Img. ID: 221301

Remainder Calendar (לוח יתרונות); couple in garden; fishing boat; decorated calendar:

The Remainder Calendar entitled הא לך יתרונות חמה על לבנה (fig. 1), specifies the time lapse (Yitronot) between the solar and lunar cycles. The calendar covers four consecutive pages (MS I:8-9v) and is illustrated with two outdoor activites (figs. 1, 1a and 2, 2a).

The two-part table of the calendar is made up of continuous interlaced bands in alternating colours.

A dragon's head and a trefoil tail protrude from the corners of the tables

the rectangular illustration (figs. 2, 2a) encloses on the right a city gate and tower, and in the centre a man rowing a boat surrounded by yellow ochre water with jumping fish. The boat is towed by a rope round the mast by a man holding a stick and walking to the left away from the rectangle.

For a similar depiction illustrating Pisces, the zodiac sign for Adar, see MS I:39.

Although it is tempting to assume that the origin of both illustrations is the Labours of the Month cycle in Ashkenazi Mahzorim (i.e. the seasonal activities pertinent to a specific month; see Shalev-Eyni 2014), it should be noted that the activity in the first illustration is ambiguous, and the fishing scene of the second illustration was never part of the seasonal activities cycles.