Examining the History and Biblical Timing of the Feasts of the Lord. When Should We Observe God s Moedim? Talmidei Yeshua Fellowship Email: info@messianicfellowship.ca ; Website: www.messianicfellowship.ca 95 Milvan Drive, North York, ON, M9L 1Z7, 1 (416) 277-3314 Abstract In this study we examine the timing of the Feasts of Elohim and how the bible and man s practices are seemingly different. We review history and the bible, to gain a clear understanding of the reason for the current debate on the timing and why some observe these days differently. The bible is full of accounts on men adding to His word and modifying His ordinances to suit their interest. Today, the same things happen and the verse that there is nothing new under the sun couldn t be more true. However, we as believers must test everything and make sure we are following Elohim with our whole heart, mind, soul and spirit because we will answer for our actions one day. The history of the Jewish Calendar and timing of the feasts followed by the Jewish and Messianic world today was developed by Hillel II and it clearly has some inaccuracies. The Calendar continues with its errors by changing God s beginning of the year from around Passover to the Fall and changing Yom Teruah to Rosh Hashanah. As believers, accepting the manipulations of man upon the word of God is an error. This examination attempts to clarify the issue, present the facts both biblical and historical in order to give the reader an opportunity to make his own conclusion. We have drawn a conclusion ourselves on the matter but it is not for us to enforce but rather for you to prayerfully decide how God is leading you. We know that blind acceptance of manmade practices are wrong, and it is our responsibility to serve the Creator not the created. We ll choose Elohim s word over man s word every time. Keywords: Feasts, Shabbat, Shabbath, Moedim, Moon Lunar Cycles, Aviv, Barley Harvest 1. Introduction Elohim created the Moedim (Appointed Times) in order for His people to gather before Him and worship. He desires a relationship with His people and He has pre-determined times when He wants to meet with us to foster our relationship. The Shabbat is a weekly call to spend time with Him and is a cornerstone principle we believers must honour and desire. If the Shabbat is a regularly set rendezvous with Elohim then the Moedim are annual occasions when He wants to teach and remind us of the things He has done for us and to give us a glimpse of the things to come. We can see clearly in the spring Moedim Page 1 of 12
(Pesach, Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Shavuot ) these are memorials and times of tremendous thanksgiving for all He has accomplished for us before we were even conceived. The fall Moedim (Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur and Sukkoth) are foreshadowing s of our Messiah s return and the final days that are before us. The Moedim are described as perpetual covenants and to be observed throughout all the generations, and we know from Revelations the feasts will continue on through the Millennial Kingdom. These foundational blocks are clearly laid out in scripture and we must support and honour these appointed times. At Talmidei Yeshua Fellowship we have kept these biblical oracles and have uncomfortably gone past the boundaries of human definitions in an effort to literally follow the scriptures. We live on the steadfast principles of 2 Corinthians 12:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith ; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Yeshua HaMashiach is in you, unless indeed you fail the test? and 1 Thessalonians 5:21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good. We have put aside cultural traditions of Jews and Christians that we felt were a stumbling block to the word. Our unapologetic nature to earnestly strive to follow the example of our Messiah produces times when we wrestle with the heavier matters of scripture. The heart of our determination in these matters is to admonish Elohim and pay little attention to the criticisms of man as Colossians 2:16-17 supports So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Messiah. We believe Elohim allows and confronts us with these challenges to produce new fruit and spiritual enrichment. In the past year we ve found ourselves challenging the traditions of man as it relates to the timing of Elohim s Moedim and after careful research and scriptural review we have come to the following conclusions in this paper. We remain open and sincere about correction and where others feel we have erred in our position we will accept constructive criticism and will review it scripturally and prayerfully and make any adjustments we feel Elohim desires for us to make. 2. Background Ironically of all the believers that follow the Moedim and cherish the sanctity of these commandments very few have realized the inconsistencies between the bible and the practical observance. For example the bible doesn t say Passover falls on the evening of the 14 th day of the seventh month called Nisan but rather the evening of the 14 th day of the first month of Aviv (Exodus 12:17-19) "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born. In the period of 320 to 385 AD Hillel II and a group of Jewish Rabbis from the Sanhedrin were deeply concerned about the state of the Jewish Diaspora and how those Jews were being assimilated into the culture they lived. He and his group decided the observance of the feasts would help them but knew the bible relied on the sighting of the moon and confirmation of the barley in the land to know when the feasts were to be observed. Rabbi Hillel was skilled in mathematics and astronomy and he devised a method to calculate with some certainty the timing of the Moedim, but based on a number of partial periods and length of certain cycles the Hillel system would have to be adjusted occasionally. It was an Page 2 of 12
