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Rosh Hodesh / Head of
the Month
For Program Booklet, see page 61 of
SIDDUR
ROSH
HODESH DEFINITION
Rosh
Hodesh means head (rosh) of the cycle (hodesh), and is
a Biblical term often translated new moon. Each Biblical month starts with a
dark phase of the moon –
preceding when the first crescent of light is witnessed and certified (not to be
confused with full moon). It is not simply calculated
astronomically. It but was based on observation by reliable witnesses and then
sanctification by the Sanhedrin in Temple times. During this present period of time while the
Sanhedrin is not functioning due to lack of
a Temple, we are using a pre-established calendar. The times indicated by this
calendar are within a few hours of Lunar conjunction (see table at bottom of
page ).
Our word month means moon,
though our Gregorian Calendar has obscured this meaning. The Biblical months are
called: Nisan, Iyyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Elul, Tishrei, Heshvan, Kislev, Tevet,
Shevat, and Adar. In leap years, which generally occur seven out of nineteen years, the
twelfth month is doubled - Adar I & II.
While some condemn the use of these names for being "Babylonian," they are used in
Scripture.
ROSH
HODESH CELEBRATION
Shabbat
Mevarekhim: the Sabbath
of Blessing
The
last Sabbath of each Biblical month is called Shabbat Mevarekhim, and on that
Sabbath we announce the coming new month: "The New Month (name of month)
will begin on (day of week) evening; may it hold blessings for us and for all
His people," and we sing Exodus 12:12: “I gave to you the circle of the
seasons 'round the sun. And by the cycles of the moon you'll know which month
has come. You can make time sacred . . .”
Rosh Hodesh
Night:
the
beginning of the month
In Temple
times, the actual beginning of the month would not be known until after the fact
when it was certified by the Sanhedrin. Thus it was observed for the
two possible days that it could be - that is, after 29 or 30 days of a prior month
(as in 1 Samuel 20:27). This is why
Yom Teruah / the Day of Trumpeting (Tishrei 1), which is a Holy Day, is observed
for two days; it is called "the day that no man knows the day or the hour" (see
Mark 13:32).
On
the evening of Rosh Hodesh (Head-of-the-month / New Moon), we meet and read scriptures relating to
the event, sing certain related Psalms, and blow the Shofar (ram's horn trumpet)
accompanied by prescribed blessings. The scriptures that are read include
instructions on observing this day, and prophecies of its observance in both the
Millennium and on the Renewed Earth. For program, see end of
SABBATH SIDDUR
.
Observing
Rosh Hodesh is about making time sacred. It is about learning by doing –
learning to live by God's timetable. We are told not to be in a rush to get
“Sabbaths and New Moons” over with (Amos 8:5) so we can do our own thing. We
should rejoice in them in our love for our Savior. This is partly why Sabbath is
observed as a twenty-five hour day: we can lengthen it in love, we should not
shorten it to do other things –
that is idolatry (putting the other things before God).
This is not a Holy Day / Sabbath, as all of the Holy Days are listed in
Leviticus 23. In Amos 8:5 we see a complaint, "When will Rosh Hodesh be over, so
that we may open the grain market . . .?" This does not mean that Rosh Hodesh is
a Holy Day, but concerns the determination of Nisan 1, which precedes by fifteen
days the time that grain may be harvested to sell (Leviticus 23:14).
ROSH HODESH
SIGNIFICANCE
Heads-of-the-months determine ALL of the annual Holy Days. For example, the Passover lamb is
prepared on the fourteenth day from the head-of-the-month Nisan (Exodus 12:6), to be eaten on
the fifteenth; Shavuot is the fifteenth
plus fifty days after
head-of-the-month Nisan (this could vary relating to
head-of-the-month Sivan,
which it follows by a few days); Yom Teruah IS
at the head-of-the-month Tishrei, Yom HaKippurim
is the tenth day and Hag Sukkot starts on the fifteenth day (Leviticus
23:24,27,34).
