By Larry Acheson

09/22/2026

        As expected, the sighting was a controversial one, but only because the same two sisters from last year's controversial sighting were the only Israeli residents reporting naked eye sightings. The sisters' report was rejected by at least two seasoned crescent-watchers, which I will detail later. Another website, renewedmoon.com, supplied an additional report that someone named Dr. Anas Sawallha saw the new moon from Al-Aluk, Jordan at 6:45 PM. The only problem is, the sun didn't set until 6:46 PM in Jordan. Any experienced new moon observer knows you're not going to see this young of a new moon crescent before sunset. Renewedmoon.com doesn't offer a "contact us" link to report such errors, so the misinformation persists (their email link doesn't work). As for the two sisters, they reported seeing it from Gilo, Israel at 7:15 PM. The moon set five minutes later. When it was reported that they could not have possibly seen the crescent at that level above the horizon so close to moonset, they revised their report to 7:10 PM, which only added to our skepticism. Here's an excerpt from renewedmoon.com's report:

       Another questionable website that seems to just accept reports from anyone, no questions asked, is whenisthenewmoon.com. Not only did they not probe to confirm the credibility of the two sisters' report, but they apparently also didn't get the message that they revised their sighting time from 7:15 PM to 7:10 PM:

       Still another new moon reporting site is the Israeli New Moon Society. In my report from last year, I explained how this group consists of rabbinical Jews who only report new moon crescent sightings as a hobby, and they routinely send out reports within two or more days after the sighting. Such reports are not helpful for those who depend on them for knowing whether or not to observe Yom Teruah on the right day. In this situation, the sightings as listed in their report occurred on September 12, 2026, but the report wasn't sent until September 15th:

       It would appear the two sisters referenced above, Tirzah and Josa Rapuano, are not familiar with the Israeli New Moon society, as they did not supply them with their report, which was 17 minutes after Roy Hoffman's "unaided seeing." We would not have accepted either of the above reports because both observers first sighted the crescent using optical aids.

       June found a Facebook page for a group called "Biblical Calendar Society." Its president is Melech Rahmiel ben Ya’aqov, and is based in Israel. This Biblical Calendar Society came up with a protocol that I think is outstanding to the point that June and I are adopting it as our decision-making criterion as well. Here it is:

➠ A quick note about how we determine the declaration of the new moon. We at the Biblical Calendar Society believe that, for very difficult and borderline new moon observations like the one tonight [09/12/2026], positive observation by one or two expert observers is not enough to declare the new month; rather, the crescent should be visible, with the naked eye, to the average observer in Israel, since the new moon is a sign for all of Israel. Therefore, even if it were to emerge that there were one or two expert observers from specific vantage points within Israel who did observe the moon tonight, we still would not have declared it as the beginning of the month, for the reason stated above. It should be noted that for tonight’s observation, we had a clear view of the Western horizon, with little cloud cover, and even though we have years of experience in observing the moon, we did not see the crescent.

       I agree that the young waxing crescent moon should be visible NOT to only one or two "expert" observers, but to the average observer in Israel because, as Melech Rahmiel ben Ya’aqov puts it, "the new moon is a sign for all of Israel." Frankly, I have become weary of the annual Israeli eyewitnesses who come across as though they want to be "first" in sighting the crescent moon. Rather, we want reports wherein it was sighted by the average observer. We are also saddened that many otherwise dedicated truth seekers "just accepted" dubious reports from non-vetted observers. Instead of beginning the seventh month with the questionable sighting from two sisters on 09/12/2026, June and I began the new month at sunset ending 09/13/2026.

        It turns out June and I aren't the only ones dissatisfied with the questionable report from 09/12/2026. Notice what Brian Convery, in his "abibofgod.com" website posted the following day: 

Please, I don't need any more stuff sent over from these new moon sighters in Israel. They are not new to controversial sightings if you have been around for any length of time.

And yes, I did see the picture of the area they reported to have been able to see the crescent in. However now it has been conveniently moved back to 7:10 from 7:15 after I had put up the simple fact why it could not have been seen at that time. Imagine that.

My suggestion to anyone reporting their sighting is simple: PUT IN THE FULL TESTIMONY AND NOT CHERRY PICK IT.

There were others with them who could not see it even with binoculars when looking where it was being pointed out.

This is a bogus sighting for one who follows the Lamb wherever He goes.

        Brian Convery and I certainly have our share of doctrinal differences, but based on the above commentary, we are in 100% agreement. Websites hosted by renewedmoon.com and whenisthenewmoon.com seem to accept without question reports from unvetted observers. They don’t even cross-check the times of sightings to confirm they were possible. Devorah Gordon, on her Facebook page, does likewise, to the extent that she bases her conclusion on the amount of illumination the moon had the following evening.. We are to be discerning. Here’s the report supplied by Devorah:

Crescent Moon Sighting Report: 12 September 2026, Israel

Titles are generated by AI from Meta

Dear Friends,

We hope you had a nice Yom Teruah and want to send you an update regarding the crescent moon observation on Saturday, 12 September 2026.

To remind you, on 12 September 2026 the percentage of the moon’s illumination was high, however the lag time was short, meaning that the crescent was very close to the bright horizon, making it a very difficult observation. That being said, we knew from past observations with similar stats, that the moon was far enough along in its cycle that it would be visible, if the horizon was relatively clear from atmospheric obstructions, the observer was looking in just the right place, and had very good vision.

