Hi Folks,
Its always good to have a yak session with brethren on zoom. This is the last post for the day, promise.
Erin asked a few questions today (at least I think it was today for I seldom check messenger) relevant to the start of the new year.
Yes, to the fact that the Rabbinical Calendar is adding a 13thmonth this year. Of course, that was determined centuries ago. And yes, the new moon relative to the equinox has a part in that but there are other factors they used as well.
Question:
And, within the aviv community of barley watchers, is there disagreement about whether the barley needs to be harvest-ready by the new moon following the 12th month, or only that the barley will be unquestionably ready within 16-22 days after that new moon (so that even aviv watchers could end up observing a month apart from each other)?
Answer:
Yes, there is. There are groups who state the barley must be aviv prior to the end of the 13th month.
On the other hand, there are those who look for it to be aviv before the day of the Wavesheaf coming up in the potential Days of Unleavened bread. I personally started originally using the actual date of the Wavesheaf of the First of the Firstfruits. That is Sunday during the 7 days of UB. However, now I use Abib 10. The reason for doing so; it is the day our Lord and Savior was beaten out as our Wavesheaf, as well as shedding His blood as our Passover Lamb of fathers Household. Some agree with that and some do not, but keep in mind it is a very personal decision for us all to deal with in our intimate relationship we have with our spiritual Husband as we are to be the eternal helpmate to Him in Fathers household.
Here is another question/statement which I will answer today in the text of this post.
“Did you see beiderman’s YouTube showing stage 5? Do you think this was also a false witness as the moon sighting?”
First off, I did not see any post from Becca about this. I do not go in that direction because it brings on too many sad thoughts over a wide range of things pertinent to the Body. Let the dead bury the dead apply here.
The second part of the question/statement is typical of one trying to make a point. If not, I apologize for saying so in this case. However, the history here is meritorious of it. Always trying to put words into my mouth.
Can anyone out there supply the time and location I posted that Becca’s (not Rivkah, for that is a stage name she has chosen. You may want to ask her what name is on her birth certificate or marriage certificate) last new moon sighting was a fake? On the contrary those of you who received my write up last Sabbath know my thoughts on the entire episode with some of the players from the Land who involve themselves in it.
So, what I will do today is give an expanded version of what some of you already have. The New Moon sighting is a subject I only post about occasionally, which actually upsets some folks. Followers of sighting the new moon have many, many methodologies of doing so. I know of at least a dozen different thinkings to do it at present. That is a pit to fall in according to my thinking.
There are several reporting sites which give you an option to chose from and some who do not. Take your pick.
So here is the email I sent out to the fellowship and a few others with some changes. This is all based on experience and can be helpful to some but not all.
Yes, it has been a busy day in some respects.
I thought I would catch up with you all on some of them. At the last new moon sighting (the previous one of the 10thmonth) I put up Pierre’s picture to assist some of the folks who look all over Israel. It was from Tel Aviv. I had a point in doing so without giving its location outside of that though.
No one in Jerusalem at that time had seen the crescent that night. I would bet Roy did, but he has been muzzled and placed in a box by the Rabbi’s years ago. I miss the old days when he was the Israeli New Moon Society. He has a very good viewing location. Unfortunately, the folks in Jerusalem who look for the crescent do so from the area around the old temple or not too far from it. (If they had a temple roof to be up on, they would get a much better view for sighting.) Those locations work most of the time, but do not under certain conditions.
Here is one example that is in our Abib historical records that you can view from 2016.
Do you remember a few years back (2016) when Linda and I paid to have Becca go to Jerusalem to sight an iffy moon for us in September? Because of the conditions expected we had her go to as close to the top of the ridge near the Gates to Jerusalem as she could with all the construction going on in that area. Linda was talking to her all the while on WhatsApp. It turned out to be high enough. From the top, one can see the plain leading up to the Mediterranean coastline. There is a ridge that runs along the entirety of the Judean Hills in the area of Jerusalem where you can see downward in both directions. During such an event as took place back then, and this past Friday night (January 12) this will be the only type of location you will catch sight of the new crescent from the Jerusalem area.
Why?
Because you have full sight of the setting visible moon, right up until it sinks behind the horizon over the sea if you wait it out. Take a look at the pictures taken by Devorah and others. What do you see? I can assure you; you can’t see down to the horizon over the Mediterranean Sea. Right?
