mradwin – Page 8

Posted on 11 May 2022 - 12:20 pm by mradwin

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How to fix iPhone “Cannot Verify Server Identity” error

Posted on 5 May 2022 - 10:08 am by mradwin

If you haven’t signed into a public WiFi or you don’t have access to the Internet, your iPhone may display an error message about the server identity of download.hebcal.com.

This article describes a couple of ways to fix the problem.

The exact error message looks like this:

Cannot Verify Server Identity
The identity of “download.hebcal.com” cannot be verified.

Fix 1: sign into public WiFi

If you are on a public WiFi, sign into the WiFi (see “Use captive Wi-Fi networks on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch“). Or, disable WiFi completely and use your mobile data. Usually this will fix the problem.

Sometimes you’ll need to do the above and also restart your phone.

Fix 2: disable SSL for download.hebcal.com calendars

Another way you can fix it is to disable SSL for the calendar. This will cause your iPhone to refresh any subscribed calendar feeds over HTTP instead of HTTPS.

To disable SSL for a Hebcal calendar that, go to Settings > Calendar > Accounts > Subscribed Calendars > Hebcal and the set “Use SSL” to Off.

Here’s an example screenshot showing the recommended settings:

Three Torah scrolls on Shabbat

Posted on 1 March 2022 - 1:39 pm by mradwin

Here’s some halachic trivia for your next cocktail party.

We read from the Torah every Shabbat, but we usually read from a single Torah scroll, and occasionally read from two scrolls.

On three possible occasions (when Rosh Chodesh coincides with a special Shabbat) we read from three sifrei Torah.

1st scroll: regular weekly Torah portion (aliyot 1-6)
2nd scroll: special 7th aliyah for Rosh Chodesh (Numbers 28:9-15)
3rd scroll: special maftir aliyah for the special Shabbat

How often do we get one of these special Shabbatot? Pretty often! We read from 3 sifrei Torah on Shabbat about 4 out of every 7 years. Read on to learn more.

1. Shabbat Shekalim on Rosh Chodesh

Rosh Chodesh Adar coincides with Shabbat Shekalim about once every 9 years. The weekly Torah portion is always Parashat Pekudei on a leap year, or either Parashat Mishpatim or Parashat Terumah on a non-leap lear. The special maftir for Shabbat Shekalim is Exodus 30:11-16.

Here are a sample of dates, recent past and near future, all occurring on 1 Adar II on a leap year, or 1 Adar on a regular year:

Mishpatim 5761 – 24 February 2001
Pekudei 5765 – 12 March 2005
Pekudei 5768 – 8 March 2008
Mishpatim 5781 – 13 February 2021
Terumah 5785 – 1 March 2025
Terumah 5805 – 18 February 2045
Mishpatim 5808 – 15 February 2048
Pekudei 5812 – 2 March 2052
Terumah 5832 – 20 February 2072
Mishpatim 5835 – 16 February 2075
Pekudei 5839 – 4 March 2079
Mishpatim 5859 – 21 February 2099
Pekudei 5863 – 10 March 2103
Terumah 5883 – 27 February 2123
Pekudei 5890 – 11 March 2130
Terumah 5903 – 16 February 2143
Mishpatim 5906 – 12 February 2146
Terumah 5910 – 28 February 2150
Pekudei 5917 – 12 March 2157
Terumah 5930 – 17 February 2170

2. Shabbat HaChodesh on Rosh Chodesh

Rosh Chodesh Nisan falls on Shabbat HaChodesh once every 3-4 years (approximately 28% of the time). The weekly Torah portion is always either Parashat Tazria or Parashat Vayikra. The special maftir for Shabbat HaChodesh is Exodus 12:1-20.

Here are a sample of dates, recent past and near future, all occurring on 1 Nisan:

Tazria 5776 – 9 April 2016
Vayikra 5778 – 17 March 2018
Tazria 5779 – 6 April 2019
Tazria 5782 – 2 April 2022
Vayikra 5789 – 17 March 2029
Vayikra 5792 – 13 March 2032
Vayikra 5796 – 29 March 2036
Vayikra 5799 – 26 March 2039
Vayikra 5802 – 22 March 2042
Tazria 5803 – 11 April 2043
Tazria 5806 – 7 April 2046
Tazria 5809 – 3 April 2049
Vayikra 5816 – 18 March 2056
Vayikra 5819 – 15 March 2059
Vayikra 5823 – 31 March 2063
Vayikra 5826 – 27 March 2066
Vayikra 5829 – 23 March 2069
Tazria 5833 – 8 April 2073
Tazria 5836 – 4 April 2076

3. Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Chanukah

When Rosh Chodesh Tevet (the 30th of Kislev) falls on Shabbat Chanukah, we read the first scroll for the weekly portion (always Parashat Miketz), the second for Rosh Chodesh, and the third for Chanukah.

