The
Feast of Trumpets,
the
International Date Line,
and
God's Holy Calendar
Since God has revealed that the modern Roman calendar is not
of Him, and the modern fixed Jewish calendar is also changed from the original
Biblical calendar observed in the days of Jesus Christ, this new truth -- new
to many of us, at least -- causes other questions to come to the surface, in
our desire to obey God and keep His commandments.
Since according to God's calendar, New Moons -- the first
visible crescent of the New Moon -- is the beginning of a new Biblical month,
and must be sighted from Jerusalem, this poses a dilemma -- at least on the
surface -- for people who live eastward from Jerusalem as far as the
Mid-Pacific Ocean. This would include
people from Iran to China, from India to Australia and New Zealand. What is the problem? Simply this: The nations of the world agreed during the late 1800s to
establish an "International Date Line" half-way around the world from
the Greenwich Meridian, running north to south in the mid-Pacific ocean! This means the hours of a new day begin
first in the mid-Pacific, and then sweep westward, coming to Jerusalem about
10-12 hours later than in some of these countries.
Since the New Moon sighting must be done by God's people,
from Jerusalem or Israel, this means that by the time it is sighted there, the
New Moon has already begun in these areas, retroactively, as it were! This could cause a problem for those
observing God's New Moons, as semi-festivals, and even more for those observing
the only annual holy day which always falls on a New Moon -- Yom Teruah, or the
Feast of Trumpets, which occurs on the first day of the seventh month -- Tishri
(see Lev.23:23-24; Num.29:1; Psalm 83:1-5).
The question is really very simple, and very basic: How are those living EAST of Jerusalem to know
when the New Moon or Holy Day of Yom Teruah is to begin, when it must be first
sighted and proclaimed from Jerusalem, since Jerusalem is hours behind them in
the world's time zones? Also, what
about those living WEST of Jerusalem, but do not or cannot get the official
news of the sighting of the New Moon in time before the day starts? It could be hours, or in some cases even
days, before some receive the announcement of the sighting of the New Moon of
Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets! What
should they do about this problem?
A "fixed" calendar, of course, does not face
this problem. But a "fixed"
calendar does not depend on New Moons, but only on mathematical rules and
equations. God's sacred calendar was to
be governed by the HEAVENLY BODIES! God
plainly said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to
divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for
days and years" (Gen.1:14). The sun
rules the day, the moon rules the night.
The sun rules the tropical (solar) year, and the moon rules the lunar
month, which may be either 29 or 30 days, and therefore must be sighted by
knowledgeable observers who are properly instructed and who live in the proper
region.
This arrangement caused problems which had to be solved
even in the time of the Second Temple period.
The
"International Date Line"
The International Date Line is an imaginary line on the earth
extending from the north pole to the south pole, where the nations have decided
that a new calendar day begins. Thus,
the calendar date to the west of the line is one day later (newer) than the
date to the east of the line. For
example, it would be Monday to the west of the line, but Sunday to the east of
the line, at the same moment.
The international Date Line follows the 180° meridian for the most part, but zigzags occasionally. The meridian is half way around the world
from the Greenwich meridian (or prime
meridian) which is 00 longitude and runs through Greenwich, England (a borough
of London).
As the sun seems to travel over 15° of the earth's
surface each hour, for each 15° west of Greenwich meridian, the time is set
back one hour; for each 15° one travels eastward, the clock
is advanced one hour. Therefore, if two
travelers -- one going east and one going west -- meet at the 180°
meridian (the International Date Line), the one going west will have passed
through 12 time zones and lost 12 hours, whereas the person going east will
have passed through 12 time zones and gained 12 hours. At the Date Line, if one stood on one side
and the other on the other side, the one on the east side will be 24 hours
ahead of the person on the west side!
A new date begins on the west side of the date line. As the earth rotates on its axis, this new
date sweeps westward across the globe, and covers the entire earth in 24
hours. As the earth is approximately
24,000 miles in circumference, this means in one hour the sun will sweep over about 1,000 miles -- thus each time zone
is about 1,000 miles wide.
According to this arrangement, January 1 occurs first
just to the west of the date line. As a
result, people in New Zealand, just to the west of the date line, would
celebrate New Year's Day 22 hours before people in Hawaii, on the eastern side
of the date line.
How did the International Date Line originate? The location of the date line was
established by agreement among the world's larger nations, to facilitate
international commerce and trade, and international relations. When created by the nations, it was decided
to make the date line zig zag in order to prevent the line from falling within
single nations. Thus although the
northeastern corner of Siberia extends 10° east of the 180th
meridian, so the date line was moved to run east of Siberia. Since part of the Aleutian islands belonging
to the United States extends west of the 180th meridian, the date line was
curved to cause all the Aleutians to fall east of the date line. The date line jogs again, to allow all the
Fiji islands to fall on one side of the line, so they would all be on the same
day.
Obviously, when the International Date Line was
established, it was done without any regard to the Scriptures, or the Word of
God. The Biblical calendar was
considered of no significance to the nations involved. It was done as part of the "commercial
system" of modern "Babylon the Great" -- the world system which
originated in ancient Babylon!
How does this convention affect Biblical days and time
keeping?
What the Scriptures
Reveal
We read that when the Messiah returns, "He will be
great, and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give
Him the throne of His father David" (Luke 1:32).
The throne of David was in Jerusalem! In fact, the Messiah will rule over ALL the
nations from His royal city of JERUSALEM!