inferior method to scripture but the rabbis of the day felt it was better to observe it a day or two off then to not observe it at all. It was meant to be temporary system because it was loosely biblically based and the fact that it adds to the word (Deut 4:2 "You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you ) but it was never suppose to last this long. The Hillel Calendar system was implemented in the Diaspora and the system took hold and it has not changed since that day to now. In summary, the method of the Jewish calendar is based on three principles of astronomy; 1. A day is 24 hours as the earth rotates on its axis, 2. A month is one full revolution of the moon around the earth which takes 29.5 days, and 3. A year is one full revolution of the earth around the sun which is 365.2422 days The Jewish calendar is focussed on the lunar cycle where the Gregorian (Civil) calendar is arbitrarily picking months and their length which is either 29, 30 or 31 days long and keeping the system very static so each year things are the same with the exception of a leap year where one extra day is added to keep the system balanced because the seasons and events don t occur in exact whole number of days. In contrast the Jewish calendar is on the lunar cycle which rotates a month in 29.5 days which creates a disconnect because of the 0.5 that it requires them to add one month 7 times every 19 years to correct, well the same holds true for the Gregorian (Civil) calendar which assumes a year is 365 days when in fact it is 365.24 and the means of correcting it is to add one day every 4 years. In the days of Moses and the children of Israel walking through the wilderness Elohim in His infinite wisdom knew that man s technology to calculate the earth s axis, or astronomical methods where not going to be available for millenniums and that these methods were man made methods to understand His magnificent wonders. Elohim provided a system that was very simple and easy but reliant upon Him and it could be used by a farmer or shepherd. Elohim created a system that would never change despite the evolution of technology in the world knowing full well that man s wisdom and pride would create new methods with their atomic clocks, astronomical scopes to measure planetary positions and the position of the earth s axis. As well Elohim knew the raging debates that would ensue with the moon cycle versus the solar cycles and definitions of a year such as the Draconic year, Vague year, Heliacal year, Sothic year, Gaussian year, or the Bessilian year. Elohim could foresee the influence of powerful empires like Rome putting in the Julian calendar then Gregorian calendar and that lesser more remote nations Persia putting in the Persian Calendar or the Mayan Calendar. In an effort to circumvent all of man s efforts to control a pure invitation to meet Him on seven occasions in a year He put in a simple way for people to know when His Moedim would come and we could go out and meet Him. Oh how guilty man is of over complicating what Elohim has established, and to think our over complications are more than a molecule of water in a sea of Elohim s ability is to tip over the line of pride at the feet of our Creator. Elohim gave us a book to guide us through the journey of life and to follow Him and His awesome ways requires child-like faith to follow the word as it is written. So what does the bible say? What Does the Bible Say? 1. The beginning of a day, and length of a year is governed by the moon. a. Genesis 1:14-16 Then Elohim said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and appointed Page 3 of 12
times (Moedim), and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and it was so. Then Elohim made two great light to rule the day, and the lesser to rule the night. He made the stars also. b. Psalm 104:19 He made the moon for the seasons ; The sun knows the place of its setting. c. Ezekiel 46:1-3 Thus says the Lord GOD, "The gate of the inner court facing east shall be shut the six working days ; but it shall be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the new moon.the people of the land shall also worship at the doorway of that gate before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. 2. The beginning of the year occurs in the spring time when the children of Israel fled Egypt. a. Exodus 12:1-2 Now spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying This month is the head of months to you. Is shall be the first month of the year to you. 3. The bible suggests a month is 30 days if you consider Revelations 11:2 & 13:5 that describes the Great Tribulation that will last 42 months and if you consider the prophecy in Daniel about that period it says it is 1,260 days and 1260/42=30 days/month. 