we all know that the liturgical calendar is modeled after the bio-procedures and the historical configurations of God. for mashuchim aka christians, the liturgical calender celebrates the mysteries of the life of christ – his birth, his enjoyments, his illuminations and his passion. on the other hand, Jews model their liturgical calendar after the lives of Israel and the Torah. few know that we shabbateans also model our liturgical calendar after the life of maran malkan mashichan aka sha”tz.

But before starting with our liturgical calendar, let me begin with a theological meditation.


the tikkun of the months

in derush hataninim, R’ Natan of Gaza elucidates the matter of the calendar:

“RO”Sh ChoDe”Sh [“beginning of month”] equals His name and attribute [ShaBTa”Y TzV”I] and He fixes the 12 months by the letters B”Y of ShaBTa”Y.”

~the darush, published in b'ikvot mashiach, p. 44.

we learn that the name of sha”tz is itself a model of divine affirmation. the name B”Y will amend, shape and fulfill the 12 months, which are in the aspect of “still waters” (“meimoi shechichin”), which are not yet “fixed”, and eventually reveal the new Torah, in which history and calendar will be shaped anew and resurrected, in the procedure of kiddush hachodesh (“the sanctification of the month”). the months are organs of divinity, aka tikkunim (“fixments”), and the 6 months in between nisan and tishrei stand for the 6 holes of the face (two ears, two eyes, two nosetrils) through which the spirit (“rucha” – breath) motivates itself; and if the year is a shana me’uberet (“conceived year” aka leap year) then it is added with the fixment of the mouth (“tikkuna d’fuma”). but there is a danger: according to R’ Natan, the strength of the serpent is in the mouth. and this is why there have been customs of mourning during conceived years. what we can conclude is that the liturgical calendar, for R’ Natan, is not only modeled after life/affirmation, but also primarily functioning as a medium for the struggle against impurity, chaos and death.


shabbatean liturgical calendar

some frum guy on twitter, david bashevkin, posted this image of a page in a book abt the dönmeh, detailing the liturgical calendar of shabbateans:

as we can see, the calendar is modeled like this:

1. sivan 14th: moed tzemach, a holiday of divinized vital growth, celebrating the the rebirth of the spring and tzemach’s divinization.
2. sivan 21st: the annointment of sha”tz, a feast for the crowning of sha”tz as malka mashicha.
3. sivan 24th: unknown.
4. tammuz 9th: Reshit Hitlabshut HaNeshama; a feast celebrating the possession of sha”tz by nishmeta kadishta, the holy total neshama of life, ruach da'at.
5. tammuz 17th: yom ha’ibur; as commented by Natan of Gaza, sha”tz lived in the prison for 7 months, which represent half of a conceived year, which is a time in which sha”tz dwelled among the serpents and held a passion to endure and be reborn.
6. tammuz 23th: chag of illumination; marks the abolishment of tish’a b’av as a part of the overcoming of the old order by sha”tz, and the absolute tikkun of all life.
7. tammuz 24th: the great shabbat, the great shabbatic feast fixed by amira”h.
8. av 3rd: inception of the coronation of tiferet; the preceding period for the exaltation of the holy king.

the shabbatean liturgical calendar is constructed upon the pathos of sha”tz – his imprisoning in the kelipot and his rebirth from within them. our ritual worship is directed at the enforming and fixing of the world by its neshama: sha”tz. the times of the year are organs in the process of growth, amendment and resurrection. the resurrection of the messiah, of israel, of the torah. the whole world will be made anew. amen