.” This number also happens to be the numerical value of שכינה – Shechinah, the Divine Presence.3 Kabbalistic teachings link the Shechinah to Divine speech, and note that this connection is mirrored in our own speech as mortals, too.4
Perhaps the message for this year is to turn our lives and homes into places where G‑d’s presence can truly feel at home. And one powerful way to do that is by sanctifying our speech: speaking with honesty, using clean language, and using our words to share the light of Torah with others.5
Read: Who Is Shechinah, and What Does She Want From My Life?
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