4. The International Dateline doesn t slice the Pacific Ocean in half and separate the tip of Russia and Alaska down to Australia, it is the eastern border of the land of Israel. As Exodus 12:1-2 directs Moses to determine the start of the month and years from the new moons when they occur in Israel. Where is the controversy? The controversy lies in 3 areas; 1. Exact timing of the first day of a month When exactly is the first day of the month and when exactly is the first day of the new year which comes in the finite interpretation of the timing of a new moon, is it a crescent or a conjunction moon? a. Calculating the first month of the year is important i. Exodus 12:1-2 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. ii. The month of Passover is the first month of the year according to Exodus 13:4 On this day you are going out, in the month of Abib (as well supported by Exodus 23:15, and Exodus 34:18). iii. The crescent versus the conjunction is a very important interpretation. The lunar cycle is a 29.53 day rotation of the moon rotating around the earth. The speed of the moon is incredibly fast and the exact alignment of the sun, earth and moon creating a conjunction where all three are in perfect alignment is for less than 5 minutes. It takes the human eye approximately 5% of a sliver before we can actually see it with the naked eye. It has always been accepted that the point of full darkness is the point a new moon begins. In scripture there is a few scriptures that support this interpretation. However, it is when the Crescent moon is observed that you know the new moon has ended and because of the luminosity required of 5% it may take 1-3 days before a Crescent can be observed. Once the Crescent moon is sighted the first day of the month is declared. It was easy to do Page 4 of 12
for the farmers in those days because they would take 14.75 days after the full moon was sighted prior or the new moon 29.53 days prior. 1. In the book of 1 Samuel 20:5 we have an event where David and Jonathan are discussing the situation with Saul and David says the next day is the new moon but he wants to miss 3 days of festivities until the Crescent is sighted and the new moon has ended. The story suggests new moon period is the period of full darkness which was already known by David because it was the practice in those days when the full moon happened 14.75 days earlier. It is worth noting that the new moon period can last 1-3 days until the crescent is sighted so they can confidently declare the new moon is over. It is the calculated conjunction (full dark moon) that confirms a new moon has arrived and it is the sighting of the crescent that confirms it is over. a. 1 Samuel 20:5 So David said to Jonathan, "Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I ought to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. b. 1 Samuel 20:18 Then Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be empty. 19 "When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel. c. 1 Samuel 20:27 It came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David's place was empty ; so Saul said to Jonathan his son, "Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today? d. 1 Samuel 20:34 Then Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him. e. Amos 8:4-5 Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land, 5 saying, "When will the new moon be over, So that we may sell grain, And the Sabbath, that we may open the wheat market, To make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger, And to cheat with dishonest scales, The Feast of Trumpets is the only new moon day that is a Sabbath and these merchants were anxious for it to be declared over. It is often called the day when no day knows the day or hour because it started on the conjunction and never ended until the Crescent was sighted some 1-3 days later. f. Psalm 81:3-4 Blow the trumpet at the time of the new moon, at the full moon on our solemn feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, A law of the God of Jacob. This He established in Joseph. It would appear the Day of Trumpets is on a full moon by the Hebrew word kece which was interpreted as full moon but the true meaning and exact interpretation of the word kece means a Page 5 of 12
covered moon or a conjunction. All of scripture supports the requirement to Blow the Trumpet at the time of the new moon, which is never a full moon but a darkened moon, this mistranslation has been a source of confusion on a number of matters. If you take the Hebrew word for full moon it is lebena which means white and not kece which means covered the word lebena is found in scripture three different times ( 2. A Crescent-only view has no biblical support and there is no second day in this view which is supported by the story of David and Jonathan and if the dishonest merchants only contented with a one day new moon they wouldn t have asked when will it be over, it s only in the 1-3 days when they were waiting for the crescent sighting to declare it was over. The conjunction is supported by history and by both these biblical stories. The Crescent is an important sighting because of its role of ending the festivities and declaring the new moon to be over. a. In Isaiah 13:9-10 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. The day of the Lord is historically been the Feast of Trumpets, which is the only new moon and this passage, suggests it is a dark day when no light is shed which suggests a conjunction. b. Mark 13:24-27 "But in those days, after that tribulation, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. "Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory. "And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven. The dark moon with no light is the conjunction or new moon and the stars falling from the heaven is the equinox rotation. 