Biblical Hebrew Calendar

The biblical year begins on the first new moon after the barley in the land of Israel reaches the stage in its development that the Bible calls Aviv. Only by checking the state of the barley crop can we fulfill the Biblical commandment to “Keep the Month of the Aviv”(Deut 16:1). Only by fixing the calendar in harmony with the barley crop can we fulfill the commandment to celebrate the Hag Ha-Matzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread) “at the time of the month of the Aviv, because in the month of the Aviv you went out of Egypt.” (Exodus 34:18)

A commitment of Jewish Karaites throughout the generations was to observe the Biblical precept to “Keep the Month of the Aviv”. To this very day, every Karaite takes an oath at the time of their marriage “to keep the Holy Days of YHVH according to the observation of the Aviv in the Holy Land of Israel”. Throughout the Middle Ages, a great effort was made to send messengers to Israel to check on the state of the barley crop. It was not uncommon that Karaitic Jews celebrated the Holy Days one

The modern Jewish calendar was established by Hillel the Second in the middle of the fourth century. Yet, the two reasons for its introduction are no longer relevant. Today, there are both enough Jews residing in and around Jerusalem to sight new moons, and ample means to communicate the sightings. NASA claims to have improved on the amazingly precise lunar cycle of 29.53059 days used in the Jewish calendar. And even though the monthly moon cycle varies by as much as +/- 0.7 days per lunar cycle, it has never been adjusted.

month after the Rabbinic Jews. As late as 1641, we learn from a Crimean Karaite pilgrim that the Karaites of the Middle East still followed the Biblical calendar, and in 1641 they celebrated all the Holy Days one month after the “Rabbinites”.

The “19 year cycle” has been adopted by the majority of the Jewish people instead of fixing the first month according to the barley crop. This cycle was invented at a time when reliable reports of the barley crop in the land of Israel were difficult to obtain. It added the occasionally necessary 13th month (7 times every 19 years), which keeps Passover in the spring of the year in a logical, yet Biblically unauthorized pattern. The Rabbinites recognize that the state of the barley crop determines the date of Passover (Sanhedrin 11a). Yet, since our return to the land, observation of the barley crop has proven that the rabbinic cycle is often in error, and now obsolete. Several times over the past decade, several Israelites have investigated the state of the barley crop at the time that the modern Jewish calendar declared the month of Aviv (Nisan), but discovered that the barley was not Aviv. It is a common occurrence for Rabbinic, Messianic, and even Karaitic Jews to celebrate the Biblical Holy Days one month too early!

“...Whoever will not go up of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to prostrate to the King, YHWH Tzevaot, there shall be no rain upon them... this will be the plague with which YHWH smites the nations that will not go up to celebrate Hag Ha-Sukkot (Tabernacles).” (Zechariah 14:18-19)

Tuesday, November 9, 1999 at sunset, Michael Rood, Bruce Brill, Devorah Gordon, and I sighted the eighth New Moon of the year from Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. A second group of observers on the nearby Mount of Olives, including Dr. Roy Hoffman of the Israel New Moon Society, Baruch Ben-Yosef, and David Pisanti, also concurred with the first sighting at 16:51. That evening, just as in ancient Israel, about 40witnesses enjoyed the festive tradition of a campfire barbecue to honor the “two witnesses”.

Because of the rarity of occasions when the modern Jewish calendar corresponds with the Biblical new month, the new moon sighting festivities were rehearsed on the correct day for the first time in nearly 2,000 years. Michael Rood distributed native Israeli barley seed to the participants and, in accordance with the ancient practice of the Levites, we sowed barley on the side of the Mount of Olives at the appearance of the 8th moon. In the deepening twilight, seeds of hope were scattered on the Mount of Olives across the Kidron valley from the Temple Mount - the future location of the 3rd Temple. Within the next few days, eight barley fields were planted in the land of Israel for the express purpose of determining the month of the Aviv barley the following spring. This upcoming spring of the year 2000 is the first opportunity for all of us to be on the Creator’s calendar by the beginning of the Biblical New Year - Aviv 1.

