Chapter Three
The
Calendar in Jesus' Time
Hillel II did not
invent a "new" calendar in 358 A.D.
Rather, because of onerous Roman persecution against the Jews, in order
to preserve the calendar and Jewish unity amongst the Diaspora, Hillel
II and the rabbinical council agreed to make the age-old calendar calculations,
used to verify the visual sightings of the new moons each month, which had come
down from the time of Aaron and Moses, public information, so that the sacred
calendar would never be lost, even during the galut, or time of Jewish
dispersion and banishment from the land of Israel.
Hillel's publication of this knowledge did not
"destroy" the sacred calendar. Rather, it preserved important
knowledge regarding the calendar by making it possible for generations to
study it, to learn its principles, and how it works.
As we have already seen, Arthur Spier in The
Comprehensive Jewish Calendar tells us what happened. Originally, he says,
the beginning of months was determined by direct observation of the new moon
from Jerusalem. These dates were then
announced and sanctified by the Sanhedrin, or Jewish Supreme Court in Jerusalem,
after witnesses had testified they had seen the new crescent, and after their
testimony had been "thoroughly examined, confirmed by calculation, and
duly accepted." Let's review
Arthur Spier's seminal points:
Spier explains:
"A special committee of the
Sanhedrin, with its president as chairman, had the
mandate to
regulate and balance the solar with the lunar years. This so-called
Calendar Council
(Sod Haibbur) calculated the beginnings of the seasons (Tekufoth)
on the basis of astronomical
figures which had been HANDED DOWN AS A
TRADITION OF OLD
. . ." (Spier, The
Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar, p.1).
Spier
tells us what the Jews believed they had to do in the fourth century in order
to preserve the calendar. He asserts:
"This method of observation
and intercalation was in use throughout the period of
the second
temple (516 B.C.E.-70 C.E.), and about three centuries after its destruc-
tion, as long
as there was an independent Sanhedrin.
In the FOURTH CENTURY,
however, when oppression
and persecution threatened the continued existence of
the Sanhedrin,
the patriarch Hillel II took an extraordinary step to PRESERVE
THE UNITY OF
ISRAEL. In order to PREVENT the Jews
scattered all over the
surface of the
earth from celebrating their new moons, festivals and holidays at
DIFFERENT TIMES,
he made PUBLIC the system of calendar calculation which
up to then had
been a CLOSELY GUARDED SECRET. . . .
"In
accordance with this system, Hillel II formally sanctified all months in
advance,
and intercalated
all future leap years until such time as a new, recognized Sanhedrin
would be
established in Israel" (p.2).
What about the
"Postponements" in the Calendar?
However, what about the "postponements" added to
the calendar by Hillel II and the Sanhedrin of his time? Rabbi Hillel II did institute certain
changes in the calendar, when going from an observational calendar to a
mathematical one. The major change he
inaugurated was the introduction of "postponements" of the New Year
(Rosh Hashanah) and subsequent holy days.
Accordingly, when the molad (new moon) of Tishri
occurs on a Sunday, Wednesday or Friday, the 1st of Tishri is postponed to the
following day. This legality was
introduced mainly to prevent Yom Kippur occurring on the day before or after
the weekly Sabbath, and to prevent Hoshanah Rabbah (the seventh day of the
Feast of Tabernacles) from occurring on a Sabbath.
This change or innovation was supposedly made, based on
the authority given to the Sanhedrin to interpret and rule on technical legal
matters for the good of the community during every generation or circumstance.
This authority is essentially based on God's provisions
as stated in the Torah. The Scriptures
themselves clearly give certain limited authority to the presiding rabbinical
authorities of each generation – the rulers of God’s people -- the authority to
make judgments and binding decisions -- so long as they are properly based
on the laws of God and not contrary to the Scriptures themselves (John 10:35).
A NEW LOOK at the
"Postponements"
Because of the decisions made by the Rabbinical Council and
Rabbi Hillel II in 358 A.D., in the modern mathematically-based Jewish
calendar, Passover (Nisan 14) can only fall on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or
Sabbath.
Therefore, Nisan 16 -- the day of the wave sheaf offering
-- can only fall on a Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, or Monday. This is because of the
"postponements" made for the calendar for the time of the dispersion
or Diaspora of the Jewish people. But
did God actually give the Jewish leaders the authority to make such arbitrary
"postponements"? Or are they
based on mere 'human reasoning," which can end in "death" (Proverbs 14:12)?