3. A month starting at the conjunction means it is a month starting in darkness, which is a hard premise. However, if you consider the creation of the world the first day started in darkness The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep (Gen 1:1-2). A Hebraic day starts at sundown in darkness, it seems to be supported that the month should start in darkness with the absence of the light of the moon. 2. Using the barley ripening is biblical and a clear agricultural sign. a. The scripture suggests the barley is used as an indicator of when the next new moon is that will mark the start of the year. Barley that reaches a state of Abib has three characteristics; i. Brittle but has lightened enough that it can be easily destroyed by hail, Page 6 of 12
ii. It is easy to harvest it and eat it, though not fully dried out it is parched enough to be processed, iii. It is usually 2-3 weeks away from completely ready being parched enough to be ground and could easily be eaten at either stage. b. Exodus 9:31-32 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). This portion of scripture describes the meaning of Abib as it relates to the barley crops as it is describing the destruction of the crops during a hail storm and how the barley was much more vulnerable because it had ripened and was much farther along as it had hit a state of Abib where the wheat and spelt were much earlier in the cycle and less developed and could weather the storm. c. The timing of the Feast of Unleavened bread and the counting of the Omer is supported by the scripture Deut 16:9 From when the sickle commences on the standing grain you will begin to count seven weeks. and Leviticus 23:15 And you shall count from the morrow after the Shabbat, from the day you bring the sheaf of waving; they will be seven complete Shabbats. d. The barley is a result of spring and not a cause of it. As well in the time of the Exodus there was no barley to determine the timing of Passover so the use of barley is a secondary system and the use of the sun, moon and stars is a primary system. 3. Sun, moon and stars in relationship to the spring equinox. a. Job 38:31-38 is an eloquent set of scriptures describing the power of the universe and it s dominion over the earth. The power of these planets and the exact place, behaviour and rotations are all set in place by Elohim. The verses in Job bare witness to the power of the statements in Genesis 1:14-15 that describes the way the light will determine the days, nights, and seasons. In the spring the major event is the Northward equinox when the winter ends and the spring officially begins which is always March 20th (occasionally 21 st ). The fall Southward equinox is always September 22 nd or 23 rd which marks the end of Summer and start of fall. It is these events that the earth s rotation marks the changes in seasons that happens every year and it is these events Job was referring to that have dominion over the start and end of seasons. It was these events that every farmer was watching for to guide them in the process of their first harvest and fruits. It is believed that these greater events of the universe will produce the lesser signs of the state of Abib which is a function of the amount of sun and the timing of the equinox. It is this system that is easy to predict and it always concurs with Abib and it is never inconsistent, so it is strongly supported that the greater sign of the heavens is more compelling to follow and easier to manage versus the barley system that requires people in Israel with non-genetically modified barley in the proper setting to wait and watch for the barley to hit Abib. It is more consistent and easier for believers to follow the greater sign knowing it will be consistent with the barley anyhow. b. Many biblical scholars use the stage of Abib of the barley crops as a second sign because they believe the heavens cause the earthly response. If the rotation of the earth and the position of the sun and the number of sun days creates the growing season which produces the stage of Abib. The theory is simple the Sun, Moon and stars as per Genesis 1:14-15 are used to determine the Moedim and if the heavens moves in harmony and creates an environment of growing and producing a state of Abib for the barley crops Page 7 of 12
