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Yom Tov means "holiday," and sheni means "second," so yom tov sheni (יוֹם טוֹב שֵׁנִי) means an extra day added for the regularly scheduled holiday... The reason for this extra day apparently goes back to uncertainty regarding the sighting of the new moon, etc., though the direct observation of the moon was no longer necessary after the development of the fixed Jewish calendar. Nonetheless, the sages decided to retain this practice as a custom (minhag) for Jews living outside of the land of Israel. In other words, Jews in the Diaspora (galut) will celebrate most of the holidays (except for Yom Kippur) for an extra day (e.g., Passover runs eight days rather than seven), despite the fact that this is based on an antiquated need rather than logic and the truth of Torah. |
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