The
weekly Sabbath pictures (among other things) the Sabbath Millennium, when Yeshua
will reign for 1000 years on this earth. The annual seventh-day of Sukkot (Feast
of Tabernacles) pictures the same thing in greater detail
In
like manner, the monthly observance of Rosh Hodesh (head-of-the-month) pictures the
renewal of life. Rosh Hodesh literally means "head of the cycle" and
refers to renewal. The annual feast Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpeting) pictures in more detail this renewal of life. It is the
day of which it is said, "Nobody knows the day or the hour. But we
know the season and we are to watch." Does this sound like something
familiar that Yeshua might have referred to (Matthew 24:36-44)? This day comes
when we hear the announcement of the sanctification of the new month. Do you see
why it can't be based on astronomical calculation? Everyone would know
beforehand!
On
Yom Teruah we blow several different trumps on the shofar (ram's horn trumpet).
The Last Trump is preceded by a shout, “Tekiah Gedolah!” which translates
something like "The return of the Great One!" Does this sound like
something Paul might have referred to? At the last trump, with the shout of the
archangel, Messiah shall return, and the righteous dead shall be raised (1
Thessalonians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:52)! The renewal of life -- from the dead!
That is what Rosh Hodesh pictures. We announce the head of every new
month in
Synagogue except Tishrei –
Yom Teruah: we stay awake up to 49 hours waiting and watching for that one
crescent moon each year. One year we may hear the archangel shout “Tekiah Gedolah”
and hear God blow the Last Trump! HalelluYah! Even so come, Adonai Yeshua
(Revelation 22:20)!
DETAILS of NEW YEAR and NEW MONTH DETERMINATIONS
There
are four New Years during each calendar year: the New Year for Festivals begins
on Nisan 1 (Exodus 12:2); the New Year for Tithe of Animals is Elul 1; the New
Year for Calendars, Sabbatical and Jubilee Years is Tishrei 1 (Feast of Trumpets
/ Rosh haShannah); the New Year for Trees (Arbor Day) is Shevat 15. This may be
less confusing if understood in the light of our Gregorian Calendar year (starting
January 1), a business fiscal year starting March 1, a school year starting June
15, and one's year-of-life starting with his birthday: yet only one annual
calendar may be used.
There
are no separate sacred and civil calendars: civil is sacred in Biblical/Hebrew
understanding.
The
Sanhedrin performed intercalation based on various Biblical principles. The New
Year for Kings and Festivals –
Nisan 1 –
was determined by the Sanhedrin after being presented with acceptable witnesses
to the new crescent moonn
–
the one nearest the time when the day and night were equal
lengths in Israel (this is later than the equatorial vernal equinox) if the barley on Mount Zion
was near enough to ripe:
therefore the previous year could have twelve or thirteen months. Yom haKippurim (Day of
the Atonements) could not be adjacent to the weekly Sabbath –
Friday or Sunday: therefore the New Year for Calendar Years –
Tishrei 1 –
would not be sanctified on a Wednesday or Friday.
New
moon is defined in modern astronomical terms as the point in the moon's earth
orbit when it is nearest the sun –
totally dark from an earthling's perspective. A total solar eclipse (when the
sun's corona is seen around a dark moon) would represent the perfect new moon.
Ancient rabbis knew the time of this astronomical conjunction from the Torah –
more accurately than modern scientists until times of man-made earth-orbiting
satellites!
However,
Rosh Hodesh, the beginning of the Biblical month, is not simply defined by this astronomical
conjunction; it is generally the beginning of either the preceding or following day.
The Biblical authority for
head-of-the-month determination is part of halachic authority
(judging how we should walk to fulfill Torah) that rests with the Great
Sanhedrin. God gave Moses and the Great Sanhedrin His Spirit (Numbers 11:17)
for this purpose. Individuals are forbidden to take such authority on
themselves.
Following
the twenty-ninth day of each month, the Sanhedrin met in a courtyard at the
Temple called Beit Ya'azek (Ringed –
with a stone wall). If at least two reliable witnesses testified to them of
sighting the reappearing crescent of the moon, the New Month would be sanctified. Otherwise, following the
thirtieth day of the month, the New Month would be sanctified regardless of
sightings. Other factors were also considered in determining when a month would
have twenty-nine or thirty days, including intercalation (see 3 paragraphs up).
