New Testament/Rosh Hashanah Connection?

Question

I was told that the phrase "no man knows the day or the hour" originated/was connected with the Babylonian captivity because the 'captives' in Babylon were uncertain about when they were to celebrate New Year's Day because they did not know when the new moon appeared in Jerusalem. Is there any truth to this? Is there any connection between the saying "no man knows the day or the hour" and Rosh Hashanah?

Answer

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

The passage in question is directly from the Christian bible. It has nothing to do with Judaism, and as you correctly note, it is often falsely connected to Rosh Hashana by those who try to mislead people into believing that Judaism and Christianity are compatible.

That being said, there are similar teaching in Judaism. For example, Rabbi Eliezer says: Repent one day before your death. Rabbi Eliezer’s students asked him: But does a person know the day on which he will die? He said to them: All the more so this is a good piece of advice, and one should repent today lest he die tomorrow. (Shabbat 153a).

We see from here, and it is a recurring theme in rabbinic literature, that a person should always live an upright life fulfilling the mitzvot of the Torah as one never knows when one will die. Always live your life so that if this day was your last da you would have no regrets.


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