Isaiah the prophet tells us:
"Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the
mountain of the LORD's
house shall be
established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted
above the hills;
and all nations shall flow to it. Many
people shall come and
say, 'Come, and
let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the
God of
Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and
we will walk in His paths.' For
out of ZION
shall go forth the LAW, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem"
(Isaiah 2:2-3).
Micah the prophet also records a very similar prophecy:
"Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the
mountain of the LORD's house
shall be
established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills;
and peoples
shall flow to it. Many nations shall
come and say, 'Come, and let us go
up to the
mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us
His ways, and we
shall walk in His paths.' For out of
Zion the law shall go forth, and
the word of the
LORD from Jerusalem" (Micah 4:1-2).
Notice! God's Law and His Word shall go forth
from ZION -- from the city of JERUSALEM!
God's Law and His Word includes His sacred CALENDAR, and the
proclamation of every NEW MOON, every NEW MONTH, every annual HOLY DAY, and
every WEEKLY SABBATH DAY!
Judging
by this Biblical criteria, then, it would certainly appear that in God's great
Plan everything should begin with His people Israel -- Mount Zion -- and His
headquarters city, JERUSALEM! -- and it WILL, in the Kingdom of God!
Would
God then sanction an International Date Line in the Mid-Pacific Ocean, and
begin the NEW DAY every day in the MID-PACIFIC?
Or would God's system of day and time keeping, cause the
new day, weekly Sabbath, and Holy Days to arrive FIRST AT JERUSALEM, and then
be proclaimed there, and THEN follow the sun and moon around the globe of the
earth, westward, until all the earth then observes that very same day, as it
arrives at their location?
This
is a very important consideration!
Man's International Date Line, created in ignorance of God's calendar,
and without respect to the importance of Jerusalem in God's eyes, has in effect
created a situation where people in the Orient observe God's Sabbaths and
annual Holy Days BEFORE GOD'S PEOPLE IN JERUSALEM -- even before the New
Moons, Sabbaths, and annual Holy Days have been PROCLAIMED in Jerusalem!
Will
Christ allow things to continue this way, in His soon-coming Kingdom? I don't think so!
In God's system, time -- and the DAY itself -- will most
likely first BEGIN in Jerusalem, in the land of modern Israel. The first "time zone" on the
planet would most likely begin in the Middle East, with the area stretching a
thousand miles east to west, from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean Sea -- the
land God promised to His people Israel.
As God told the children of Judah, upon the conquest of
Canaan, their inheritance in the "Promised Land" stretched as far as
"the brook of Egypt and the Great Sea with its coastline" on the west
(Joshua 15:47).
"The west border was the coastline of the Great Sea" -- the
Mediterranean (v.12). But the
inheritance of the 12 tribes was far greater.
God told Joshua:
"From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great
river, the river
EUPHRATES, all
the land of the Hittites, and to the GREAT SEA toward
the going down
of the sun [in the west], SHALL BE YOUR TERRITORY"
(Joshua 1:4).
This
vast stretch of land in the Middle East was promised to ISRAEL! And, in the coming reign of the Messiah, it
will belong to them -- all twelve tribes!
Jerusalem, of course, is Israel's capital. Jerusalem is mentioned more than any other
city in the Bible -- 666 times in the Old Testament, and 144 times in the New
Testament! Why this strange number of
occurrences? "666" is the
number of the Beast of Revelation.
Jerusalem, at the present time, has rejected the Messiah, and He was
even crucified there. Therefore, in its
human, carnal form, Jerusalem represents the evil city, " which
spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where are Lord was crucified" (Rev.11:8). Old Testament
Jerusalem was a wicked, filthy, idolatrous city, condemned by the prophets, and
judged by God, sent into captivity, and punishment. It is the symbol of rebellion, sin, lawlessness, and death!
Jerusalem
Transformed
But Jerusalem is mentioned 144 times in the NEW Testament
-- showing it will be TRANSFORMED into God's own spiritual headquarters city,
the capital of the New Messianic Reign on earth! The number "144" has special significance -- it is 12 X
12, the number "12" being the number of organizational beginnings,
foundations, and strength. The
"New Jerusalem" will have 12 foundations, according to the 12
apostles of Christ -- and 12 gates or entrances, according to the 12 sons of
Jacob (see Rev.21:12-14). 12 X
12 X 1000 also gives us the number of the 144,000 -- 12,000 out of each of the
tribes of Israel, who will become a leadership corps of the Kingdom of God,
during the beginning of the Millennium (see Rev.7:1-8). For a
fuller explanation of the 144,000, write for our article, "Who Are the
144,000 of Revelation?"
It is certainly true that the central focus of Almighty
God is the city of Jerusalem -- much more so than any other city on earth! Revelation 21 speaks of the New Jerusalem
"coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband" (Rev.21:2).
Jerusalem has a great destiny in God's eyes. God says to her:.
"Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your
beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the
holy city! For the uncircumcised and
the unclean shall no longer
come to
you. Shake yourself from the dust,
arise; sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose
yourself from
the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion!" (Isa.52:1-2).
"Break
forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD
has comforted
His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem
The LORD has made bare
His holy arm in
the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of
our God" (Isa.52:9-10).