This also happens approximately 28% of the time.

Miketz 5776 – 12 December 2015
Miketz 5779 – 8 December 2018
Miketz 5780 – 28 December 2019
Miketz 5782 – 4 December 2021
Miketz 5783 – 24 December 2022
Miketz 5786 – 20 December 2025
Miketz 5800 – 17 December 2039
Miketz 5803 – 13 December 2042
Miketz 5806 – 9 December 2045
Miketz 5807 – 29 December 2046
Miketz 5809 – 5 December 2048
Miketz 5810 – 25 December 2049
Miketz 5813 – 21 December 2052
Miketz 5827 – 18 December 2066
Miketz 5830 – 14 December 2069
Miketz 5833 – 10 December 2072
Miketz 5834 – 30 December 2073
Miketz 5836 – 7 December 2075
Miketz 5837 – 26 December 2076

Can all three of these special occurrences happen in the same Hebrew year? Alas, no. Shabbat Shekalim on Rosh Chodesh (the most rare of the three) never occurs in the same year as the other two.

The other two special three-sifrei-Torah-on-Shabbat days (Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Chanukah and Shabbat HaChodesh on Rosh Chodesh) co-occur in about 1 in every 10 Hebrew years. This happens in years 5776, 5779, 5782, 5803, 5806, 5809, 5833, 5836, 5850, 5860, …

When one of these special Shabbatot coincide with Rosh Chodesh, the 6th aliyah of the regular parashah is extended to include all of the verses of what would normally be the 7th aliyah. In this way, the whole weekly Torah portion is read.

In case you were wondering: if a congregation doesn’t happen to own three Torah scrolls, the congregation waits while the scroll is rolled to the proper position.

Mishna Yomi

Posted on 24 January 2022 - 9:54 am by mradwin

We’re pleased to announce support for Mishna Yomi! This 6-year program of daily learning includes two Mishnayot each day in order to finish the entire Mishnah.

Mishna Yomi is also referred to as משנה יומית, Mishnah Yomi, Mishna Yomit, or Mishna Yomis. You can subscribe to the 7-year calendar feed here:

Here is an example of what the calendar looks like.

January 2022

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
						1 Berakhot 3:2-3
2 Berakhot 3:4-5	3 Berakhot 3:6-4:1	4 Berakhot 4:2-3	5 Berakhot 4:4-5	6 Berakhot 4:6-7	7 Berakhot 5:1-2	8 Berakhot 5:3-4
9 Berakhot 5:5-6:1	10 Berakhot 6:2-3	11 Berakhot 6:4-5	12 Berakhot 6:6-7	13 Berakhot 6:8-7:1	14 Berakhot 7:2-3	15 Berakhot 7:4-5
16 Berakhot 8:1-2	17 Berakhot 8:3-4	18 Berakhot 8:5-6	19 Berakhot 8:7-8	20 Berakhot 9:1-2	21 Berakhot 9:3-4	22 Berakhot 9:5-Peah 1:1
23 Peah 1:2-3	24 Peah 1:4-5	25 Peah 1:6-2:1	26 Peah 2:2-3	27 Peah 2:4-5	28 Peah 2:6-7	29 Peah 2:8-3:1
30 Peah 3:2-3	31 Peah 3:4-5

Enjoy your learning!

Outlook for Microsoft 365 for Mac Jewish holidays download

Posted on 19 January 2022 - 7:32 pm by mradwin

This page includes instructions on how to subscribe to a Hebcal Jewish holiday calendar 5-year feed in Outlook for Microsoft 365 for Mac, Outlook 2021 for Mac, Outlook 2019 for Mac, and Outlook 2016 for Mac.

Microsoft now recommends that you sync your account to the Microsoft Cloud. “Available for Google, Yahoo, iCloud, and IMAP accounts in Outlook for Mac, this allows you to enjoy many of the best features of Mail and Calendar and Outlook for Mac.”

The following instructions demonstrate how to subscribe to a Hebcal calendar on Outlook.com, and then synchronize those calendars to Outlook for Mac on your desktop.

1. Open a web browser on your macOS computer.

to download holidays and candle-lighting times, navigate to https://www.hebcal.com/hebcal
OR, to download Yahrzeit + Anniversary calendar, navigate to https://www.hebcal.com/yahrzeit

2. Fill out the form with your preferences and click the Create Calendar button

3. Click the Download… button