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When Is The Biblical New Year or Head of the Year? HAPPY BIBLICAL NEW YEAR April 5, 2011 Please Note: Nehemia Gordon is not a Messianic Jew, he does not receive YAHUSHUA as Messiah. We use his New Moon report because he is the only person on the internet who is doing this from Israel that we are aware of. New Moon Report April 2011 First Biblical Month On Monday April 4, 2011 the new moon was sighted from Israel. The moon was first sighted from Mount Hezekiah at 7:28 pm by Nehemia Gordon and at 7:29 pm by Yoel Halevi. The moon was also sighted from Ashdod by Magdi Shamuel at 7:40 pm. Chag HaMatzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread) will begin April 18 at sunset. Looks like I messed up the dates on my last newsletter about finding Aviv barley on March 30 in the Jordan valley when it was in fact March 29. Thanks to Botaniska Föreningen for catching this oversight. This doesn't change the conclusions. Shanah Tovah! Happy New Year! Nehemia Gordon Jerusalem, Israel * * * * * * *
New Moon ReportMarch 2011 Thirteenth Biblical Month a Leap Year March 6, 2011 No Aviv Barley, New Moon of Thirteenth Month Sighted On March 6, 2011 the barley we examined in the Judean Desert and Jordan Valley was nowhere near Aviv. These are locations the barley is known from previous years to ripen earliest. The barley was mostly in the vegetative state but we also found large amounts of barley that had just flowered (cotton-stage). This is consistent with our findings on Friday March 4, 2011 in the northern Negev. The lack of Aviv barley means the new moon on April 4, 2011 will be the beginning of the Hebrew year and Chag HaMatzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread) will begin at sunset on April 18, 2011. The new moon of the Thirteenth Biblical Month was sighted on March 6, 2011. It was first sighted from Kefar Eldad by Bruce Brill at 6:03pm and then from Jerusalem at 6:11pm by David Cachicas followed shortly thereafter by Willie Ondricek, Keith Johnson, Nehemia Gordon, Devorah Gordon, Daniella Cachicas, Yoel Halevi, Pat Skewes, and Miri Burgin. A report has been going around that someone found "green ears" in the Negev. He has posted four photos of green ears of WHEAT. While these pictures of wheat obviously don't have any relevance for Aviv barley, I can confirm that there are "green ears" of barley in Israel (see my photos on Facebook). However, "green ears" are not the same thing as Aviv. There are green ears of barley in Israel but no Aviv barley. My thanks to the following people for participating in the Aviv Search: Devorah Gordon, Keith Johnson, Yoel Halevi, Yaron Laluz, Noam Moshe, Asaf Cohen, Matan Cohen, Almog Levi, Miri Burgin, Bruce Brill, Terry Telligman, Sarah Jaffee, Bob Jaffee, Catherine Bodenstein, Margie Shearer, and Pat Skewes. Chodesh Sameach! Happy New Moon! Nehemia Gordon Jerusalem, Israel March 4, 2011 No Aviv in Northern Negev On Friday March 4, 2011 the barley in the northern Negev was nowhere near Aviv. The northern Negev is one of the main locations the barley is known from previous years to ripen earliest. The barley was mostly in the vegetative state but we also found some barley that had just flowered (cotton-stage). We will look again on Sunday March 6, however, the barley was nowhere near Aviv in that area last week so it is unlikely we will find any Aviv there. We won't know for sure until we look. Shabbat Shalom! Nehemia Gordon Jerusalem, Israel March 2, 2011 At the end of this week and early next week we will be traveling around Israel examining the barley to see if it has reached the stage of its ripening known in Scripture as "Aviv". If the barley is Aviv, it will signify that according to God's appointed times the new moon on Sunday March 6, 2011 will be the beginning of the Hebrew year. If it is not Aviv, it will signify that the following new moon on April 4, 2011 will be the beginning of the Hebrew year. This is in accordance with Deuteronomy 16:1, "Observe the month of the Aviv and keep the Passover to Yehovah your God..." Whatever we find in the Aviv Search this weekend, honoring our Creator's calendar should not be something that divides us. God's people are re-awakening all around the world to his truth but not everyone is ready, willing, or able to the same degree or at the same pace. God waited twenty-four years before revealing to Abraham the commandment of circumcision. Don't be so quick to circumcise your neighbor or condemn him for not being where you are in your walk with God. Let God speak to him in his own time when he is ready. Many people call for "unity" but what they really mean is "uniformity". They claim unity is important to them but reject everyone who doesn't agree with their understanding of