God
thunders:
"For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, and for
Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,
until her
righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that
burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory. You
shall be called
by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will name. You
shall also be a crown
of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the
hand of your
God. You will no longer be termed
Forsaken, nor shall your land
any more be
termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah [literally, "My
delight is in
her"], and your land Beulah [literally, "married"]; for the LORD
delights in you,
and your land shall be married. For as
a young man marries a
virgin, so shall
your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your
God rejoice over you" (Isaiah 62:1-5).
These
Scriptures, of course, apply in a dual sense as well: They show that God will redeem His people, and His land, and the
city of Jerusalem; but they also show that He will redeem His Church, the
"bride of Christ," when He returns (I Cor.11:2; Eph.5:23-27; Rev.19:6-9).
Jerusalem and the
Calendar
Jerusalem will soon be the capital city of the entire
world. Jesus Christ -- Yeshua the
Messiah -- will make it so. At that
time, all things will be restored. Peter declared of the coming of the Messiah, to the Jews at the
Temple,
"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be
blotted out, so that times
of refreshing
may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus
Christ, who was
preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until THE TIMES
OF
RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS, which God has spoken by the mouth of
all His
holy prophets
since the world [or, "time"] began" (Acts 3:19-21).
Will
this "restoration of ALL THINGS" not include GOD'S TRUE
CALENDAR? Will it not also include God's
true "International Date Line"?
Exactly how and where Christ will rule the International Date Line will
be placed, we can surmise, guess, and speculate -- but nevertheless, that is
knowledge only He has at this time.
However,
we do know that in ancient times, God's calendar was based on sighting the New
Moons at Jerusalem, having them verified and sanctioned by the supreme
court of the land, the Sanhedrin, and then proclaimed to all the surrounding
nations where there were Jews. This proclamation was made also to the Jews
living in nations EAST of Jerusalem, such as Babylon and Persia!
In the old days, this was done by lighting bonfires or
signal fires on the tops of mountains or hills, thus the New Moons were
announced. But after the Samaritans
began lighting their own fires, to cause confusion and chaos, the method of
proclamation had to be changed, and riders were sent out on horseback, much
like the "Pony Express," in the early United States, carrying the
mail throughout the far-flung western territories.
New Moon Sightings
Today
Today, of course, we have the computer, the internet,
e-mail, the telephone, and many ways in which we can communicate virtually
instantaneously around the world.
Every month, the Karaites at Jerusalem are sighting and
proclaiming the New Moons, and posting each sighting immediately on their
website on the internet, and also sending out e-mail messages to all on their
mailing list.
The Karaites are religious Jews who follow the teachings
and traditions of the ancient Sadducees, of the time of Christ. Their monthly New Moon sightings may be
found on the Internet, at their website address:
As soon as the Karaite Jews in Israel sighted the New
Moon for Tishri, 2000, they posted the information on their website and sent
e-mails to those on their mailing list.
In this way, we in Pasadena received the knowledge of the New Moon
sighting just after sunset, as Tishri 1 began – and knew it was therefore the
correct day for Rosh Hashana or Yom Teruah!
When we receive the information, we post it on our own website at:
Waiting for the New
Moons
However, what about those living EAST of Jerusalem, or
those who cannot receive this information in time? What should they do?
According to the present system the nations have devised
to count the beginning of the "day," with the first hours of a new
day beginning at the International Date Line in the Mid-Pacific, this creates a
special problem for brethren living in New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Japan,
Korea, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and India.
According to the present world system, they begin observing
the Sabbath, and Holy Days, BEFORE God's people in Jerusalem! When God's people in Jerusalem announce the
"New Moon," as many as ten hours may have already passed in some of
those parts of the world, such as New Zealand.
How can they know the Feast of Trumpets, which falls
on a New Moon, has begun -- if it hasn't yet been announced in Jerusalem?
The answer, of course, is that they can't! Under this present system, they have to
begin to keep a day as the "new Moon," assuming it will be so declared
in Jerusalem. In other words,
astronomical indications may suggest that the New Moon will be the day after
"Elul 29" -- that is, the 30th of Elul would become the 1st of
Tishri. However, if the New Moon is NOT
sighted on the eve of Elul 30, then it will stay Elul 30, and the New Moon
would be declared on the following day -- which would then become Tishri 1.
Of course, this will pose a problem for people who live
between the International Date Line and Jerusalem -- such as people in New
Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, India, etc. What this means is that under the present
system, with the International Date Line being in the mid-Pacific, these people
living in these countries would sometimes have to keep TWO days, in cases where
a sighting is expected on one day, but does not really occur until the
following day!
A Historical
Problem
Does this seem sort of "strange"? It shouldn't, really. The fact is, this SAME PROBLEM had to be
dealt with by the Jews during the time of the second Temple -- from the time of
Ezra, about 520 B.C., till the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. How did they deal with the problem of those
Jews living in nations eastward from Jerusalem?
In historical times, the Jews had to face the problem
that the sighting of the New Moon in Jerusalem posed for Jews who lived EAST of
Jerusalem -- such as those in Persia and Babylon! In some months, the New Moon could not be predicted with total
confidence, the Jews living east of Jerusalem would begin to observe the
"30th" of the month as a possible "New Moon" -- and if that
did not turn out to be correct, then of course they would observe the next day
as the correct "New Moon" and first day of the following month.
Says Alfred Edersheim in The Temple: Its Ministry and Services:
And this brings up yet another difficulty. Jews calculated the month according to
the phase of the
moon, each month consisting of either twenty or thirty days, and
beginning with
the appearance of the new moon. But
this opened a fresh field of
uncertainty. It is quite true that every one might
observe for himself the appearance
of a new
moon. But this would again partly
depend on the state of the weather.
