HOW TO USE THIS CALENDAR:
1. The days marked with a new moon are the dates on which the new moon for each month is expected to be seen (in Jerusalem). If the new moon appears in the block of the 22nd day of a given month, it means that the new moon should be visible on the evening following the 22nd day and that the 23rd day of that month will be the first day of the new Scriptural month. A Scriptural month is determined by the phases of the moon and can only be 29 days or 30 days long. The Hebrew word for “month” in Scriptures is the same as the word for “new” (moon).
2. The new moon closest to 21 March (when the sun moves across the equator, to introduce the transition from winter to spring in the Northern hemisphere) is normally the beginning of the new year. Each new year must begin with the new moon introducing the month in which new, young barley sheaves appear for the first time in Israel. This month is the proper month of Aviv (which means “green, young ears” in Hebrew). For the purpose of drawing up a calendar, one may assume that the new moon closest to 21 March will (or should) be the beginning of the new year, but in reality the month of Aviv can never be introduced without the physical presence of green, barley sheaves in Israel. Pesach, the day of preparation for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is always on the 14th day of Aviv – one day before the beginning of the seven days of Unleavened Bread. In ancient times in Israel it was customary, in obedience to the Scriptural command, to wave the first fruits of the Barley harvest on the day after the weekly Shabbat that falls within the seven days of Unleavened Bread. Shavuot (Pentecost) should be celebrated exactly seven weeks after this day and therefore also falls on a day following a Shabbat – that is, the first day of the week.
3. If the first new moon following after the 12 months of the preceding year is expected to appear more than half a month before 21 March (that is, on or before 6 March), one may assume that a thirteenth month should be added on the calendar, to ensure that the month of Aviv falls within the proper season. The final decision, however, depends upon the state of barley in Israel.
4. According to Scriptures there are seven feast days (special “Sabbaths”) on which no servile or occupational work is to be done. In this calendar these days, together with the weekly Sabbaths, are highlighted by the use of a slightly darker colour. The correct timing, according to Scriptures, to follow with regards to both weekly and annual Sabbaths, is to observe these days from sunset on the previous day until sunset of the Sabbath day in question.
The information regarding the beginning of each new month in this calendar is based on the expected visibility of the new moon in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), in accordance with the principle of Yeshayahu 2:3 and Michayah 4:2: “out of Tsiyon comes forth the Torah, and the Word of Yahweh from Yerushalayim”. In order to predict the new moon visibility as accurately as possible, we looked at the most reliable sources available, among others the software programs “Lunarphase”, “Mooncalc” and “Planetary, Lunar, and Stellar Visibility”; astronomical data provided by the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the US Naval Observatory and the authoritative book of B.D. Yallop, “A method for predicting the first sighting of new moon”.
i still would like to attend some services
Graag wil ek vra of Pesach 06 April nie ook grys ingekleur moes wees nie aangesien dit ‘n “no-working” dag of High holy-day is ?
Lev 23:7 Op die eerste dag moet daar vir julle ‘n heilige vierdag wees; géén beroepswerk mag julle doen nie.
Is die dag nie “soortgelyk” aan ‘n Sabbat-dag nie?
Robert, ek verduidelik kortliks, soos ek dit volgens die Skrif (Lev 23 en ander gedeeltes) verstaan: Die “eerste dag” waarvan Lev 23:7 praat, is die eerste dag van Ongesuurde Brode (wat altesaam sewe dae lank duur). Die Pesach is streng gesproke nie ‘n fees nie, maar ‘n offer of ‘n handeling wat “gedoen” moet word (op die 14 de dag van die eerste maand, d.w.s. 6 April vanjaar, ter voorbereiding van die Fees van Ongesuurde Brode) – nie “gevier” of “gehou” moet word nie. So byvoorbeeld: Ex 12:21 “Slag die Pesag”; Ex 12:43 “Eet die Pesag”; Ex 12:48 “Doen (“asah”) die Pesag”. Die vertalings wat daarop dui dat die Pesag “gehou” moet word, behoort myns insiens eintlik te wees: “doen” in plaas van “vier” of “hou”, soos in die geval van die ander feeste. Pesag self is nie ‘n feesdag waarop geen werk gedoen mag word nie. Op dié dag is daar besonder baie werk wat gedoen en afgehandel moet word sodat die Fees (van Ongesuurde Brode, wat vanjaar ná sonsondergang van 6 April begin) op die regte manier gevier kan word. Hou in gedagte dat Ongesuurde Brode SEWE dae lank duur, nie 8 dae nie.
