Letter to His Disciples about the Calendar Controversy (I)

In 921 and 922, a controversy over calculating the Jewish calendar roiled parts of the Jewish world. Aaron ben Meir proclaimed his version of the “Four Gates,” four rules that determined days of the week upon which Rosh Hashanah could occur, which Iraqi leaders, including Se‘adya, rejected. This excerpt comes from a Hebrew letter Se‘adya wrote to three of his followers, “three vine-shoots,” who may have been the three sons of ‘Ali ibn Sulaymān, to whom he addressed another letter. Se‘adya describes how he first heard Aaron ben Meir’s controversial comments in Aleppo; the letter shows Se‘adya’s consternation upon realizing that there might be disagreements over when the Jewish holidays would fall. When the month of Kislev (here Kislew) is declared to have only 29 days, rather than 30, the year is said to be “deficient.” Ellipses indicate lacunae in the manuscript.