Besides, it left
an authoritative declaration of the commencement of a month unsupplied.
And yet not only
was the first of every month to be observed as 'New Moon's Day,'
but the feasts
took place on the 10th, 15th, or other day of the month, which could
not be accurately
determined without a certain knowledge of its beginning. To supply
this want the
Sanhedrim sat in the 'Hall of Polished Stones' to receive the testimony
of credible
witnesses that they had seen the new moon.
To encourage as many as
possible to come
forward on so important a testimony, these witnesses were
handsomely
entertained at the public expense.
If the new moon had appeared at
the commencement
of the 30th day -- which would correspond to our evening of
the 29th, as the
Jews reckoned the day from evening to evening -- the Sanhedrin
declared the
previous month to have been one of twenty-nine days, or 'imperfect.'
Immediately
thereon men were sent to a signal-station on the Mount of Olives, where
beacon-fires
were lit and torches waved, till a kindling flame on a hill in the distance
indicated that
the signal had been perceived. Thus the
tidings, that this was the new
moon, would be
carried from hill to hill, far beyond the boundaries of Palestine, to
those of the
dispersion, 'beyond the river.' Again, if credible witnesses had not
appeared
to testify to
the appearance of the new moon on the evening of the 29th, the next evening,
or that of the
30th, according to our reckoning, was taken as the commencement of
the new month,
in which case the previous month was declared to have been one of
thirty days, or
'full.' It was ruled that a year should neither have
less than four nor more
than eight such
full months of thirty days" (The Temple, pages 156-157).
All
this is well and good. But the Jews ran
into problems. Enemies tried to thwart
their system of notification. Edersheim
continues:
"THE
SEVEN MESSENGERS OF THE NEW MOON
"But these early fire-signals opened the
way for serious inconvenience. The enemies
of the Jews lit
beacons to deceive those at a distance, and it became necessary to send
special
messengers to announce the new moon.
These were, however, despatched only
seven times in
the year, just in time for the various feasts -- in Nisan, for the
Passover
on the 15th, and
in the month following, Iyar, for the 'Second Passover,' kept by those
who had been
debarred from the first (Num. 9:9-1 1); in Ab (the fifth month), for the
fast on the 9th,
on account of the destruction of Jerusalem; in Elul (the sixth month),
on account of
the approaching solemnities of Tishri; in Tishri (the seventh month),
for
its festivals;
in Kislev (the ninth month), for the Feast of the Dedication of the
Temple;
and in Adar,
for Purim" (p.157).
But
what about the Feast of Trumpets -- the only annual Holy Day to fall on a New
Moon? Obviously, this would constitute
a unique problem for those far away from Jerusalem!
Says Alfred Edersheim:
"Thus, practically, all difficulties were removed, except in
reference to the month Elul,
since, as the
new moon of the following month, or Tishri, was the 'Feast of Trumpets,'
it would be
exceedingly important to know in time whether Elul had twenty-nine or thirty
days. But here the Rabbis ruled that Elul should
be regarded as a month of twenty-
nine days,
unless a message to the contrary were received -- that, indeed, since the days
of Ezra it had
always been so, and that accordingly New Year's Day would be the
day after the
29th of Elul. To make, however,
assurance doubly sure, it soon became
the practice to
keep New Year's Day on two successive days, and this has since been
extended into a duplication
of all the great feast days (of course, with the exception of
fasts), and that
continues, although the calendar has long been fixed, and error is no
more
possible" (p.157-158).
In
other words, it was assumed that the day following the 29th of Elul was Tishri
1, and preparations were made accordingly to celebrate that day as the Feast of
Trumpets. But if the New Moon did NOT
appear that evening, then the following day was ALSO observed, because it then
had to be the actual day of the New Moon!
Thus during the Second Temple, and during the time of
Christ, the Jewish custom was to OBSERVE TWO DAYS FOR THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS!
The Mishnah also corroborates this fact. We read in the Mishnah, translated by Danby,
in the section titled Menahoth:
“The Two Loaves
were consumed never earlier than the second and never later than
the
third day. Thus if they were baked on
the eve of the Festival-day and consumed
on
the Festival-day, that would be the second day. If the Festival-day fell on the day
after
the Sabbath, they must be consumed on the third day. The showbread was consumed
never
earlier than the ninth and never later than the eleventh day. . . . IF THE TWO
FESTIVAL-DAYS
OF THE NEW YEAR [fell before the Sabbath] it is consumed on the
eleventh
day” (Menahoth 11:9).
Therefore it was the established practice of the Jews of
Christ’s time to observe TWO DAYS FOR YOM TERUAH each year!
We also read in the Mishnah as follows:
“Beforetime they used to admit evidence
about the new moon throughout the day.
Once
the
witnesses tarried so long in coming that the Levites were disordered in their
singing;
so
it was ordained that evidence could be admitted only until the afternoon
offering. And
if
witnesses came from the time of the afternoon offering onwards, THEN THIS DAY
WAS
KEPT HOLY AND ALSO THE MORROW WAS KEPT HOLY” (Mishnah, Rosh
Ha-Shanah,
4:4,
page 192).
In a footnote to this passage, Danby explains:
“Of the New Year. After sunset on the night after the 29th
of Elul they treated the coming
day
as a Festival-day in case witnesses arrived the next day to report that the new
moon
was
visible the previous evening. If they
did not come that day, the next day was
made
a
Festival-day, and the day before was counted as the 30th of Elul.”
