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ith the seemingly endless array of Bible-based articles, newsletters and other publications currently available on the Internet, there is a veritable "information overload" of sorts when it comes to searching for various Bible-related topics.  Since there is already an abundance of Bible-related topics to choose from, you can well imagine that one could devote his or her full time to reading these studies.  June and I have added our share of studies to cyberspace, some of which are very lengthy.  Indeed, some topics require lengthy explanations to provide in-depth answers.  On this page, however, we want to keep things as "short and sweet" as possible.  While we primarily gear our writings to those who share our understanding that the Torah is relevant for believers today, anyone is welcome to read and offer feedback; however, due to our schedules, we cannot guarantee a quick turn-around response time.  We invite you to direct all correspondence to seekutruth at aol dot com.

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Newsletter #10: Update on the 2013 Calendar Feud

By Larry Acheson

04/07/2013

L

ast month at this time we were on the receiving end of several e-mails explaining why the only workable Scriptural calendar is one that is based on first observing the green ears of barley in Israel, then sighting the subsequent new moon.  June and I have been reckoning the Scriptural calendar from the new moon that is sighted on or after the vernal equinox since 1999, so we’ve been exposed to all the arguments, and since we went by the green ears of barley reports prior to using our current method, we pretty much know all the pros and cons of both arguments by now.  In last month’s newsletter, we addressed how untrustworthy the current green ears of barley reports from Israel are and we continue to harbor that same sentiment this month!  First, we continue to maintain that anyone truly familiar with farming techniques understands that there is no way the barley crop deemed “harvest ready” by Karaite Jew Nehemiah Gordon on the day before his 2010 Passover observance could have been truly ready for harvest.  In our Balancing the Calendar II study, we display photos taken from the video posted by Nehemia Gordon and based upon that one report, those who understand basic farming know that Nehemiah Gordon’s declarations of the new Scriptural year should be taken with a “grain of salt.”

     In 2013, it is difficult to ascertain whether things are any different than they were in 2010.  Mr. Gordon uploaded two “green ears of barley” videos on March 11^th, one of which came from a field that we would consider as being highly unlikely to produce ripe grain in time for his Passover observance.  The other field may well have been harvest-ready in time of Mr. Gordon’s Passover observance; however, unlike in 2010, Nehemia Gordon didn’t upload any videos showing the condition of the crop on the day before Passover.  As a reminder, in ancient Israel, the barley had to be ripe in time for the Wave Sheaf offering that took place during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. We are left to presume that both fields from Mr. Gordon’s videos were ripe in time.  Here’s a screen shot of the one field that’s looking pretty green and tender (on the left) and the other field that’s looking fairly advanced (on the right):

    

     Here in Texas, things just seem to be maturing later than they were at this same time a year ago.  For example, we are accustomed to enjoying the beautiful Red Bud trees put forth their vibrant pink flowers in late February/early March.  It wasn’t until towards the end of March that the flowers emerged this year.  I rather imagine that if the season is running a little behind here in Texas this year, things aren’t that much different over in Israel.  I’m not saying they are or they aren’t, but I hope you can at least understand my reasoning, especially in view of how trustworthy the barley reports from Israel are.

     Some of you may know that June and I are originally from Illinois, where I was raised on a farm operated by my father.  My brother still farms and I receive weekly reports from the Illinois Farm Bureau that strongly validate the fact that the seasons are running behind this year.  For the week of March 25^th, shortly before the green ears of barley folks were observing their Passover, the headlines read, “Spring begins with winter-like conditions.”  The article contrasted last year’s 80° temperatures on the first day of spring with this year’s temperatures that were in the teens with bitterly cold wind chill factors. The following week, the paper featured an article titled, “Late-season snowstorm a mixed blessing for farmers.”

     Most of the calendar issue e-mail exchanges that we were privy to over the past couple of months have fizzled out by now.  However, there is one that has lingered.  The instigator of the discussion is a man who claims that the true calendar consists of years that begin during the month of the vernal equinox.  Of course, barley isn’t important to him with this method of reckoning because otherwise he would concede that in 2010, the barley was not yet ripe in time for those who observed Passover during the month of the vernal equinox.  Yes, the vernal equinox just happened to occur during the same month that Karaite Jews were observing Passover.  This believer understands that Scripture is just not crystal clear on when to begin a new year, so he wisely turns to historical evidence and one of the best sources for how Judaism reckoned the calendar is first-century Jew Philo, who wrote the following in "Questions and Answers on Exodus":

(Scripture) thinks it proper to reckon the cycle of months from the vernal equinox.  Moreover, (this month) is said to be the ‘first’ and the ‘beginning’ by synonymy, since these (terms) are explained by each other, for it is said to be the first both in order and in power; similarly that time which proceeds from the vernal equinox also appears (as) the beginning both in order and in power, in the same way as the head (is the beginning) of a living creature.  And thus those who are learned in astronomy have given this name to the before-mentioned time.  For they call the Ram the head of the zodiac since in it the sun appears to produce the vernal equinox.¹

     When Philo wrote, "Scripture thinks it proper to reckon the cycle of months from the vernal equinox," I believe he meant, "Scripture thinks it proper to reckon the cycle of months from the time of the vernal equinox," as in (A) first the vernal equinox occurs, serving as the catalyst for the sequence of reckoning the new year and (B) then the ensuing new moon marks the first month of the year.  For example, if you keep the feast of Tabernacles from the 15th of Tishri through the 22nd of that same month, you do not begin the observance before the 15th; you begin to observe the feast on the 15th.  We are thus persuaded that Philo's use of "from the ..." tells us that he regarded the vernal equinox as the catalyst initiating the process used in reckoning which month is the first month of the year. Nevertheless, the believer we referred to up above believes that Philo regarded the month of the vernal equinox to be the first month of the Scriptural year. 

     We are certainly at odds with those who teach that we should look for the green ears of barley in Israel, primarily because their reports are not trustworthy.  We are somewhat at odds with those who strictly go by the vernal equinox because, unlike them, we agree that there needs to be ripe barley in time for the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  I remember that before we made the switch from going by the green ears of barley reports to going by the vernal equinox, a man told us that if we go by the vernal equinox, there will always be ripe barley in time for the feast.  Thus far, for fourteen years, we have found his statement to be true.

     We are currently on track for Passover falling on April 25, 2013, followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread from April 26 - May 2nd. Regardless of when you observe this feast, may it be a blessed one for you and your family.

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¹ From Philo, Supplement II, “Questions and Answers on Exodus,” translated by Ralph Marcus, Ph.D., Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA:, 1953, pp. 2-3.

 

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