Below is an updated list of positive observations from Israel on Saturday, 12 September 2026:

* Jerusalem (Gilo) at around 7:10pm by Yehosheva Rapuano and shortly thereafter by Tirzah Rapuano. Yehosheva stated “Wearing my glasses, I saw a line in the clouds. I removed my glasses and could still see it without visual aid. The cloud shifted and masked my view of it. A few minutes later the cloud dissipated and it appeared slightly below where I had seen it previously, but this time I could only see it with binoculars. Tirzah Rapuano stated “Looking with the naked eye, under the cloud I saw a slight sliver, a white very very dim line. When I looked away and looked back at it I could see it again. It looked like a crescent but very dim. A few minutes later I confirmed the sighting, seeing it clearly with binoculars I definitely saw the moon without any visual aid.” [A third person wasn’t unable to see the crescent (even with binoculars), despite looking where they were pointing.]

* Ma'ale Adumim by Roy Hoffman with binoculars at 6:48pm, with the naked eye at 6:54pm, he then followed the crescent until it started to set behind the mountains at 6:58pm. Roy stated “The Moon was very faint and difficult to see but I am sure that I saw it several times in the same position.”

* Two other people saw it with binoculars only.

In summation, it’s our understanding that the Biblical Month begins with the crescent moon, i.e. when the moon is far enough away from the sun that it can be visible to the naked eye from Israel, which it was on 12 September 2026 (the end of the 29th day), and therefore the beginning of the 7th month.

For those that asked about beginning the month the following evening (13 September 2026), the percentage of illumination that evening was 7.20%, which is extremely high, i.e. not the beginning of the lunar month.

There’s no photo of the crescent moon from Israel on 12 September 2026. However, at the top of this report is a photo taken by Yosheva Rapuano with a circle indicating approximately where he saw the crescent that evening.

On behalf of all of us who keep the Biblical Calendar, we want to thank everyone who looked for the crescent New Moon from Israel and sent us their observations.

2026 Holiday Dates (graphic in the middle):

https://mailchi.mp/.../7th-biblical-month-2026-update...

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        Frankly, June and I aren’t interested in how illuminated the crescent moon was in “past reports.” Contrary to Devorah's expectation, we merely want to know if it was seen over Israel by general populace of believers on 09/12/2026. In her initial report, Devorah was honest enough to concede that she doesn’t even know the Rapuano family:

Titles are generated by AI from Meta

Update: We have two witnesses from Jerusalem.

New moon sighting September 12, 2026

Who saw it how?

Where: Gilo, Jerusalem

Time: 19:15 -- CORRECTION 7:10 PM

Happy Yom Teruah!

Thanks to Yoel Halevi for this information

UPDATE:

I've been Facebook friends with Ralph Rapuano for a couple years, and have utilized their witness testimonies before.

Ralph Mikel Yehudah Rapuano IMed me to share:

"Observation of the new moon on the evening of September 12, 2026

The crescent new moon was sighted from Margalit Street, Gilo, Jerusalem, looking southwestward after sunset on September,12, 2026 circa 19:10 (7:10 PM) Jerusalem time.

It was first seen by Yehosheva Rapuano and shortly thereafter by Tirzah Rapuano."

He then shared their direct testimonies:

Yehosheva stated:

"Wearing my glasses, I saw a line in the clouds. I removed my glasses and could still see it without visual aid. The cloud shifted and masked my view of it. A few minutes later the cloud dissipated and it appeared slightly below where I had seen it previously, but this time I could only see it with binoculars."

Yehosheva Lee Rapuano

Tirzah Rapuano stated:

"Looking with the naked eye, under the cloud I saw a slight sliver, a white very very dim line. When I looked away and looked back at it I could see it again. It looked like a crescent but very dim. A few minutes later I confirmed the sighting, seeing it clearly with binoculars I definitely saw the moon without any visual aid."

Tirzah Devora Yarden Rapuano

Ralph then stated:

"Yehosheva photographed the horizon only when it was possible to see the moon with binoculars. We are not able to see the moon in the photo. The photo was taken at 19:15. In a copy of the photo the approximate area where the moon appeared is circled."

        With all due respect to Brian Hoeck, I agree with Biblical Calendar Society’s approach, as well as Brian Convery’s assessment of what really happened, or shall I say, didn't happen. The Rapuano family only sends reports to Devorah’s Date Tree when controversial or borderline sightings occur. June, who has a Facebook account, checked and found that they didn’t send in a single report to Devorah’s Date Tree from last year’s controversial sighting until this year’s controversial sighting. And it would appear they’ve never heard of the Israeli New Moon Society, as they’ve never sent them any reports. Moreover, trusting Brian Hoeck doesn’t question why they changed the time of the sighting from 7:15 to 7:10 (those five minutes are a big deal, which he apparently downplays).

        I’m reminded of the cult we briefly associated with back in the late 1980’s. A deacon from that assembly told us that during their local search for the new moon crescent of Yom Teruah in 1988, an elder excitedly exclaimed, “I see it! I see it!” As fellow searchers scanned the horizon in vain to see what he saw, he yelled, “It’s gone!” No further witnesses were apparently needed, and the cult leader declared the new Scriptural month based on the elder’s testimony. I’m speculating the elder was instructed to “see” a crescent new moon—whether he actually could or not. June and I soon learned that integrity is not one of that group’s finer traits.

        These are the sorts of shenanigans that occur within circles of those who seem to want to be the first on-the-spot reporters, and sadly, I see it happening even today. Like the Biblical Calendar Society, June and I want everyone to enjoy the view. Here’s a photo that someone from the Biblical Calendar Society uploaded to their Facebook page on September 13th—on a night when everyone could see it:

      Beautiful.