Common Era or Common Error?

Question

Dear Rabbi, would you tell me the current Jewish year (on Oct. 24 2019)? Thanks!

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    A few weeks ago was Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. At that time the year changed from 5779 to 5780.

    By the way, when mentioning secular years (such as 2019 that you mentioned), many people refer to the year as year XXXX, followed by the abbreviation CE, which stands for “Common Era”.

    When I was a school boy I thought that CE stood for “The Common Error!”

    Now, 30 years and a number of common errors later, I assume that Common Era simply means “the date commonly accepted and used.” But the truth is that I don’t know for sure, so I posed your question to a professor of European history. He didn’t know either.

    Is there someone out there with more insight into this? Please write to ask@askthrerabbi.org with your answer.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team