How plain it should be that Yom Teruah, or Rosh Hashanah,
because it fell on a New Moon, was observed for TWO DAYS when no report was
received of the New Moon on the first day!
In the Time of David
However, we have more evidence that sometimes the Jews
sometimes observed TWO DAYS for the monthly New Moon, as well. We have BIBLICAL EVIDENCE that two days were
observed at times, undoubtedly due to the fact that in some months the Jews
could not be sure exactly when the New Moon would be seen – but they knew it
had to be one of two days – the day following the 29th day of the
previous month – or the following day.
During the time of David, we read that Saul was plotting
to kill him out of jealousy. David and
Jonathan, Saul’s son, conceived a plan to determine whether or not Saul
intended to do away with David. We read
in I Samuel 20 as follows:
“David said to Jonathan, ‘TOMORROW IS
THE NEW MOON, and I should not fail
to
sit with the king at the meal; but let me go, so that I may hide in the field
until the
THIRD
EVENING’ . . .” (I Sam.20:5).
“Jonathan
said to him, ‘TOMORROW IS THE NEW MOON, you will be missed, because
your
place will be empty’. . .” (v.18).
“So
David hid himself in the field. WHEN
THE NEW MOON CAME, the king sat at the
FEAST
to eat. The king sat upon his seat, as
at other times, upon the seat by the wall.
Jonathan
stood, while Abner sat by the king’s side; but David’s place was empty.
“Saul
did not say anything THAT DAY, for he thought, something has befallen him; he
is
not clean, surely, he is not clean. BUT
ON THE SECOND DAY, the day after the new
moon,
David’s
place was empty. And Saul said to his
son Jonathan, ‘Why has the son of
Jesse
not come to the FEAST, EITHER YESTERDAY OR TODAY?’ . . .” (vs.24-27,
NRSV).
“Jonathan
rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food on the SECOND DAY OF
THE
MONTH . . .” (v.34).
Let’s understand this passage! The Interlinear Bible has I Samuel 20:27 rendered
as follows: “. . . the new moon, second
. . .”, or, that is, “THE SECOND NEW MOON [day] . . .”
The original Hebrew is simply: Ha Chodesh Sheniy, which literally is, “the New Moon,
second.” Most translations put this as
“the second day of the month,” since chodesh can also refer to the
month. However, it is obvious here that
the king had a FEAST at the New Moon, and it lasted TWO DAYS.
In verse 34, the expression in Hebrew is B’Yom-HaChodesh
Sheniy – “on the Day [of] the New Moon, Second,” or, that is, “on the
SECOND DAY OF THE NEW MOON.”
Herb Solinsky in his research paper on the Calendar,
points out:
“The Hebrew syntax of a phrase in I Sam.20:27, 34 is different from all others in the Bible. The phrase is ha chosesh ha shaynee, which literally
means ‘the new moon the second.’ Most
translations render this ‘the second day of the month,’ but this is
inconsistent with other examples
for expressing this in the Hebrew Bible.
For example, in both Leviticus 23:32 and II Kings 25:3 the phrase b’teshah la chodesh occurs; it
literally means, ‘on [the] ninth [day] of
[the] month.’ It should be expected
that the unique phrase in I Sam.20:27, 34 might have significance” (page 29).
It is interesting to note that David and Jonathan KNEW in
advance that a New Moon was coming the next day – and that they set aside TWO DAYS
before they were to get back together on the THIRD DAY to counsel once again
with each other (I Sam.20:5).
Thus the observance of two days for a New Moon goes back
to at least the time of David and king Saul!
More Historical
Evidence
Ronald H. Isaacs, in Every Person’s Guide To The High
Holy Days, writes about this historical situation:
“In the Bible the festival lasts for one
day only, the two-day festival arose out of the
difficulty of determining when the new moon actually
appeared. Long ago, the
beginning of a new month was declared when two independent
witnesses
reported to the Sanhedrin (rabbinical court) that the
crescent of a new moon had
appeared. The
declaration was relayed from city to city by lighting signal fires
on the hill tops” (p.41).
This author declares that this holiday was “celebrated for
TWO DAYS in Palestine since the days of the former prophets,” citing the
Jerusalem Talmud (Eruvin, chapter 3) as evidence for this assertion
(page 46).
In The Jewish Holidays, A Guide and Commentary, Michael
Strassfeld states:
“Why Is Rosh haShanah Two Days? Unlike other festivals which are
celebrated in the
Diaspora
for two days because of uncertainty about the calendar, Rosh haShana is the
only
holiday celebrated for two days in Israel.
The reason is the same as with all the
other
festivals – that is, the uncertainty involved in a calendar that depended on
when
the
new moon was promulgated by the rabbinic court in Jerusalem. The problem of Rosh
haShanah
is heightened by the fact that it falls on Rosh Hodesh – the new moon itself;
therefore,
even in Jerusalem, it would have been difficult to let everyone know in time
that
the New Year had begun. To solve this
problem, a TWO-DAY Rosh haShanah
was
practiced even in Israel” (page 102, emphasis mine in latter part).
Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin, in The Festivals in
Halachah: An Analysis of the Development
of the Festival Laws, gives us even more insight and understanding of the
problem relating to Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah.