Scripture. Unity can and must be achieved even when there is a lack of uniformity. This requires a certain degree of spiritual maturity and humility. It is only human that we get frustrated when others do not see things our way. But we must be humble before the Almighty and ask him to lead us on our walk with him. If those who walk alongside us in faith approach Yehovah with the same humility then it is not for us to judge them. We should be united, not divided, by our love of our heavenly Father and desire to live by His Word. I got some real insight into unity last week when Keith Johnson and I were down in Egypt. Unless you've been serving on a deep-water submarine or stuck in Canada, then you know Egypt is a country still recovering from thirty years of rule by a brutal dictator. Keith and I had the opportunity to sit down with several Bedouin men in Nuweiba on the shore of the Red Sea, where the Israelites crossed over from slavery into freedom. I asked them what they thought of the overthrow of Mubarak. One young man was nostalgic about the fallen dictator insisting that as bad as he was, at least there was "unity" under his rule. This young Bedouin man has never known the basic freedoms many of us take for granted. He was terrified by the "division" that now racks his country. I realized that political tyranny creates unity at the cost of freedom just as spiritual tyranny creates unity at the cost of truth and the individual's relationship of faith with God. Whatever we find in the Aviv Search, I urge all those who observe our Creator's times to treat their fellow believers in God's word with love and respect and to embrace them despite their differences. "What does YHWH require of you? To do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your Elohim?" (Micah 6:8). Nehemia Gordon Jerusalem, Israel **********
According to Scripture the Biblical year begins with the first sighting of the Crescent New Moon after the barley in Israel reaches the stage in its ripeness called Abib (Aviv).Exodus 12:2 This month shall be unto you the Beginning of Months: it shall be the "First Month Of The Year" to you.This usually occurs before the end of the 12th month but sometimes the barley does not reach the stage of Abib until after the 12th month. In this case an extra month, a 13th month, is added to the calendar and this is called a Leap Year. The period between one year and the next is either 12 or 13 lunar months and it all depends on the abib (stage of ripeness) barley. Because of this, it is important to check the state of the barley crops at the end of the 12th month. If the barley is abib at this time, then the following Crescent New Moon is Hodesh Ha-Aviv ("New Moon of the Abib"). If the barley is still immature, we must wait another month for the New Year to begin after the 13th month. A 12-month year is referred to as a Regular Year while a 13th month year is referred to as a Leap Year. This should not be confused with Leap Years in the Gregorian (Christian) Calendar, which involve the "intercalation" (addition) of a single day (Feb. 29). In contrast, the Biblical Leap Year involves the intercalation of an entire lunar month ("Thirteenth Month", also called "Adar Bet"). In general, it can only be determined whether a year is a Leap Year a few days before the end of the 12th Month. Where is Abib Mentioned in the Hebrew Bible? The story of the Exodus relates "This day you are going out in the the month of the Abib." (Ex 13,4). To commemorate that we left Egypt in the month of the Abib, we are instructed to bring the Passover sacrifice and celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzot) at this time of year. Deuteronomy 16:1 commands: Observe the "Month of Abib, and keep the Passover" unto YAHWEH thy God: for in the Month of Abib YAHWEH thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by Night.What is Abib? Abib indicates a stage in the development of the barley crops. This is clear from Ex 9:31-32 which describes the devastation caused by the plague of hail: "And the flax and the barley were smitten, because the barley was Abib and the flax was Giv'ol. And the wheat and the spelt were not smitten because they were dark (Afilot)."The above passage relates that the barley crops were destroyed by the hail while the wheat and spelt were not damaged. To understand the reason for this we must look at how grain develops. When grains are early in their development they are flexible and have a dark green color. As they become ripe they take on a light yellowish hue and become more brittle. The reason that the barley was destroyed and the wheat was not is that the barley had reached the stage in its development called Abib and as a result had become brittle enough to be damaged by the hail. In contrast, the