Welcome to First Fruits!

New to our site? Sign up for a free First Fruits Core account and enrich your First Fruits experience.

Sign up for a First Fruits Core account:

  • Access to more online resources and greater connectivity! Premium content, email newsletters and special offers from our Store. Find out more »

I can't remember my login. »

Magazine Articles

Browse, read and study through our extensive library of original articles, from previously published First Fruits of Zion magazines. Updated regularly!

Category: Appointed Times

The New Moon

Tags:  new moon

(Excerpts Condensed from Torah Club Volume Five)

The first day of the biblical month is called Rosh Chodesh (ראש חדש), which literally means 'a new head' and is understood to mean the 'first of the New Month.' A Rosh Chodesh occurs when the first crescent of the New Moon appears in the sky. Note that the biblical Rosh Chodesh is not the same as the English "New Moon." Rather the Rosh Chodesh moon is ordinarily the first visible crescent of the new lunar cycle.

The middle of the biblical month is a full moon. The end of the biblical month occurs when the moon disappears completely from the sky.

Most of the Ancient Near East determined their calendars according to the lunar phases. In that regard, Israel was not unique.

In the Torah, the commandment of identifying and declaring the new moon was addressed only to Moses and Aaron (Exodus 12). Were it addressed to the entire community, the determination of the calendar would be arbitrary and subject to all sorts of discrepancies. For that reason, this commandment has always been regarded as a function of the Sanhedrin, i.e. the leadership of Israel.1

However, in the Fourth Century, the Roman government officially forbade the Sanhedrin from convening and determining the New Moon. The Jewish community throughout the diaspora was left to their own devices for determining the calendar. The result was uncertainty over festival days, discord between communities and general chaos. A cloudy day could change the day one celebrates Passover! As a result, the method of determining the moon by observation alone fell into disuse. Astronomical projections were made to fix the calendar in advance. Rabbi Hillel II created a fixed calendar that all Israel could use.

The advent of the Rosh Chodesh is customarily announced in the synagogue on the Shabbat before it occurs. This tradition arose in ancient times as a ...

End of Guest excerpt:
Access more valuable online content. Sign in, or register for a free Core account.

Sign in to read more...

Username :
Password :
Forgot your username or password?
  Keep me signed in...

I don't have a Core account.

Create a First Fruits Core account. It's free and only takes a minute.

AN ACCOUNT INCLUDES: Premium online content, Access to our Core catalog, Discount coupons for our Store, Free downloads and newsletters, etc. More info here...


© 2009 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved. We encourage you to share this material with your friends for further personal study. However, This material may not be republished, in print, electronically, or any other form without our prior permission.

Proclaiming the Torah and its way of life, fully centered on Messiah, to today's People of God.

Contact Us

PO Box 649
Marshfield, MO 65706-0649, USA

Telephone +1 417 468 2741
Toll-free 800 775 4807
Fax 417 468 2745

About First Fruits of Zion

Feeds

Copyright © 2012 First Fruits of Zion, Inc., All Rights Reserved | Home | Copyright & Terms | Privacy Policy