That is why Becca and her friend were the only 2 people to see it from Jerusalem that September day in 2016. They caught it in its last 2-3 minutes of decent past the horizon because of where they were positioned relative to the horizon over the sea. They were close to the top of the ridge which bought more time for them. It appears she learned that lesson well no doubt.
That is the conditions that existed at the start of this month from Jerusalem once again. That is one of the reasons why none of the experts saw it. That is why I know I would have seen the crescent starting the 10th month as well as I had mentioned to Linda. So, I let the chaos play out at that time. Maybe a good opportunity to give some experienced instruction would arise. Well, Father helped out nicely to make the point, and that lesson true.
Friday night (Jan 12) at sunset and after, the entirety of Central Israel was under heavy cloud cover with a lot of rain coming down. No visibility at all for a sighting in spite of what some well-known characters have said. However, to the far south there was still some hope as the cloud cover had its traditional break above the horizon which occurs quite often. Look at the attached photo at the end of this post. That is a good example of what I am talking about.
I watched the same event tonight (last Sabbath) on my beach cams looking out over the sea in Central Israel. An opening lasted for nearly an hour. None of the experts where in a position to even see it, if in fact they even went out. If they had of been on the ridge, with the horizon visible over the sea, they would have seen a reenactment of what took place in the south Friday night. There was a total of 2 hours and 11 minutes of lag time Saturday night in the Land. The moon was between 6-7%. I know for a fact that with the opening over the sea as clearly seen of the live webcams and being positioned on the ridge, I could have seen it. But that does not matter for that was my 30th day anyway based on the previous new moon visible from the ridge in the Jerusalem region. But all the same a good time to speak to where people in the Jerusalem area should be sighting from on young new moons and cloud cover.
Linda and I do not allow ourselves to be held hostage waiting on others who do not share or participate in our faith, or Fathers calling, to direct our thoughts and actions. We have put in all the thousands of hours over the past 3 decades educating ourselves as to knowing these appointed times from afar. With that said, we have also for over 2 decades done sightings in the Land when we are there conducting aviv inspections and vacationing.
Linda and I learned this lesson of the most advantageous positioning for a new moon sighting in the Jerusalem region many years ago when we were headed to the airport on a first of Abib. Of course, we didn’t know it was the first day starting at sunset until this all happened. We had hung around in Jerusalem to spot the crescent, but with our departure time coming on fast we headed out too early, even though there was only a short time until moonset. With all the clouds we assumed it would not be seen. Immature mistake shaped by circumstances no doubt. When we had come down out of the Judean Hills and onto the plain heading to the sea, we saw the crescent right in front of us in between the low clouds and the horizon. I pulled over and called Roy, and of course Roy undertook his normal questioning later on.
This was a great lesson to learn about location and waiting it out to the last second. Our son also explained this kind of sighting to me one year there, after he had separated from me to continue down to Tel Aviv.
Had we have been on the ridge running along the hill at Jerusalem we would have seen it in both instances and that scenario has played out a number of times since.
We use a number of live webcams to show us the skies over Jerusalem, and much of Israel for that matter. At present I think it is 12 of them. They show us all the aspects of the skies as to cloud cover and breaks in clouds and most importantly if there is a break between the cloud cover and the horizon at the Mediterranean Sea. Then we apply all the technical data and experience we have accumulated over all the years of doing so. We then also use testimony from members of the Body there.
Keep in mind Linda and I only use the Jerusalem region as a recognized location to sight from. That is not a slight to anyone else who does not, for we are to seek out our own salvation.
But these are the types of occurrences we need to be very aware of. But from here on out we will not be addressing the grifters and people of spiritual stupor unless asked a direct question. As Christ said leave them alone. That is the lesson I personally have gained from all of the chaos caused by others in the Land this Abib Cycle. About time some of you might be saying.
Matthew 15:12-14 Then His disciples came and said to Him, do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying? But He answered and said, every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone! They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.
Thus, we will be reporting about the events we see and the Biblical patterns, and not concerning you with the blind: (grifters and people of spiritual stupor). That will make the queen of the North and the queen of the South happy. Have at it girls.
Hope the week and month ahead are a blessing.
Brian and Linda
PS: if the picture below does not make sense to you, we won’t be able to assist you. It shows this past crescent under the cloud cover over the horizon of the Mediterranean Sea. That is why when not in the Land we use a number of live feed cameras focused out along the coast.
Our peace we give to you!
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