Nehemia Gordon
Jerusalem, Israel





Rood Teachings Weekly Torah Study Audio Teachings Books Calendars FAQ	The Month of the Aviv The biblical year begins on the first new moon after the barley in the land of Israel reaches the stage in its development that the Bible calls Aviv. Only by checking the state of the barley crop can we fulfill the Biblical commandment to “Keep the Month of the Aviv”(Deut 16:1). Only by fixing the calendar in harmony with the barley crop can we fulfill the commandment to celebrate the Hag Ha-Matzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread) “at the time of the month of the Aviv, because in the month of the Aviv you went out of Egypt.” (Exodus 34:18) A commitment of Jewish Karaites throughout the generations was to observe the Biblical precept to “Keep the Month of the Aviv”. To this very day, every Karaite takes an oath at the time of their marriage “to keep the Holy Days of YHVH according to the observation of the Aviv in the Holy Land of Israel”. Throughout the Middle Ages, a great effort was made to send messengers to Israel to check on the state of the barley crop. It was not uncommon that Karaitic Jews celebrated the Holy Days one The modern Jewish calendar was established by Hillel the Second in the middle of the fourth century. Yet, the two reasons for its introduction are no longer relevant. Today, there are both enough Jews residing in and around Jerusalem to sight new moons, and ample means to communicate the sightings. NASA claims to have improved on the amazingly precise lunar cycle of 29.53059 days used in the Jewish calendar. And even though the monthly moon cycle varies by as much as +/- 0.7 days per lunar cycle, it has never been adjusted. month after the Rabbinic Jews. As late as 1641, we learn from a Crimean Karaite pilgrim that the Karaites of the Middle East still followed the Biblical calendar, and in 1641 they celebrated all the Holy Days one month after the “Rabbinites”. The “19 year cycle” has been adopted by the majority of the Jewish people instead of fixing the first month according to the barley crop. This cycle was invented at a time when reliable reports of the barley crop in the land of Israel were difficult to obtain. It added the occasionally necessary 13th month (7 times every 19 years), which keeps Passover in the spring of the year in a logical, yet Biblically unauthorized pattern. The Rabbinites recognize that the state of the barley crop determines the date of Passover (Sanhedrin 11a). Yet, since our return to the land, observation of the barley crop has proven that the rabbinic cycle is often in error, and now obsolete. Several times over the past decade, several Israelites have investigated the state of the barley crop at the time that the modern Jewish calendar declared the month of Aviv (Nisan), but discovered that the barley was not Aviv. It is a common occurrence for Rabbinic, Messianic, and even Karaitic Jews to celebrate the Biblical Holy Days one month too early! “...Whoever will not go up of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to prostrate to the King, YHWH Tzevaot, there shall be no rain upon them... this will be the plague with which YHWH smites the nations that will not go up to celebrate Hag Ha-Sukkot (Tabernacles).” (Zechariah 14:18-19) Tuesday, November 9, 1999 at sunset, Michael Rood, Bruce Brill, Devorah Gordon, and I sighted the eighth New Moon of the year from Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. A second group of observers on the nearby Mount of Olives, including Dr. Roy Hoffman of the Israel New Moon Society, Baruch Ben-Yosef, and David Pisanti, also concurred with the first sighting at 16:51. That evening, just as in ancient Israel, about 40witnesses enjoyed the festive tradition of a campfire barbecue to honor the “two witnesses”. Because of the rarity of occasions when the modern Jewish calendar corresponds with the Biblical new month, the new moon sighting festivities were rehearsed on the correct day for the first time in nearly 2,000 years. Michael Rood distributed native Israeli barley seed to the participants and, in accordance with the ancient practice of the Levites, we sowed barley on the side of the Mount of Olives at the appearance of the 8th moon. In the deepening twilight, seeds of hope were scattered on the Mount of Olives across the Kidron valley from the Temple Mount - the future location of the 3rd Temple. Within the next few days, eight barley fields were planted in the land of Israel for the express purpose of determining the month of the Aviv barley the following spring. This upcoming spring of the year 2000 is the first opportunity for all of us to be on the Creator’s calendar by the beginning of the Biblical New Year - Aviv 1. Nehemia Gordon Jerusalem, Israel