He writes:
“Unlike the other Yamim-Tovim, Rosh
Hashanah falls on the first day of the month,
Rosh
Chodesh; and during the period when the proclamation of Rosh Chodesh
was
dependent upon the testimony of witnesses who had observed the first appearance
of
the moon, the beginning of Rosh Chodesh always remained in doubt pending events
in
the supreme court, the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.
Either witnesses would come and
Rosh
Chodesh would be proclaimed based on their testimony; or no witnesses
would
come. Alternatively, would-be witnesses
might have their evidence rejected
for
one reason or another . . . with the result that Rosh Chodesh would be
proclaimed
for
the following day, the thirty-first day since the previous Rosh Chodesh.
“This
means of determining the date, however, gives rise to serious problems with
regard
to Rosh Hashanah. Since its beginning
remains in doubt, what effect has
this
on the halachic requirements of the day – prohibition of labor, blowing the
shofar,
special prayers and blessings, and sacrifices?” (page 68).
How was this problem solved in early times? Says Zevin:
“’Originally, testimony about the new
moon was accepted all day long’ [Mishnah].
This
mishnah characterizes the first of the four eras of Rosh HaShanah. During this
era
– and within the bounds of the city of Jerusalem – Rosh HaShanah was observed
sometimes
for one day, and sometimes two. How so?
“Every
year, with the onset of the evening which began the thirtieth of Elul, the
people
would desist from labor and behave as though the sanctity of the festival
had
begun – because there was a strong possibility that witnesses would testify
the
next day regarding the new moon, and be accepted. Were that to occur, the
preceding
evening would turn out to have been, indeed, Rosh HaShanah, the
first
of Tishri, and the following day, the thirty-first from the previous Rosh
Chodesh,
would be chol, an ordinary day.
Rosh HaShanah would thus have
been
observed only one day. If, on the other
hand, the thirtieth day passed
without
the appearance of witnesses, this meant the month had been ‘full,’ that
is,
thirty days and it was the thirty-first day that was Rosh HaShanah. In the latter
case,
the residents of Jerusalem would have observed two days of Rosh HaShanah:
the
thirtieth, because of doubt up to the very end of the day as to whether
witnesses
would come; and the thirty-first, because of certainty that it was the
Scriptural
Rosh haShanah” (p.69).
This
applied to residents inside the city of Jerusalem and nearby areas or
towns. But what about observance of Yom
Teruah OUTSIDE the city of Jerusalem, and in outlying regions and cities?
At one time, beacons being lit up on hillsides provided
evidence that the new moon had been seen and verified at Jerusalem. If no beacon fires were lit, that was
evidence that the new moon had not been seen, meaning the Holy Day would have
to be the following day (the thirty-first day since the previous Rosh
Chodesh). However, when the Samaritans
began to light false beacon fires, this could no longer be a viable means to
determine the correct day.
The question arises, could the entire Diaspora be linked
up in this way? Says Jeffrey M. Cohen:
“Definitely not. The Jewish diaspora at the time of the
Second Temple encom-
passed
large communities in Egypt and Syria, in the important cities of Asia
Minor,
in Cyprus and Crete, in Greece and Macedonia.
Jews began arriving in
Rome
in the second century B.C.E., from where they spread to other cities in
Italy,
and even to Rome’s western provinces of Gaul, Spain, and Africa.
“Thus
the reference in the Mishnah to ‘the entire diaspora’ being lit up [with
bonfires]
refers exclusively to the Babylonian communities, about 600 miles
east
of the Holy Land. Babylon was unique,
after Palestine, for its autonomy
and
strong organization, under the supreme authority of a hereditary Resh
Galuta
or
Exilarch who claimed descent from the royal house of David.
Hence,
the calendrical information flashed to Babylon by means of the fire
Signals
would be utilized promptly in order to regulate religious life there.
This
was not the situation, however, in the other far-flung communities of the
dispersion. Hence, the restricted direction in which
notice of the particular
day
of the new moon, or Rosh Hashanah, was communicated” (1001
Questions
and Answers on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, page 12).
It would seem, on this basis, that the Jews living in other
far-flung outposts of the world, throughout the Mediterranean, would have had
to observe the New Moons locally, in order to observe God’s Festivals. This would have been necessary due to the
fact they had no means to get the news from Jerusalem in time to be useful. Since these communities had no idea of which
day the ecclesiastical court in Jerusalem had declared as sanctified, as the
New Moon, each month, this was why they observed two days for the annual Holy
Days instead of just one, including Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashanah.
A One or Two Day
Festival?
A fascinating discussion of the Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashanah
problem is found in 1001 Questions and Answers on Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur, by Jeffrey M. Cohen. In
answer to the question of how many days Rosh Hashanah is celebrated, he
answers:
“There is indeed evidence that Rosh
Hashanah was observed in ancient Israel on
some
years as a one-day festival, and on other years over two days. The Talmud
expressly
refers to this difference between the respective practices of Babylon
and
Israel on this matter, with the former always celebrating two days and the
latter
frequently
celebrating only one.
“Originally,
the number of days of Rosh Hashanah was determined in the land
of
Israel on the usual basis of whether or not witnesses appeared before the court
in
Jerusalem to testify that they had seen the appearance of the new moon the
previous
evening. The court at Jerusalem,
charged with fixing and consecrating
the
new moon (and, in the case of Rosh Hashanah, the festival itself, since it
corresponded
with the appearance of the new moon of Tishri), always sat on the
thirtieth
day of the month. The court would, in
the case of Rosh Hashanah, always
declare
that day (the thirtieth of Elul) as holy, and the sanctity of Rosh Hashanah
would
commence from the previous evening.