then why follow the result when you can track the source. One should complement the other if the scriptures say you can use both to track His Moedim. 4. Spring equinox a. The followers of this understanding believe that Day 15 of the First Month of the year on or after the Hebrew Day. If the Spring equinox falls on March 20 th and the first day must fall within 15 days of this event then it cannot go past April 4 th. The 30 day period in this era is between March 6 and April 4 th. The reason this held to be the way is that ancient Pharisaic writings were found that support certain groups would use the Vernal equinox as the indicator of the change of the year and it would officially start the following new moon. Every year at the end of March the earth rotates at the Vernal equinox and the mid-point of day and night arrives which triggers a new event. The impression is that the Stars and Sun are the greater sign and Genesis 1:14-15 supports that interpretation and the barley and the Abib stage is the earthly sign that result from the heavens. It is believed that they should both complement each other and not conflict. The heavenly always supersedes the earthly Isaiah 55:9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. In theory the heavens should act as the first witness and the barley as the second because Elohim s word cannot contradict itself (Matthew 18:16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. ). The fact that spring and the climate is a result of the Sun and Stars and the earth s travels around the sun produces the growing seasons in Israel means the first results in the second and we can safely determine the first and not have to work on the argument of the second. In Job 38:31-38 is clearly shows us that the heavens are the footstool of our Creator and how can we for a moment think we can influence these matters Job 38:31 "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion? 32 "Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites? 33 "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or fix their rule over the earth? 34 "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you? 35 "Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, 'Here we are'? 36 "Who has put wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind? 37 "Who can count the clouds by wisdom, Or tip the water jars of the heavens, 38 When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together? but with modification of barley genetics and the various species of barley we can find ourselves in a position where the state of Abib is still man manipulated and not accurate. The Sun, Moon and Stars produce spring, and spring produces Abib in Barley. 3. Synthesis The three main areas of controversy are; conjunction versus crescent moon, stars and moon versus barley, and the implication of using the spring equinox. Biblical inference to the conjunction appears to be strong evidence, and the stars and moon as the first witness and the barley as the second witness follows a natural order, but the use of the spring equinox as a new marker or attempting to extrapolate this as a sign has no biblical support and is a large assumption. Lastly, in the biblical days of declaring the new moon and calling forth the appointed times was done by the Levites and not the common person. A strong argument that Hillel was the last Rabbi to declare the timing of the feasts has merit even though his system is known today with our technology as being flawed on occasion. If we consider this for a moment we can argue whether a day or two is right or Page 8 of 12
wrong by Hillel s calculations and the endless and rather pointless discussions on conjunction or crescent pit people against one another for no real reason. However, in the case of the intercalation error that Hillel obviously has which requires a full month correction to get back on track with the biblical method leaves us uneasy we are missing something important. 4. Conclusion Hillel was attempting to help those in the Diaspora observe the biblical feasts and honour these Moedim. We are responsible as believers to follow His word with zealous tenacity knowing full well that we can never do enough to earn our salvation. It is only by the blood of Yeshua the perfect atonement that we are saved. It is important for us to follow His commandments because He showed us the way and gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us. We don t want to be considered the lawless people in Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS. John made it clear in 1 John 2:3 when he said By this we know that we love Him, if we keep His commandments. Our zeal to follow Him and honour His Moedim was the driving forced behind our examination. We met, we prayed, we fasted, and we study and we have concluded that Hillel s calendar though flawed can be followed. We accept that the Levites were sanctioned in the temple to declare the appointed times and now that the temple has been destroyed the last Levitical group devised a plan to declare the timing of the feasts and on that basis we will follow it. We know this position wouldn t satisfy everyone but we d like you to consider that if God had wanted there to be an absolute unarguable defined moment for these feasts He would have ended the argument with absolute clarity. We cannot dispute there are hints of the crescent moon being the possible first new moon start, there are hints the spring equinox