Rebecca Goldstein
USA
Caitlin, your interpretation of the NAPA clue is absolutely correct! I can't count how many times I've submitted [The cabs are here!] as a clue for NAPA. I'm so glad it finally survived into a NYT puzzle, and even more glad that you caught the reference!
The clue for 26A is embarrassingly inaccurate and Christocentric. Passover has always been, and will forever be, on the 15th of Nisan.
@Eric Hougland Thanks! Back in 2010 or 2011, I received a case of wine, and said aloud, to my empty apartment, "The cabs are here!"
@Steve L By that logic every holiday with a fixed date on the Gregorian calendar - such as Christmas on December 25th - is also a MOVEABLE FEAST due to the February 29th leap day.
@Steven M. And yet, if you asked Jewish Israelis when Passover is, I'd bet 99% would answer "the 15th of Nisan."
For the record, I was equally bothered by the clue on January 3, 2025 for SEDER [Meal before the 15th of Nisan]. Seder is definitionally held on the 15th of Nisan because the Jewish day begins at dark, irrespective of the date on the the Gregorian calendar. To write such a detailed clue, and get it so wrong, suggests that there is no fact-checker with basic Jewish literacy, and upsetting to this solver.
@Jamie Almost! Pentecost - or Shavuot in Hebrew - is always on the 6th of Sivan. Every Jewish holiday is fixed to a date on the Hebrew calendar. Many are explicitly written in the Torah.
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