SO I COPIED THIS FROM A POST FROM DEVORAHS PAGE ON FACEBOOK TO SHOW YOU HOW AND WHEN WERE SUPPOSED TO CELEBRATE PASSOVER.
SO IT'S ALOT TO TAKE IN AND LEARN BUT IT CAN BE DONE.
WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE ANY LEAVEN (YEAST) OF ANY KIND IN OUR HOUSE EITHER.
Dear Friends,
Some of you asked whether I could explain when the pessach (passover sacrifice) would have been brought, and why some began Chag HaMatzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread) on April 5, 2023.
Let me just preface this by reminding you that I’m personally planning on beginning the year with the upcoming New Moon on April 20 or 21, 2023 (https://mailchi.mp/e79.../why-im-beginning-the-year-in-april), and that it may be best to simply ask someone who you know began Chag HaMaztot on April 5, why they chose to do so. However, if you asked me because that’s not possible to do for whatever reason, I can try and share with you what I think is going on.
Let’s begin with the fact that the pessach (passover sacrifice) was brought at the END of the 14th day of the first month, which is also the beginning of Chag HaMatzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Ex 12:3,6,18; Lev 23:5-6; Nu 3:3; Joshua 5:10).
Now we need to figure out when is the END of the 14th day of this month. Well, we looked for the New Moon on March 22 (the end of the 29th day of the month), but we didn’t see it, making March 23 at sunset, the beginning of new month by default (there also happened to be two witnesses). Now we count the days from the beginning of the month, to figure out when is the END of the 14th day of the month.
Day 1 - sunset Mar 23 - sunset Mar 24
Day 2 - sunset Mar 24 - sunset Mar 25
Day 3 - sunset Mar 25 - sunset Mar 26
Day 4 - sunset Mar 26 - sunset Mar 27
Day 5 - sunset Mar 27 - sunset Mar 28
Day 6 - sunset Mar 28 - sunset Mar 29
Day 7 - sunset Mar 29 - sunset Mar 30
Day 8 - sunset Mar 30 - sunset Mar 31
Day 9 - sunset Mar 31 - sunset Apr 1
Day 10 - sunset Apr 1 - sunset Apr 2
Day 11 - sunset Apr 2 - sunset Apr 3
Day 12 - sunset Apr 3 - sunset Apr 4
Day 13 - sunset Apr 4 - sunset Apr 5
Day 14 - sunset Apr 5 - sunset Apr 6
So the END of the 14th day, is April 6 at sunset. So why did some begin Chag HaMatzot on April 5 at sunset?!?
First, it’s important to understand that most people who observe Chag HaMatzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread), follow the Rabbinic Calendar, and the Rabbinites began Chag HaMatzot on April 5th at sunset. Then there are those who say they follow the Biblical Calendar, but don’t begin the month based on the sighting of the New Moon from Israel. Some of those arguments include the following:
1. “The New Moon would have been visible on March 22, were it not for overcast.”
The truth is that we can’t be certain the New Moon would have been visible were it not for the overcast, as the moon only had an illumination of 1.00%, and a lag time of 55 minutes. Furthermore, I don’t think we are supposed to speculate about such matters. The fact is that the New Moon wasn’t sighted, and I don’t think we should assume that atmospheric obstructions, such as overcast, aka “Acts of God”, are a mistake. Rather I believe we are supposed to look for the New Moon, and trust that if we are meant to see it, it will be revealed. That’s what I believe the ancient Israelites would have done.
2. “We should begin the month based on the local New Moon.”
My understanding of this argument is that when we travelled through the desert (prior to entering the Land of Israel), we presumably began the months based on the local New Moon, so why can’t we continue doing so today. My response to that is that once we entered the Land, we were instructed to follow the commandments in the Land (Dt 6:1), which would include the setting of the Biblical Calendar. If you try to set the Biblical Calendar based on signs (Gen 1:14) outside of Israel, you may begin the year in the wrong month, and the month on the wrong day.
3. “The month begins with conjunction.”
Then there are those who suggest the month doesn’t begin with sighting of the new moon (Gen 1:14), but rather with conjunction, when the moon can’t be seen for between 1-3 days. More specifically, the moment of conjunction, which I guess they think the ancient Israelites knew how to calculate. Today, we can just Google it and see that conjunction in Jerusalem was on March 21 at 7:23pm, and so they have declared the month to have started at sunset on March 21, 2023, and I presume began Chag HaMatzot on April 4 at sunset.
If you have a question regarding the Biblical Calendar, feel free to send it to us and we’ll do our best to try and answer it in a future newsletter. All of our answers are based on relevant Biblical verses, what we’ve seen in the Land over the years, and much study and prayer.
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Devorah Gordon
Jerusalem, Israel
Devorah's Date Tree organizes New Moon Observations and Barley Inspections in the Land of Israel. This important effort is headed by Devorah Gordon, who has been living in Israel, and looking for the crescent New Moon and participating in Barley Inspections, for over 25 years. Today our reports reach countless people around the world and are considered the most reliable and respected New Moon and Barley Inspection reports from the Holy Land.
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