This was done in a precautionary
manner,
in case witnesses appeared late on that thirtieth day, to testify that they had
seen
the first appearance of the moon the previous night. The court would then
confirm
and sanctify that very day as the first day of Tishri and Rosh Hashanah.
The
following day would then be an ordinary working day, so that there would be
only
one day of Rosh Hashanah that year. If
the court had not declared the thirtieth
day
as Rosh Hashanah, and the witnesses were delayed, and only appeared late in the
day,
after the time for offering festival offerings had passed, then it would have
meant
that the festival day would have passed without without being consecrated
by
the special and proper offerings.
“However,
if the witnesses failed to appear that day, then the court would declare
the
previous month a ‘pregnant month’ (me’ubar), that is an extended month
of
30
days, and they would consequently consecrate the following day as the first of
Tishri
and Rosh Hashanah. In that situation,
the Jerusalemites would have had
to
observe two days as Rosh Hashanah, with the precautionary day turning out to
have
been, with hindsight, unnecessary.
“Thus
it is clear that originally there were times when Jerusalem celebrated only
one
day of Rosh Hashanah, and other times – when witnesses did not appear in
time
– when they celebrated two days” (pages 10-11).
Therefore, during the time when the beginning of the month
was determined by witnesses, most of the Land of Israel observed Yom
Teruah/Rosh Hashanah as two days of Yom Tov, since they did not know which day
had been proclaimed by the Beit Din (court) as Rosh Chodesh. The custom in the Diaspora, lands distant
from Jerusalem, was to always observe Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashanah as a TWO DAY
festival.
Evidence from
Nehemiah’s Time
In the days of Nehemiah, we read that on the first day of
Tishri, Yom Teruah, Ezra the scribe mounted a podium, and read from the book of
the Law to all the assembled people, “on the first day of the seventh month,”
“from early morning until midday” (Neh.8:1-4, NRSV).
Verse 13 goes on, “On the SECOND DAY the heads of
ancestral houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came
together to the scribe Ezra in order to study the words of the law.” What is this? This would have been the SECOND DAY of Tishri – or, the SECOND
day of the New Moon! Now, this verse
does not absolutely prove the feast lasted two days – but consider! Why were they meeting together, to study the
Scriptures, on the second day, if the Holy Day was over and
finished? It would seem likely that
they were indeed observing two days.
This may have been their custom while in captivity in Babylon, and while
living outside Jerusalem.
Here, then, is Biblical evidence suggesting that the Jews
during the time of Ezra, observed at least on this occasion TWO days for the
festival of the New Moon of Tishri – Yom Teruah!
The Mystery of Yom
Teruah
This unusual situation, of course, brings many questions to
mind. One question might be, why would
God place a Holy Day on a New Moon? He
obviously knew in advance the difficulties this would cause! Did He do this as a “test” to His
people? And also to teach them a very
important lesson in obedience and faith?
Interestingly, the Jews called Yom Teruah or Rosh
Hashanah by other names as well. It is
known as Yom HaDin (Day of Judgment), Yom HaDat Olam (Day of the
Birth of the World, or the Ages), Yom Zikhron Teruah (Day of Memorial of
Shouting, Blowing or Sounding the Ram’s Horn).
But perhaps most interestingly, it is known as Yom HaKeseh (Day
of Concealment)!
This last name alludes to the position of the new moon on
the first of Tishri, as well as the limited information provided in the Word of
God as to its nature and significance.
It is also as if God said for us to learn, pray, meditate, and figure it
out for ourselves! It is a Day of
Mystery – a day involving judgment, repentance, creation, memorials, and beginnings
(as it begins the civil year, for which it is New Year’s Day). As Solomon wrote in Proverbs, “It is the
glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out”
(Prov.25:2, NRSV).
Philip Goodman, in The Rosh Hashanah Anthology, provides
this insight into the meaning of this Holy Day:
“On the first day of Tishri is New Year
for years.
“R. Nachman b.
Isaac explained the Mishnah to refer to the Divine judgment, as it is written, From the beginning of the year to the
end of the year (Deuteronomy 11:12), which means, From the beginning of the
year sentence is passed as to what shall be
up to the end of it. How do we know that
this takes place in Tishri? Because it is
written, Blow the horn at the new moon, at the COVERED TIME for our feastday (Psalms 81:4). Which
is the feast on which the moon is COVERED OVER? You must say that this is New Year; and it
is written in this connection, For it is a
statute for Israel, an ordinance for the God of Jacob (v.5).
“Our Rabbis taught:
For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance for the God of Jacob teaches that the heavenly court does not assemble for
judgment until the court on earth has
sanctified the month” (Rosh Hashanah
8a-b, quoted on page 17).
Why does this passage refer to the moon as “COVERED” on the
Feast Day? The King James has, “Blow up
the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day” (Psalm 81:3). The word
“appointed” here is the Hebrew word keceh which means “fullness,” i.e.,
“festival, time appointed.” It is
apparently from #3680, kacah, meaning “to plump,” “fill up hollows,” by
implication, “to cover (for clothing or secrecy).” It is variously translated “clad, clothe, conceal, cover, hide,
overwhelm.”
