More genealogy

[lethargic_man]

What do you make of this?

This is my great-great-grandmother's gravestone. (The lighting's not ideal for photographing, but I was a bit constrained: since as a Cohen I can't go into cemeteries, I had to go when I could get someone else to go in and photograph the gravestone for me.)

My question is: when did she die? I think the tombstone says 3rd December 1889 / 10 Kislev 5649. Only the Gregorian date corresponds (assuming the calendar in Emacs is correct) to 10 Kislev 5650! Yet 3 December 1888 is 29 Kislev! And in Hebrew it seems to say 5640, yet 3 December 1879 is the 18th Kislev!

Can anyone work this out, 'cause I can't. (Yes I know; if I was really enthusiastic, I'd go through the JC archives on possible dates looking for the death notice.)

Comments

[darcydodo]

I agree I can't read it with certainty. But I think the English could actually potentially say 5640, which would at least correspond with the Hebrew (as you report it).

Checking a random calendar converter, there is no way to get both 3rd December and 564- into the same equation. Unless we're misreading 10. Could that just be a really fucked up 18?

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

No, because the Hebrew definitely says died on the tenth Kislev and buried on the eleventh.

Nice lightshade, btw; lends a whole new meaning to an illuminated manuscript. I hope that's a candle it's got inside. ;^)