To answer this question, let's examine the calendar used
during the time of Christ, and the Second Temple period. Were these postponements also in effect in
the calendar before Hillel II, or during the time of Christ?
Evidence from the
Mishnah
The Mishnah is the written record of Jewish oral law,
relating to the Torah and Jewish customs, handed down from time immemorial --
from the days of Moses. These
"oral laws" were written down and compiled in about 200 A.D., in
narrative form, in the centuries after Christ, to insure that they would never
be lost or forgotten. The Mishnah
itself was part of the Talmud, a larger body of Jewish tradition and
interpretation and history of Jewish thinking and commentary. The Mishnah itself was compiled, therefore,
about 158 years before the rulings of Hillel II!
The Rite of
Circumcision
According to the Mishnah, circumcision of a male child is
normally performed on the eighth day after birth (Gen.17:10-14). But the Mishnah added laws before the
time of Hillel II giving circumstances when it must be performed later.
Says the Mishnah:
"A child can be circumcised
on the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth day,
but never earlier and never later. How is this? The rule is that it shall be done on
the eighth day; but if the child was born at twilight
the child is circumcised on the
ninth day; and if at twilight on the eve of Sabbath,
the child is circumcised on the
tenth day; if a Festival-day falls after the Sabbath
the child is circumcised on the
eleventh day; and if the two Festival-days of the
New Year fall after the Sabbath
[that is, on Sunday and Monday] the child is
circumcised on the twelfth day"
(Mishnah, Shabbath 19:5, Danby, page 117).
This
law regarding circumcision is interesting.
The Jews had added detailed laws as to when circumcision could and could
not be done. But during Christ's time, circumcison
WAS permitted on the weekly Sabbath.
Jesus said to the Jews, "Yet because Moses gave you circumcision
(though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you
circumcise a child on the sabbath"(John 7:23).
Apparently, because of this criticism, the Jewish
legalists later reinterpreted the laws of circumcision and did not allow it to
be done on the weekly Sabbath or a Holy Day!
However, the point I want to reiterate here is that
according to this statement, then, in the times before Hillel II, the
Jewish New Year (Rosh Hoshanah), could fall on a Sunday, the day after
the weekly Sabbath. Yet in the Hillel
II calendar, this cannot occur because of the
"postponements." Here is a
clear cut example of a CHANGE made in the calendar! That is, it was "tampered with," and ALTERED, to suite
Jewish traditions and customs!
Let’s notice this in another translation of the Mishnah
passage into English. In The
Mishnah, a New Translation, by esteemed Jewish professor Rabbi Jacob
Neusner, we read in "The Second Division: Appointed Times," under
"Shabbat":
"19:5 A. An infant is
circumcized on the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh
or twelfth days
[after birth].
"B. never sooner, never later.
"C. How so?
"D. Under normal circumstances, it is on the
eighth day.
"E. [If] he was born at twilight, he is
circumcised on the ninth day.
"F. [If he was born] at twilight on the eve of
the Sabbath, he is
circumcized on the tenth day [the
following Sunday].
"G. In the case of a festival which follows
after the Sabbath, he will be
circumcized on the eleventh day
[Monday].
"H. In the case of the two festival days of
the New Year [ROSH HASHANAH,
that is, Tishri 1-2], he will be
circumcized on the twelfth day [Tuesday]"
(The Mishnah, p.203).
Did you notice that last ruling? Clearly, it states that Rosh Hashanah --
Tishri 1 -- could fall on the first day of the week -- Sunday! Since the Jews observe two days for Rosh
Hashanah, Tishri 1 and 2, this means that the New Year could fall on Sunday and
Monday, causing circumcision of a child born on the eve of the weekly Sabbath a
week before Rosh Hashanah (that is, late on Friday) to be deferred until twelve
days later -- a Tuesday -- if Rosh Hashanah fell on a Sunday, that year.
Clearly, the postponement of Rosh Hashanah ITSELF from
Sunday to Monday was NOT DONE during Temple times, or the Mishnaic period! This postponement was an entirely NEW
addition to the law -- a NEW regulation -- devised by Hillel II and his
compatriots, in 358 A.D.!