Once
sanctified, the New Month was announced with Shofar (ram's horn trumpet) blasts
from the Pinnacle of the Temple. Beacon fires were kindled on Signal Mountains
to repeat the announcement to far- reaching areas. Thus all of Israel started
each month at the same time –
Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, etc. –
regardless of agreement.
Without
the Temple there is no sitting Sanhedrin. Therefore, a temporary calendar was
established for use until the Temple is rebuilt. The design was to keep as close
as possible to the calendar the Sanhedrin would intercalate, and establish a
common calendar for all –
a necessity for Festival observance among other things. Some historians place
this action about AD 358-359, at a Beit Din in the time of R. Hillel II.
May you know the blessing of making time sacred!
RESPONSE to CRITICISMS
Today
we are impugned by many who are unfamiliar with Torah principles: ordinances of
the Temple (including the Sanhedrin), Sacrifices, and Festivals, that are
inseparably linked. Often, with virtually no knowledge of Hebrew language or
history, they vehemently insist on their own private interpretations, or their
authority to establish times and seasons. Sometimes this is due to following a
cult leader's doctrine, even though they may have come out of the cult.
In Temple times, all of Israel kept the same calendar, based upon the
descriptions above. The Sadducees did not use a different calendar! Any
disagreement they had was inconsequential, as they only existed for a short time
near the end of Temple times, and did not have control. Yeshua said to do as the
Sanhedrin Pharisees said (Matthew 23:2-3), while the Sadducees were trivialized
for not believing the Prophets and not believing in resurrection or angels or
spirits (Acts 23:8). The most we know today about the doctrine of the Sadducees
is that which is written condemning it in the Apostolic Writings and the Talmud.
In the ninth century AD, a very liberal and short-lived group called Karaites
sprang up, who claimed to follow some of the Sadducees doctrine. Today there are
some who take the title Messianic and also claim to follow a Karaite calendar.
Following is a response to "The Karaite Korner":
According to “The Karaite Korner,” the fifteenth of the month is “about the time
of the Full Moon;” this would be true only if the month began at conjunction,
not if it began a couple of days later at the “First Visible Sliver” as they
maintain (since the moon is “invisible for 1.5 – 3.5 days,” as they say).
Hodesh does not technically mean New Moon. The Hebrew word “Hodesh” means
cycle. “Rosh” means head. Hence, “Rosh Hodesh” means head of
the cycle, normally a reference to the beginning of the month.
The ancient Israelites did know how to determine conjunction, contrary to the
statement of the neo-Karaites. Except for rejection of Talmud, their statement
would not be made. Determination was not made by modern methods; it was done by
the Torah!
There is no explanation given whether, or how, a month would be limited to
either 29 or 30 days by their method of determination; it could obviously be
shorter or longer by simply sighting after a 1.5 - 3.5 day invisibility.
Some claim that the calendar we use can be as much as several days off. A table
below shows that it always indicates Rosh Hodesh within a few hours of
conjunction.
RE FERENCES and
TABLES
References
Torah:
Exodus 12; Leviticus 23; Numbers 9
Talmud:
Rosh HaShannah 2a, 23b; Sukkah 54b
Jerusalem
