Tekufah

Tekufot (Hebrew: ‫תקופות‬, singular: tekufah, literally, "turn" or "cycle") are the four seasons of the year
recognized by Talmud writers. According to Samuel Yarḥinai, each tekufah marks the beginning of a period
of 91 days 7½ hours.[1] The four tekufot are:[1]

1. Tekufat Nisan, the vernal equinox, when the sun enters Aries; this is the beginning of spring,
or "eit hazera" (seed-time), when day and night are equal.
2. Tekufat Tammuz, the summer solstice, when the sun enters Cancer; this is the summer
season, or "et ha-katsir" (harvest-time), when the day is the longest in the year.
3. Tekufat Tishrei, the autumnal equinox, when the sun enters Libra, and autumn, or "et ha-
batsir" (vintage-time), begins, and when the day again equals the night.
4. Tekufat Tevet, the winter solstice, when the sun enters Capricornus; this is the beginning of
winter, or "et ha-ḥoref" (winter-time),[2] when the night is the longest during the year.
Note that in the early 20th century the tekufot fell from fourteen to eighteen days later than the true solar
equinox or solstice.[1] However, the Jewish calendar follows the figures of the amora Adda bar Ahavah.[1]

Superstition
An ancient superstition is connected with the tekufot.[1] All water
that may be in the house or stored away in vessels in the first hour
of the tekufah is thrown away in the belief that the water is then
poisoned, and if drunk would cause swelling of the body, sickness,
and sometimes death. Several reasons are advanced for this. Some
say it is because the angels who protect the water change guard at
the tekufah and leave it unwatched for a short time. Others say that
Cancer fights with Libra and drops blood into the water. Another
authority accounts for the drops of blood in the water at Tekufat
Nisan by pointing out that the waters in Egypt turned to blood at
that particular moment. At Tekufat Tammuz, Moses smote the rock
Mosaic pavement of a 6th-century and caused drops of blood to flow from it. At Tekufat Tishrei the
synagogue at Beth Alpha. Signs of knife which Abraham held to slay Isaac dropped blood. At Tekufat
the zodiac surround Helios, the Tevet, Jephthah sacrificed his daughter.[3]
central chariot of the Sun (a Greek
motif), while the corners depict the 4 The origin of the superstition cannot be traced. Hai Gaon, in the
tekufot of the year, solstices and
10th century, in reply to a question as to the prevalence of this
equinoxes, each named for the
custom in the "West" (i.e., west of Babylon), said it was followed
month in which it occurs-- Tishrei,
Tevet, Nisan, Tamuz. only in order that the new season might be begun with a supply of
fresh, sweet water. Ibn Ezra ridicules the fear that the tekufah water
will cause swelling, and ascribes the belief to the "gossip of old
[3]
women". Hezekiah da Silva, however, warns his co-religionists to pay no attention to ibn Ezra's remarks,
asserting that in his own times many persons who drank water when the tekufah occurred fell ill and died in
consequence. Da Silva says the principal danger lies in the first tekufah (Nisan), and a special
announcement of its occurrence was made by the beadle of the congregation.[4] The danger lurks only in
unused water, not in water that has been boiled or used in salting or pickling. The danger in unused water
may be avoided by putting in it a piece of iron or an iron vessel.[5] Maharil required that a new iron nail
should be lowered by means of a string into the water used for baking matza during Tekufat Nisan.[6]

References
1. "Tekufah" (http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14292-tekufah). Jewish Encyclopedia.
1906.
2. Philologos, "Stripping Down for Winter," Forward, Jan. 7, 2011, p. 11. Originally the
translation in this article (copied from the article by Joseph Jacobs and Judah David
Eisenstein in the Jewish Encyclopedia) read "stripping-time" which Philologos discovered
was based on a misreading/mistranslation of Rabbi Levi Herzfeld who said "And so ḥoref
may come from the stripping of leaves from their trees by powerful [rain] winds.
3. Abudarham, Sha'ar ha-Tekufot, p. 122a, Venice, 1566
4. Peri Ḥadash, on Orach Chayim, 428, end
5. Bet Yosef, and Isserles' note to Shulchan Aruch, Orach Hayyim, 455:1; Be'er Hetev to Yore
De'ah 116:5
6. Sefer Maharil, p. 6b, ed. Warsaw

Bibliography
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore;
et al., eds. (1901–1906). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. {{cite
encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links
Jewish Encyclopedia article for Tekufah (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=
111&letter=T), by Joseph Jacobs and Judah David Eisenstein.

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