Num 28:16 En in die eerste maand, op die veertiende dag van die maand, is die Pesag van Yahweh.
Num 28:17 En op die vyftiende dag van hierdie maand is dit fees; sewe dae lank moet ongesuurde brode geëet word.
Hoop dit help ‘n bietjie.
John
Baie dankie ek verstaan nou, so dis basies die voorbereidings dag vir ongesuurde brode se 7 dae ….daarom ook dat Yeshua voor die 15de in die graf moes wees.
Groetnis
Shalom
Please could you research and help me with a “blank spot” in my understandin re the appointed time of Pesach/Passover.
I fully understand Leviticus 23:1 onwards, the month of Aviv, the barley harvest etc but what I am unsure about is that Y’shua our sacrificial lamb gave Himself up in the middle of the week i.e. that is when he was nailed to the tree and the veil was rent in two. (Pattern of Yahweh) Should we not then start to observe Pesach in the middle of the week ie the 5th day (would be Wed 4th April 2012) and not the (6 April 2012).
It is not about “splitting hairs” or being petty but I would like to do what is correct according to scripture and there seems to be many ? marks for me.
Please let me know what you think is correct.
Kind regards
Cheryl, others may also want to comment on your very interesting question. Just a brief answer from my side, that may hopefully encourage others to take part. I do not find anything in Scriptures connecting the renting of the veil in two (equal?) parts with Y’shua being impaled in the middle of the week – despite the very interesting parallel between these two events. Furthermore, while we do not find any command or precedent in Scriptures for the Wednesday before the Feast of Unleavened Bread to be kept as a special day, we do, however, find a number of verses where the people of Yahweh are commanded to keep the feasts of the first month on specific days (dates) of the month, NOT on specific days of the weeks of this month. The fact that Pesach this year falls on the same day as Good Friday is a “coincidence” that will certainly not be repeated each year.
I have a question regarding “counting of the Omer”. Where does it state in Scripture that we are to read certain portions during this festival or is this a man made tradition or custom of Judaism? What are we supposed to read and do according to Yahweh during the Feast of Shavuot and the days and weeks leading up to it? Thank u.
The reading of certain Torah portions (according to a reading plan and referred to in the plural as “parashot”) – mostly on a weekly basis, but also including the special “high days” of the Jewish calendar – is a long standing custom of Judaism. It is “man made” in the sense that Scriptures do not prescribe which “parashah” (singular) is to be read on which occasion. There is, however, ample Scriptural support for a lifestyle of reading and studying Torah regularly, repeatedly and systematically. That is why many non-Jewish Scriptural believers have joined in with this custom of following the same reading plan as the Jews. My own view is that it is a good thing to read Scriptures according to a “program” but that this program (1) does not necessarily have to be the same as that of the Jews and (2) should not be followed so rigidly that it hampers one’s own study of the Word, under the guidance of the Spirit of Yahweh.
What should we do in the weeks leading up to Shavuot? We should be counting (Lev 23:15-16; Deut 16:9). If this sounds somewhat ridiculous to our modern, sophisticated minds, it is only because we are so used to calendars, watches, computers, cell phones and electronic reminders. Fact is, Yahweh wants us to remember and to constantly remind one another of these Days that are of the utmost importance in his design for this world. Maybe we can do with a little bit of old fashioned counting, these days. In our own fellowship we have the habit of taking 30 seconds at the beginning of each Shabbat meeting during the seven weeks leading up to Shavuot, just reminding one another how many days are left until the Day of Shavuot.
“…The reading of certain Torah portions (according to a reading plan and referred to in the plural as “parashot”) – mostly on a weekly basis, but also including the special “high days” of the Jewish calendar – is a long standing custom of Judaism. It is “man made” in the sense that Scriptures do not prescribe which “parashah” (singular) is to be read on which occasion….”
Some Messianics follow the Judaism style of reading so thoroughly that they skip along with Judaism,> Isaiah 53 !