Page 58 - Tzurba M'Rabanan Volume1

56 · Hilchot Avoda Zara Ii Tzurba M’Rabanan

Rav Eliezer Waldenberg adds that even according to the opinion of the Maharam Schick, there are some
instances in which one may use the secular calendar.

p Responsa Tzitz Eliezer 8:8 ח:ח | רזעילא ץיצ ת"וש 5 .
…However, after [further] examination it seems that one can אל ןאכ דעד ל"יד הארנ ןויעה רחאל לבא…
say that the Maharam Schick only prohibited this because [of יכ וריכזת אל םושמ קיש ם"רהמה הזב רסא
the violation] of “do not mention [other gods names]” where רפסמל והזש שרופמב ריכזמש אכיה םא
one explicitly states that this [date] is according to the Christian ךיראתה תביתכ םויס םעש ןוגכ ירצונה
calculation, such as if one concludes the writing of the date םייסמ אל םא לבא .נ"הפסל ןושלב םייסמ
with the expression: According to the count of the Christians.” םינומש ךיראתה םתסב בתוכ םא יכ תאזכב
However, if one doesn’t conclude in this way but rather
writes the date according to how all the nations write it, this ,וריכזת אל םושמ ג"הכ לכב ןיא םימעה
in no way violates “mentioning other gods.” There is only an בזועש יאנג םושמ קר רבדב ונשי ג"הכבו
issue in that it is a degradation that one abandons the Jewish …יוגה ךיראתב רחובו ירבעה ךיראתה
calendar in favor of the gentile one… ,ירבעה ךיראתה יפל בותכל גיהנהלו רדהל שיו
But one should try to act in the best manner by writing using the ,ונלש םישדחה ןינמלו ,םלוע תאירבל ונייהד
Jewish date, which starts from the time of creation of the world, לקהל לארשי רצוא לעבה םש רבוסדכ אלדו
and use our months. And not like what is suggested by the Otzar וא ירחסמ חרכה שישכ לבא …לכמ לכב הזב
Yisrael, who is lenient completely… however when there is a ןוגכ לע ,םנינמל בותכל ינידמ כ"שכמו ידרשמ
business need or for a bureaucratic [need], and certainly if it רבדה והזו .ס"חה ירבד ףקות םירומא אל אד
is a national [interest] to write [the date] according to their
count, the words of the Chatam Sofer do not apply in these םהירפסב םיקסופה ילודגמ המכל וניצמש
cases. This is what we have found regarding many Gedolim, who יחרזאה ךיראתה םהיתובושת ירבדב בותכש
used the secular calendar in their responsa, including the Chatam עיבי רפסב אבומכ ,ומצעב ס"חה םג םכותבו
Sofer himself, as is brought down in responsa Yabia Omer (ibid). :ש"ועיכ םש רמוא

Rav Asher Weiss finds another reason to be melamed zechut (defend the lenient practice) of using the secular
calendar. He distinguishes between secular matters, where there is no significance as to which calendar
system is used, and important matters in a person’s life, where it is appropriate to use the Jewish calendar.

p Minchat Asher, Parshat Bo, Siman 14 ,רשא תחנמ | סייו רשא ברה 6 .

But it seems that [one can] resolve the common custom [to די ןמיס ,אב תשרפ
use the secular calendar]… Furthermore, it seems that we were …םלועה גהנמ בשייל הארנ םוקמ לכמו
only commanded to make Nisan the beginning of the months, תא תונמל הרותב וניוטצנ אלד דוע הארנו
and if we made another month into the beginning, we would be שדוח הנמנ םאו םישדוחל שאר אלא ןסינ
acting against the will of the Torah. However, the definition of
a month according to the Torah is only in relation to the lunar ךא ,הרותה ןוצר לוטיב הזב שי ןושארל רחא
calendar, and the months of the gentiles are not considered הנבלה ישדחב אלא הרותב שדוח רדג ןיא
months at all, and there is no prohibition of counting by them. םניא הנבל ישדח םניאש םירכונה ישדח לבא
Contemplate this: If the gentiles decided to count [according to] .םהל תונמל רוסיא ןיאו ללכ שדח ללכב
weeks and not [according to] months, would it be prohibited םיטילחמ תומואה יוה וליא ךמצעב עגה
to use their counting of the weeks of the year? It seems clear רוסא יכו םישדח אלו תועובש תונמל
that there is no prohibition, and similarly regarding counting ?הנשה תועושב םנינמב שמתשהל היה

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