Knowing What Time It Is

 A Faith Column for the Daily Grind 

We’re commanded to remember Hashem taking us out of Egypt every day. We are tempted to fulfill this with a quick line, half-whispered, somewhere between coffee and traffic. But the Torah hints at something deeper. Not just remembering—but reliving.  

Hashem starts the Ten Commandments with: 

“I am the L-rd your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” (Shemot 20:2) 

Hashem is telling us: Know Who runs the world. Know Who runs your time. Know Who carries you every single day. 

And then: No idols. No substitutes. No spiritual middle-management. 

To a mixed observant crowd like ours—professionals, academics, tired parents—“idolatry” sounds ancient. Something carved in stone, sitting in a museum gift shop next to the coffee mugs. But real idolatry is much more modern and much more subtle. It’s anything that pulls your attention away from Hashem and convinces you that life runs on human rules alone. 

The Time Trap 

We talk about Egypt like a place we left. But the children of Egypt live on—in our ideas, in our culture, and yes, even in our calendar. Ancient Egypt influenced Greece. Greece influenced Rome. Rome influenced…pretty much everyone, including us. 

Skeptics would say:  “Come on. Days of the week? Names of months? Who cares? It’s just language.” 

And that’s where they’re wrong. Language shapes mindset. Mindset shapes  behavior. Behavior shapes destiny.  Just ask any psychologist. 

Our Days, Their Days 

When we say “Sunday,” “Monday,” or “Tuesday,” we’re repeating Roman names honoring pagan gods—many of which Rome inherited from Greece, which inherited from Egypt¹: 

• Sunday: Sol’s day (sun god) 
• Monday: Luna’s day (moon goddess) 
• Tuesday: Mars’ day (war god) 

And so on. 

But Jewish time works differently. Hashem gave us a calendar built on creation, not on gods of thunder or rain or agriculture. We say “Yom Rishon”, “Yom Sheini”, “Yom Shlishi”—counting up toward Shabbat like steps toward a mountaintop. 

Step by step. 
Day by day. 
Holiness by habit. 

Calling a day “Yom Rishon” isn’t just a linguistic choice. It’s an act of spiritual defiance. A reminder that the world began with Hashem—and continues with Hashem. It moves upward until it reaches the peak: Yom Shabbat, the day of celebrating God creating rain, agriculture, the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all within.  

The modern academic might say:  “This is symbolism. Nothing changes in the real world.” 

But here’s what research shows: 

• People who consciously frame their daily routines with values have 23% higher reported life satisfaction.² 
• Ritual language boosts emotional resilience by up to 30% in stressful environments.³ 

Values shape mood. Mood shapes decisions. Decisions shape life. 

Hashem knew that before psychoanalysts ever existed. 

Months Matter, Too 

The Jewish calendar starts with Nissan, because Hashem said: 

This month, shall be for you the beginning of the months; it shall be for you the first of the months of the year.  (Shemot 12:2) 

Jewish months flow with the rhythm of God’s redemption of us from Egypt.  

Contrast that with the secular months:

• January, March, May, June — all named after Roman gods. 
• February — named after a Roman purification deity. 
• July, August — named after emperors Julius and Augustus. 

Jewish months weren’t named originally. They were numbered. The first. The second. The third. 

A steady drumbeat reminding us: We left Egypt. We stay out of Egypt. 

When you tell someone it’s the twelfth month, right before Nissan, you’re not being quaint. You’re invoking a spiritual GPS. You’re locating yourself inside Hashem’s story. 

What About the Year? 

Even the secular year references a Christian theological idea that is foreign to Judaism. This idea  is built on  a myth that is traceable back to Egyptian “man-god” dogma.⁴ 

Jewish years originate with the year Hashem created heaven and earth. When you say, “It’s 5786,” you’re not just stating a date. You’re saying: “Hashem created the world. I’m living in His timeline.” 

Time as a Mitzvah 

Every time you use Jewish time—days, months, years—you fulfill King David’s words: 

“I have placed Hashem before me always.” (Psalm 16:8) 

It’s a mitzvah hiding in plain sight. 

Here’s how using Jewish time re-centers your life: 

• It pulls your attention upward. 
• It fights cultural drift. 
• It strengthens daily emunah.
• It trains the heart to expect holiness. 

It’s a tiny act of resistance against a world that wants you to forget Who runs it. 

Someone might ask:  “Why can’t you just say ‘Sunday’?” 

Here’s your answer: “Because ‘Sunday’ honors the Roman sun god, ‘March’ honors a Roman war god, and the year honors a Christian god. I prefer Hashem. He’s the One Who created me, freed me from Egypt, and commands me to know Him.” 

If they laugh, you smile. If they scoff, you still smile. If they roll their eyes, you really smile—because you just did the mitzvah of keeping Hashem always before you. A mitzvah that they didn’t realize exists. 

Small Ways to bring Jewish Time Alive 

Here are some easy ways to make Jewish time come alive for you: 

• Say “Yom Shlishi” instead of “Tuesday”. 
• When asked the date, say “the 14th of Adar.” When asked the secular date, say, “the 14th of the month.” Everyone knows what month it is. Everyone knows what year it is. You just need to mention the day.  
• Teach your kids to count the days to Shabbat. 
• Mark Rosh Chodesh with something sweet (halachic and emotional). 

These tiny acts are seeds. And seeds grow. 

A Personal Moment 

After 15 years as a columnist, I’ve met professionals who feel spiritually tired. People who carry heavy workloads, heavy hearts, heavy expectations. And yet the smallest shift—counting days His way, naming months His way, locating the year His way—often gives them a surprising lift. 

One doctor told me, “Saying ‘Yom Chamishi’ instead of Thursday felt weird at first. Then it started feeling right. Then it started feeling necessary.” 

So tomorrow morning—maybe over coffee, maybe while packing a kid’s lunch, maybe while rushing to the office—try it. 

Say Yom Rishon. 
Say Adar. 
Say 5786. 

Because every time you speak Jewish time, you’re not just naming a date. You’re remembering who you are, where you come from, and the God Who lovingly guides every hour of your life. 

And that, my friends, is knowing what time it really is. 

** 

David Ben Horin lives in Afula with his family, 60,000 passionate Israelis, and Matilda, our local camel.   

Editor’s Notes: 

¹ Farmers’ Almanac, 2023 

² Journal of Positive Psychology, 2021 

³ American Psychological Association, 2019 

⁴ In 46 BCE, the Julian calendar was developed by the Roman Julius Caesar. It adopted the Egyptian 365-day structure and added the leap year. In ancient Egyptian belief, the Pharaoh acted as a “man-god” who bridged the human and divine realms. In the Julian calendar, Julius named July after himself as a monument to his divine status.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII, as Vicar of Christianity, issued a papal document that fixed an inherent error in the Julian calendar. The resulting Gregorian calendar is in use until today.