could be considered a sign of the stars, and there are hints the barley could be used. However, there is more signs and multiple scriptures to support the conjunction moon is the start of the new moon. What we can say is there is enough latitude from scripture that the vast majority of the time Hillel is correct, though we do know clearly from scripture and science his 1-month intercalation correction is incorrect. In the end there is no perfect calendar as all have clear errors and large assumptions. It pushes us to realize that Elohim wants us to come out to meet Him and deepen our relationship with Him on these appointed times and that is the greater and more important purpose. Hezekiah wanted desperately to observe and restore the Passover, but because of the unsanctified priests he delayed it for a month. God honoured Hezekiah s earnest desire to follow His commandments. It is in this spirit of Hezekiah that we want to honour God knowing we have many unsanctified efforts that cannot pinned down certain arguments. However, in our best godly intention we come to this conclusion. We hope that a spirit of unity amongst the body within our congregation we can put aside any subtle differences and accept the decision of the Elders to follow the Moedim in this manner. The dates and times Talmidei Yeshua Fellowship will be following is found in Appendix A and we hope to see you at services for these important occasions. Shalom. Page 9 of 12
References Hunt, K. (1997). Festivals of the Lord in Typology #3 Many Layers of Meaning. Retrieved on December 20, 2012 from http://www.keithhunt.com/typfes3.html The Karaite Korner (n.d.). Abib (Barley). Retrieved on January 23, 2013 from http://www.karaitekorner.org/abib.shtml TorahCalendar.com (n.d.). Creation Calendar. Retrieved on December 10, 2012 from http://www.torahcalendar.com 119 Ministries (n.d.). Time: Our Creator s Calendar Video. Retrieved on November 23, 2013 from http://www.119ministries.com/time-our-creators-calendar We reviewed many websites and read many positions and understandings. We have not incorporated anything from these other websites but if you feel I ve not cited you but your positions and writings are similar to ours accept my sincere intentions to reference those we felt we studied and considered the most. The websites listed above are sites that members of our congregation had used previously and we spent the most time reading and considering in our examination. Though we didn t quote them some of their words made impressions upon us and for that we felt lead to cite their works. Page 10 of 12
Appendix A Appointed Times Yr Feast Hillel/TYF 119 Ministries Torahcalendar.com Pesach March 25 th eve Mar 25 th eve Mar 26 th eve 7 th day March 31 st eve Mar 31 st eve April 2 nd eve Shavuot May 14 th eve May 18 th May 16 th eve Yom Teruah Sept 4 th eve Sept 4 th eve Sept 7 th eve Yom Kippur Sept 13 th eve Sept 13 th eve Sept 16 th eve Sukkot Sept 18 th eve Sept 18 th eve Sept 21 st eve Shemini Atzeret Sept 25 th eve Sept 25 th eve Sept 28 th eve 2013 2014 2015 2016 Pesach April 14 th eve Mar 15 th eve April 13 th eve 7 th day April 20 th eve Mar 21 st eve April 20 th eve Shavuot June 3 rd eve June 8 th June 3 rd eve Yom Teruah Sept 24 th eve Sept 24 th eve Sept 25 th eve Yom Kippur Oct 3 rd eve Oct 3 rd eve Oct 4 th eve Sukkot Oct 8 th eve Oct 8 th eve Oct 9 th eve Shemini Atzeret Oct 15 th eve Oct 15 th eve Oct 16 th eve Pesach April 3 rd eve April 3 rd eve April 3 rd eve 7 th day April 9 th eve April 9 th eve April 10 th eve Shavuot May 23 rd eve May 24 th May 24 th eve Yom Teruah Sept 13 th eve Sept 13 th eve Sept 15 th eve Yom Kippur Sept 22 nd eve Sept 22 nd eve Sept 24 th eve Sukkot Sept 27 th eve Sept 27 th eve Sept 29 th eve Shemini Atzeret Oct 4 th eve Oct 4 th eve Oct 6 th eve Pesach April 22 nd eve Mar 23 rd eve Mar 23 rd eve 7 th day April 28 th eve Mar 29 th eve Mar 30 th eve Shavuot June 11 th eve May 8 th May 13 th eve Yom Teruah Oct 2 nd eve Sept 1 st eve Sept 2nd eve Yom Kippur Oct 11 th eve Sept 10 th eve Sept 11 th eve Sukkot Oct 16 th eve Sept 15 th eve Sept 16 th eve Shemini Atzeret Oct 23 rd eve Sept 22 nd eve Sept 23 rd eve Page 11 of 12
Appendix B Moon Cycles and Information New Moon Year 2013 New Moon Year 2014 New Moon Year 2015 New Moon Year 2016 Jan 11 19:44 Feb 10 07:20 Mar 11 19:51 Apr 10 09:35 May 10 00:29 A Jun 8 15:56 Jul 8 07:14 Aug 6 21:51 Sep 5 11:36 Oct 5 00:35 Nov 3 12:50 H Dec 3 00:22 Jan 1 11:14 Jan 30 21:39 Mar 1 08:00 Mar 30 18:45 Apr 29 06:14 A May 28 18:40 Jun 27 08:09 Jul 26 22:42 Aug 25 14:13 Sep 24 06:14 Oct 23 21:57 P Nov 22 12:32 Dec 22 01:36 Jan 20 13:14 Feb 18 23:47 Mar 20 09:36 T Apr 18 18:57 May 18 04:13 Jun 16 14:05 Jul 16 01:24 Aug 14 14:54 Sep 13 06:41 P Oct 13 00:06 Nov 11 17:47 Dec 11 10:29 Jan 10 01:30 Feb 8 14:39 Mar 9 01:54 T Apr 7 11:24 May 6 19:30 Jun 5 03:00 Jul 4 11:01 Aug 2 20:45 Sep 1 09:03 A Oct 1 00:12 Oct 30 17:38 Nov 29 12:18 Dec 29 06:53 T-Total Solar Eclipse P-Partial Solar Eclipse A-Annular Eclipse H-Hybrid Solar Eclipse Universal Time (UT) subtract 5 hours for Eastern Standard Time (EST) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Data Retrieved December 18, 2012 from http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phase2001gmt.html Page 12 of 12