wheat and spelt were still early enough in their development, at a stage when they were flexible and not susceptible to being damaged by hail. The description of the wheat and spelt as "dark" (Afilot) indicates that they were still in the stage when they were deep green and had not yet begun to lighten into the light yellowish hue which characterizes ripe grains. In contrast, the barley had reached the stage of Abib at which time it was no longer "dark" and at this point it probably had begun to develop golden streaks. Parched Abib We know from several passages that barley which is in the state of Abib has not completely ripened, but has ripened enough so that its seeds can be eaten parched in fire. Parched barley was a commonly eaten food in ancient Israel and is mentioned in numerous passages in the Hebrew Bible as either "Abib parched (Kalui) in fire" (Lev 2:14) or in the abbreviated form "parched (Kalui/ Kali)" (Lev 23:14; Jos 5:11; 1Sam 17:17; 1Sam 25:18; 2Sam 17:28; Ruth 2:14). While still early in its development, barley has not yet produced large enough and firm enough seeds to produce food through parching. This early in its development, when the "head" has just come out of the shaft, the seeds are not substantial enough to produce any food. At a later stage, the seeds have grown in size and have filled with liquid. At this point the seeds will shrivel up when parched and will only produce empty skins. Over time the liquid is replaced with dry material and when enough dry material has amassed the seeds will be able to yield "barley parched in fire". Abib and the Harvest The first month is the month which commences after the barley has reached the stage of Abib. 2-3 weeks after the beginning of the month the barley has moved beyond the stage of Abib and is ready to be brought as the "wave-sheaf offering" (Hanafat HaOmer). The "wave-sheaf offering" is a sacrifice brought from the first stalks cut in the harvest and is brought on the Sunday which falls out during Passover (Hag HaMatzot). This is described in Lev 23:10-11: "When you come to the land which I give you, and harvest its harvest, you will bring the sheaf of the beginning of your harvest to the priest. And he will wave the sheaf before YHWH so you will be accepted; on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest will wave it."From this it is clear that the barley, which was Abib at the beginning of the month, has become harvest-ready 15-21 days later (i.e by the Sunday during Passover). Therefore, the first month can not begin unless the barley has reached a stage where it will be harvest-ready 2-3 weeks later. That the barley must be harvest-ready 2-3 weeks into the month of the Abib is also clear from Dt 16,9 which states: "From when the sickle commences on the standing grain you will begin to count seven weeks." From Lev 23:15 we know that the seven weeks between Passover (Hag Hamatzot) and Pentecost (Shavuot) begin on the day when the wave-sheaf offering is brought: "And you shall count from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the sheaf of waving; they will be seven complete weeks."Therefore, the "sickle commences on the standing grain 2-3 weeks after the beginning of the first month. If the barley is not developed enough so that it will be ready for the sickle 2-3 weeks later, then the first month can not begin and we must wait till the following month. It should be noted that not all the barley ripens in the Land of Israel at the same time. The wave-sheaf offering is a national sacrifice brought from the first fields to become harvest-ready. However, the first-fruit offerings brought by individual farmers can vary in ripeness anywhere from "Abib parched in fire" to fully ripe grain which may be brought "crushed" or "coarsely ground". This is what is meant in Lev 2:14: "And when you bring a first-fruit offering to YHWH; you shall bring your first-fruit offering as Abib parched in fire or crushed Carmel" (Carmel is grain which has hardened beyond Abib to the point where it can be "crushed" or "coarsely ground").All of the above passages have been translated directly from the Hebrew and it is worth noting that the King James translators seem to have only understood the various Hebrew agricultural terms very poorly. In Lev 2:14 they translated Carmel as "full ears" and "Abib" as "green ears" whereas in Lev 23:14 they translated Carmel as "green ears"! In summation, barley which is in the state of Abib has 3 characteristics: 1. It is brittle enough to be destroyed by hail and has begun to lighten in color (it is not "dark"). 2. The seeds have produced enough dry material so it can be eaten parched. 3. It has developed enough so that it will be harvest-ready 2-3 weeks later. |
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