The Day of
Atonement
But let's notice another example from the Mishnah. In the Mishnah section titled "The Fifth
Division: Holy Things," under
"Menahot," we read the following:
"R. [If] the Day of
Atonement coincides with the Sabbath, the loaves
[of the showbread in the Temple] are
divided in the evening.
"S. [If] it coincided with the EVEN OF THE
SABBATH, the goat of
the Day of Atonement is eaten in the
evening" (p.758).
Did
you notice? The Day of Atonement,
during Temple times, could and did occur on the "eve of the Sabbath"
-- that is, FRIDAY! Therefore, Dechiah
"a" forbidding the Day of Atonement to occur on a Friday was not
observed in Temple times, and is null and void, as far as the Law of God is
concerned! It was only added about
three hundred years AFTER Temple times because of unjustified concerns about
having two days in a row in which no food was to be prepared!
Hoshana Rabbah
Here is another example from the Mishnah, showing that
the ruling concerning Hoshana Rabbah was also a new invention by Hillel II and
was not observed in Temple times.
Again, in the section of the Mishnah titled "The Second
Division: Appointed Times," under
"Sukkah," we read the following:
"4:1 A. [The rites
of] the lulav and the willow branch [carried by the
priests around the altar, M.5:5]
are for six or seven [days]. . . .
"4:3
A. The willow branch rite is for seven
days: How so?
B. [If] the seventh day of the willow branch COINCIDED WITH
THE SABBATH, the willow branch [rite] is for seven
days . . .
"4:5
F. And on that day [the seventh day of
the willow branch] they walk
around the altar seven times. .
. .
"4:6 A. As the rite concerning it [is performed] on
an ORDINARY DAY,
SO THE RITE CONCERNING IT [IS
PERFORMED] ON THE
SABBATH" (page 286-287).
Notice! This is talking about the seventh day of the
Feast of Tabernacles, or "Sukkot."
The seventh day is known as Hoshanah Rabbah. During Temple times, this day could and often did coincide with
the weekly Sabbath! When it did so, the
rites of the willow branch and lulav were performed AS THEY WERE ON AN
"ORDINARY DAY"!
So states the authoritative Mishnah itself!
There is still further evidence from the Mishnah, the
Jewish "Oral Law" which was handed down and orally transmitted from
generation to generation -- and which was finally published from about 150-200
A.D., about 150 years before the time of Hillel II -- which proves conclusively
that Nisan 16 could fall on a Sabbath during second Temple times. This, of course, would put Nisan 14 --
Passover -- on a Thursday, which cannot happen in the modern calendar.
In the Mishnah, in Pesahim 7:10, we read,
"The bones and sinews [of the Passover or chagigah offering which often
accompanied the Passover] and what remains over must be burnt on the 16th. If the 16th falls on a Sabbath they
must be burnt on the 17th, since they override neither the Sabbath nor a
festival day" (The Mishnah, Danby, p.146).
Since the 16th of Nisan could fall on a Sabbath, the 14th
would have been on a Thursday. Thus in
Bible times, the day of the Passover sacrifice could fall on a Thursday, even
though it could not do so today, because of the "postponements" added
by Hillel II.
The Ninth of Av
Similarly, under the present Hebrew calendar, the 9th of
Av never falls on a Friday. Yet, in the
Mishnah, it relates, "They may not decree a public fast on the first day
of a month or during [the Feast of] the Dedication or at Purim. But if they had begun they may not interrupt
the fast. So Rabban Gamaliel. R. Meir said: Although Rabban Gamaliel has said, 'They may not interrupt the
fast,' he admitted that they need not fast the whole day. So, too, with the Ninth of Av if it fell
on the eve of a Sabbath [i.e., a Friday]" (The Mishnah,
Taanith 2:10, Danby, p.197).
The 9th of Av could fall on a Friday during those times,
although it cannot, today. When it did,
the Jews cut short their fast on that day -- "they need not fast the whole
day," if the day fell on a Friday.
Since the days of Hillel II, however, this problem no
longer exists, since the 9th of Av can no longer fall on a Friday, due to the
"postponements."
This halachic requirement, which was extant in Temple
times, permitted Jews to cut short their fast on the 9th of Av, when it
fell on a Friday. But they did not
change the calendar itself to solve this problem! They did not postpone the day!
