חֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר — The Window for Declaring עִבּוּר הַשָּׁנָה
1–14 Adar Always permitted
15–29 Adar Newly permitted per testimony
א׳ אֲדָר
י״ד — פּוּרִים (old deadline)
כ״ט אֲדָר (new deadline)
עַד הַפּוּרִים
Old view: until 14 Adar
→
בְּכָל אֲדָר
New: throughout all of Adar — until the 29th
The testimony nearly doubled the window — from 14 days to 29. And it added a new power: the leap year can be declared conditionally (עַל תְּנַאי), subject to later approval.
The Conditional Leap Year — Rabban Gamliel's Story
When he returned he said: "I approve" — and the year was confirmed as a leap year. A ruling could be held in legal suspense until the Nasi ratified it.
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סנהדרין א׳:ב׳: The Procedure — A Court of Three, Five, or Seven
Once the window is established, who sits in judgment? The mishnah describes the structure of the court that declares the leap year
The initial session opens with three judges. R. Meir holds that three is also sufficient to finalize the decision.
Deliberate and discuss
5
נוֹשְׂאִין וְנוֹתְנִין
The deliberation phase expands to five — give and take, weighing the arguments for and against adding a month.
Finalize the ruling
7
גּוֹמְרִין
Rabban Shimon b. Gamliel: the final decision requires seven — a full panel to confirm the intercalation of the year.
The dispute: R. Meir holds three judges suffice for the entire process. Rabban Shimon b. Gamliel requires an expanding court — three to open, five to deliberate, seven to close. The question is whether the gravity of the decision demands a progressively larger panel.
מגילה א׳:ד׳: The Consequence — A Leap Year Declared After Purim
Since Eduyos 7:7 permits declaring the leap year even after Purim, what happens if Purim was already observed in Adar I — and only then the year is declared a leap year?
Only the Megillah reading and gifts to the poor require repetition in Adar II — not the festive meal or mishloach manot, according to the Talmud. The repeat obligation flows from the rule that the "true" Purim in a leap year is always Adar II, since it is adjacent to Nissan, the month of redemption.
הַקֶּשֶׁר: How the Three Mishnayot Connect
Three Mishnayot — One Complete Picture
Eduyos 7:7
Establishes the window — the leap year may be declared throughout all of Adar, right up to the 29th, and even conditionally.
Sanhedrin 1:2
Defines the procedure — who sits on the court and how the decision is structured, from three judges to seven.
Megillah 1:4
Shows the consequence — if the leap year is declared after Purim, the Megillah must be re-read in Adar II. The calendar is a living legal process with real obligations rippling through the year.
These three mishnayot together reveal that the Jewish calendar was not a fixed astronomical table — it was a living legal process, managed by a court, with real halachic consequences. Eduyos 7:7 extends the deadline to the last possible moment. Sanhedrin 1:2 ensures the decision is made with appropriate gravity and due process. Megillah 1:4 shows that when a decision is made late, the law absorbs the consequences without erasing the past — Purim is repeated in its proper place, Adar II, and the community adjusts. The calendar bends — but it does not break.