Since the verse says to blow the shofar on the New Moon,
and calls it “the covered time,” this suggests that the the moon is covered
over and concealed, and just beginning to emerge from darkness – that is, the
first faint crescent. Light is just
beginning to emerge from being completely concealed or “covered over.”
Why then would God place a holy day – count as holy
time – a day which we cannot predict in advance – a day which invariably
“sneaks up” on us? Why would He give us
a holy day which we must sometimes observe “two days,” in order to be sure we have got the right
day?
Of course, we could be like some, and only keep “one”
day, based on the fixed modern Jewish calendar – but even the Jews do not do
that. They observe TWO days,
regardless! But if we did this, we
would often be stuck with the wrong day – we would be leaving it to chance – we
would not be ensuring that we observed the right day! Remember, God’s calendar is based on the first visual appearance
of the New Moon – and this is especially important for Yom Teruah, the Day of
Blowing Trumpets and Shouting!
What does the “concealment” of this day, to the very last
moment, as it were, teach us?
In physics, there is a law known as Heisenberg’s
‘Uncertainty Principle.” In essence, it
states that if you know the position of a subatomic particle, you cannot know
its speed; or if you know its velocity, you cannot know at the same time it
precise location. There is
‘uncertainty” involved in viewing what we refer to as the building blocks of
matter.
Likewise, the ‘uncertainty” surrounding the day of Yom
Teruah should teach us many lessons.
First, we probably don’t know as much as we think we know! As Solomon
wrote: “I have observed the
business that God gave man to be concerned with: He brings everything to pass, precisely at its time; He also puts
eternity in their mind, but without man ever guessing, from first to last, all
the things that God brings to pass” (Eccl.3:11,
Tanakh). Solomon added: “[The secret of] what happens is elusive and
deep, deep down; who can discover it?” (Eccl.7:24.
JPS).
There is so much meaning to the day of Yom Teruah, that
it overwhelms us – it is a fountain of study, meditation, and an eternal source
of knowledge – like a foundation stone of time itself. But the uncertainty principle seems most
appropriate in understanding its nature.
It is, in fact, a holy day which we literally must begin observing “IN
FAITH,” for the day we begin observing could become the day announced as the
holy day – or it could be the NEXT day!
Either way, we cannot always know in advance, so we must “cover our
bases” – that is, we must do as the Jews do and sometimes observe BOTH days!
An old adage says, “Better be SAFE than sorry.” Thus, we had better observe “Elul 30,” just
in case it really turns out to be “Tishri 1”!
We certainly don’t want to take any foolish “chances,” and wind up not
observing God’s Holy Day!
Therefore, the supreme lesson of FAITH is written all
over this Holy Day! It’s “concealment”
is very much like God Himself. Isaiah
says of God, “Truly, you are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel,
the Saviour” (Isa.45:15, NRSV). The
Tanakh has it, “You are indeed a God who concealed Himself, O God of
Israel, who brings victory!”
The major lesson of God for man is the lesson of faith
in God. Evolutionists, because they
cannot see Him, deny His existence – foolishly so! For all Creation witnesses to His existence (Rom.1:18-22).
Notice! Faith – even with
uncertainty all around us – is the key building block of righteous
character. God tells us in Hebrews:
“Now faith is the assurance of things
hoped for, the conviction [evidence] of things
not
seen. Indeed, by faith our
ancestors received approval. By faith
we understand
that
the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made
from
things that are not visible. . . .
“And
without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him
must
believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah,
warned
by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and
built an
ark
to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir
to
the righteousness that is in accordance with faith” (Hebrews 11:1-7, NRSV).
Consider this fundamental principle of faith. It is so intimately tied up with the
celebration of God’s Feast of Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashanah. The blowing of the trumpets or shofars on
this day call us to repentance – to return to God and His ways, at the
beginning of a “new year” (the fall or civil new year). As we search ourselves, and heed the call to
repentance, we know by faith, faith in Christ’s shed blood, that our
sins have been forgiven, and we have “peace with God” (Rom.5:1, 6-9). We
know also that we have fellowship with God the Father and Christ the Son
through the sacrifice of Christ, and through His being our High Priest in
heaven who ever lives to make intercession for us! (I John 1:2-3; Heb.4:14-16).
Yom Teruah, then, symbolizes our entire Christian
Messianic life – revealing the “way of faith.”
As Paul wrote, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor.5:7). And
as we also know, “The just shall live by faith” (Hab.2:4; Rom.1:17; Gal.3:11).
Observing the “Day of Concealment” in the proper manner
requires FAITH and provides a foundational lesson in true faith and obedience
to God! Since it also pictures the Day
of Judgment, and God’s final warning call to repent, the uncertainty of the day
itself reveals we cannot know in advance exactly when or what day judgment
will come, or when the Messiah will return to judge the world! As He Himself said so clearly, “But of that
day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36).
The Messiah also told us: “Watch, therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is
coming. But know this, that if the
master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have
watched, and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be READY for the Son of Man is coming at an
hour you do not expect” (Matt.24:42-44).
The lesson, then, is we must have faith – and diligently
“WATCH” (Mark 13:37)! The
lesson is that we must “keep on our toes,” spiritually, and NEVER NEVER NEVER
take anything for granted, as human beings are wont to do! We must not slip into a lackadaisical, lazy,
slipshod attitude. We must always be
awake, watchful, vigilant, and OBSERVANT!
The “concealment” of the day of Yom Teruah should help teach
us this very important lesson.