They merely abbreviated the fasting edict!
Therefore, there is no evidence that the
"principle" of "postponements" was ever applied in the centuries
prior to Hillel II. In those days,
Hoshana Rabbah could fall on a Sabbath, and Yom Kippur could fall on a Friday
or a Sunday!
Clearly, this evidence from the Mishnah itself
indicates that the "postponements" of the modern Hebrew calendar,
instituted by the Rabbinic Council in the days of Hillel II, did not apply
to earlier times. They were a new
innovation brought about in the fourth century of the present era!
What are we going to do with this striking, plain,
in-your-face knowledge? Are we just
going to ignore it, and go on in our lives, as if nothing happened? Or are we going to allow ourselves to be
instructed, and to evaluate and USE this new knowledge in serving God as He
commands and directs?
The historical evidence does prove that the
"postponements" of the annual Holy Days, as they are practiced in
modern Judaism, were only introduced in 358 A.D., three centuries after
the time of Christ and the apostles, and have NO BIBLICAL BASIS for their
existence! That is a longer period of
time than the United States has been a country!
So What Difference
Does It Make?
What difference, then, does this truth make, for us
today?
All the difference!
Should
we follow the Jewish "postponements," even if they are NOT sanctioned
by the Word of God itself?
Or, as Peter and the apostles said, should we, "Obey
God rather than man" (Acts 5:29)? Christ
Himself said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will
make you FREE" (John 8:32). Yeshua also declared: "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in TRUTH: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in
truth" (John 4:23-24).
"Truth" is very important to God. How important is it to you? Wise Solomon wrote in Proverbs, "There
is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of
DEATH" (Proverbs 14:12).
Jesus Christ said man must live by "every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt.4:4; Luke 4:4).
He also said of the Father, "Thy WORD is TRUTH"
(John 17:17).
Whenever there is a clear cut conflict
between God's Word, His Law, and
rabbinical "tradition," or Jewish halacha, we must obey GOD
rather than man!
Paul tells us in direct warning, that the time is coming,
and now is, that many will become deceived, and seduced by Satan's wiles and
stratagems. He wrote: "For the
mystery of iniquity doth already work:
only he who now letteth [margin, "hindereth"] will let ["hinder"],
until he be taken out of the way. And
then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
"Even him, whose coming is after the working of
Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with ALL DECEIVABLENESS
of unrighteousness in them that perish: because they received not the love
of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that
they should believe a LIE: that they
might all be damned [Greek, "judged, condemned, sentenced"] who believe
not the TRUTH, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (II Thessalonians 2:7-12).
“VAIN WORSHIP”!
Clearly, the Jews during the time of Hillel II changed
the ancient calendar by adopting the "postponements" of Rosh Hashanah
in order to accommodate their views on how to observe the weekly Sabbath. They actually altered the calendar, which
God had given to them, in order to preserve their own "traditions" of
Sabbath keeping.
Would Almighty God approve of such changes? Or did the Jewish leaders go too far?
This is no matter of mere historical curiosity. This is a matter of whether we observe the
true holy days God intended, or some man-made alternatives, calling them
"holy"!
Concerning the principle behind such matters, Jesus
Christ declared:
"HOWBEIT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, teaching
for doctrines the
commandments of MEN" (Mark 7:7).
He added,
"For laying aside the commandment of
God, ye hold the traditions of
men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like
things
ye do.
And he said to them, Full well ye reject the commandment of
God, that ye may keep
your own tradition . . .making the word of God of
none effect through your
traditions, which ye have delivered: and
many
such like things ye do" (v.8-13).
Those who wish to change, altar, or tamper with God's
holy calendar, as given to Moses and ancient Israel, are guilty before God of
insubordination and rebellion. They put
tradition before the Laws of God.
They emphasize "traditions" of men before the Torah itself!
This would include such man-made innovations as the
"postponements" of the fourth century. Jewish leaders themselves are accountable before God for these
changes in the law of God.
Those who make such changes, without any justification in
God's Word, are misusing their God-given authority. They are perverting the truth.
They are "thinking to change times and laws" (Daniel 7:25), and will be held accountable before the
throne of God Himself !