Encyclopaedia Judaica: Calendar, Bet Din and Judges, New Moon
Tables
GOD'S TIME versus
WORLD'S TIME
Biblical Days of
Week
Roman Days of Week
sunset to
sunset
midnight to midnight
First Day of the Sabbath
Sunday - day of the Sun god
Second Day of the
Sabbath
Monday - day of the Moon god
Third Day of the
Sabbath
Tuesday - day of Tiw or Mars, god of war
Fourth Day of the
Sabbath
Wednesday - day of Woden or Odin, supreme deity, god of art, culture, and death
Fifth Day of the
Sabbath
Thursday - day of Thor (son of Odin), god of thunder and strength
Sixth Day of the
Sabbath
Friday - day of the goddess Frig or Venus (wife of Woden)
Holy Sabbath
Saturday - day of Saturn, god of agriculture (husband of Ops, god of harvest)
('Sabbath' also
means week)
Biblical Months
Gregorian Months
Festval Year
Year begins in Winter
begins in Spring,
Jubilee Year
January - month of Janus,
Roman god - guardian of portals,
begins* in Fall
patron of beginnings and endings (had temple in Rome)
February - from Februa, the Roman month of purification
(Babylonian names)
March - month of Mars (Latin Martius), god of war
Nisan
April
Iyyar
May - month of Maia, goddess of increase or growth
Sivan
June
Tammuz
July - month of Julius Ceasar
Av
August - month of Augustus Ceasar
Elul
September - seventh month from March
*Tishrei
October - eighth month from March
Heshvan
November - ninth month from March
Kislev
December - tenth month from March
Tevet
Shevat
Adar
Begin Rosh Hodesh
Seattle Sunset
Israel Sunset New Moon / Conjunction
Israel Differential
Month Greg. Date
PM PST/PDT
PM IST
UT
Universal Time (UT)
Conjunction to Sunset
5766
Nisan
3/29/2006
6:36
5:57
15:57
10:15
+ 6
Iyyar
4/28/2006
8:18 PDT
6:17
16:17
19:44
- 3
Sivan
5/27/2006
8:55
6:37
16:37
5:26
+11
Tammuz
6/26/2006
9:11
6:48
16:48
16:05
+ 1
Av
7/25/2006
8:52
6:40
16:40
4:31
+12
Elul
8/24/2006
8:04
6:12
16:12
19:10
- 3
5767
Tishrei
9/22/2006
7:05
5:35
15:35
11:45
+ 4
Heshvan 10/22/2006
6:07
4:59
14:59
5:14
+11
Kislev
11/21/2006
4:26 PST
4:37
14:37
22:18
- 8
Tevet
12/21/2006
4:21
4:40
14:40
14:01
+ 1
Shevat
1/19/2007
4:52
5:02
15:02
4:01
+ 1
Adar
2/18/2007
5:39
5:29
15:29
16:14
- 1
Nisan
3/19/2007
6:22
5:50
15:50
2:43
+13
Iyyar
4/18/2007
8:04 PDT
6:11 16:11
11:36
+ 5
Sivan
3/17/2007
8:44
6:31
16:31
19:27
- 3
Tammuz
6/16/2007
9:10
6:47
16:47
3:13
+14
Av
7/15/2007
9:02
6:46
16:46
12:04
+ 5
Elul
8/14/2007
8:22
6:23
16:23
23:03
- 7
5768
Tishrei
9/12/2007
7:26
5:48
15:48
12:44
+ 3
Heshvan 10/12/2007
6:25
5:10
15:10
5:01
+10
Kislev
11/10/2007
4:38 PST
4:42
14:42
23:03
- 8
Tevet
12/ 9/2007
4:18
4:36
14:36
17:40
- 3
Shevat
1/ 7/2008
4:36
4:52
14:52
11:37
+ 3
Adar
2/
6/2008
5:20
5:19
15:19
3:44
+12
Adar II
3/
7/2008
6:06
5:43
15:43
17:14
- 2
Nisan
4/
5/2008
7:48 PDT
6:02
16:02
3:55
+12
Iyyar
5/
5/2008
8:29
6:23
16:23
12:18
+ 4
Sivan
6/
3/2008
9:02
6:42
16:42
19:23
- 3
Tammuz
7/
3/2008
9:09
6:48
16:48
2:19
+14
Av
8/
1/2008
8:41
6:34
16:34
10:13
`
+ 6
Elul
8/30/2008
7:48
6:02
16:02
19:58
- 4
5769
Tishrei
9/29/2008
6:49
5:25
15:25
8:12
+ 7
Heshvan 10/29/2008
4:53
4:51
14:51
23:14
- 8
Kislev
11/27/2008
4:21 PST
4:35
14:35
16:55
- 2
Tevet
12/27/2008
4:26
4:44
14:44
12:22
+ 2
Shevat
1/25/2009
5:01
5:08
15:08
7:55
+ 7
Adar
2/24/2009
5:48
5:34
15:34
1:35
+14
Israel Differentials: - 8 to +14 (to
nearest hour for this period)
This means that:
earliest conjunction is 8 hours prior to beginning of Rosh Hodesh,
latest conjunction is about 2 hours after sunrise on Rosh Hodesh,
all being within a 24 hour time span.
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