Whether Jewish or Gentile, whether rabbi or minister, any
who tamper with and alter the calendar of God, without divine approval, are
standing on trembling ground. They are
treading where even angels fear to tread. They are leaping to false
conclusions, and jumping off a spiritual precipice -- leaping off a cliff, and
hurtling to their own destruction on the jagged, sharp rocks below.
To mess around with the calendar of God is to twist and
distort and violate HOLY TIME. This statement applies whether the perpetrator
is Jewish OR Gentile -- rabbi or minister or layman! Such men create CONFUSION among the people of God; they create an
environment of CHAOS! By their own
stubborn will, and rejection of God's Law, they lead others into sin and
error. They begin to observe the annual
holy days on the wrong days! And when
they tamper with the "leap year" cycles, they observe the annual holy
days a WHOLE MONTH away from the appointed times God decreed they should be
observed!
It is high time we get a BALANCE in these things! Yes, the Jews preserved the calendar, and
its computations and laws. But they
also went too far when they used their ecclesiastical authority and
added the unbiblical "postponements" in the fourth century!
Tampering with God's calendar -- even if intended for
“good” -- is still a SIN! Truly,
calendar confusion, today, is a clear example of Satan the devil's incredible
deceptive power! Millions have fallen
for Satan's diabolical cunning and clever "changes" in the calendar.
Some, because of Jewish sins and errors, want to throw
out the entire calendar, which has been preserved, and start all over, with
their own ideas combined with various historical theories and assumptions. In essence, they want to throw out the baby
with the bath water, and start all over!
God warns in His Word: "There is a way that seemeth
right, but the END thereof are the WAYS OF DEATH" (Proverbs 16:25).
Wisdom says we can accept the principles of the Jewish
calendar, even though we do not need to accept the invalid
"postponements" added in reference to Yom Kippur and Hoshana
Rabbah. When it comes to making
postponements, merely to avoid certain activities on the Sabbath, or to keep
Yom Kippur from falling on a Friday, or a Sunday, we can ignore such
man-devised rules and keep the days God originally intended.
But what about the months and “New Moons”
themselves? Does the mathematical
Jewish calendar rightly and accurately give the New Moons and beginning dates
of months?
Here is another vital area which we need to examine!
But before we do, what about you? Do you see the reason why the
“postponements” are not valid or approved in God’s sight?
Polluting God’s
Calendar
A prophecy of this "changing" of God's laws, by
His people, was actually made by Ezekiel.
The prophet relates God's own warning, saying of Israel and Judah:
"Notwithstanding the children rebelled
against me: they
walked not in my statutes, neither kept my
judgments to do
them, which if a man do, he shall even live
in them; they
polluted my sabbaths. . . .
"I lifted up mine hand unto them also in
the wilderness, that
I would scatter them among the heathen [which
He did in 70
A.D. and 135 A.D.], and disperse them through
the countries;
because they had not executed my judgments,
but had despised
my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths . .
.
"Wherefore
I gave them [over to] also statutes which were
NOT good, and judgments
whereby they should NOT live;
and I polluted them in their own gifts. . . ." (Ezek.20:21-26).
The "postponements" added to the calendar laws
in the fourth century are nothing but "pollutions," in the sight of
God! These are among the statutes which
are "NOT good," and judgments whereby God's people should "NOT
live"! A holy day of God must not
be changed merely for the sake of human convenience, or to
"safeguard" the weekly Sabbath day from imagined infringements.
We must not change God's Law merely to honor human
"traditions."
Do you have the "love" of the truth? How valuable is it to you? The New Revised Standard Version says
the ones who will be deceived during this turbulent, tremulous, end-time world
age, are deceived "because they REFUSED to love the truth and so be
saved" (II Thess.2:10, last part).
Many things have been done in ignorance, in the
past. But when the knowledge of the
truth comes into our lives, what are we going to do about it? Will we continue to follow Jewish
traditions, even when they are not justified?
Will we go to the opposite extreme, and throw out the
baby with the bath water?
Or will we get a balance in these things -- and put God's
Law before human tradition?
Let's put first things first -- the Law of God before
"tradition"! Now that we have
leaned these things, let's do them -- with all our heart! As Paul said to the Athenians on Mars' Hill
in about 53 A.D., "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but NOW
commandeth all men everywhere to REPENT:
because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained . . ." (Acts 17:30-31).