Shabbat Shalom everyone!
This is a very important post for several reasons:
(please read all the points below)
1st. This is the first month of the year, and this New Moon determines the first day of the Biblical year.
2nd. And, as you already know, this also means that Passover & The Spring Feast Days will be determined by when the New Moon is.
3rd. And this one is a bit hard to explain… and while we believe the same as we always have about sighting the New Moon, and our Biblical understanding on “When Is The New Moon” hasn’t changed at all, we’ve prayerfully thought through some issues on this subject, that are not addressed directly in the scriptures, such as: What do you do when overcast skies prevent you from seeing the moon; when it “normally” would be seen? And this has affected how we’ll report New Moons going forward.
4th. So, our new approach to reporting New Moons starts now…
First, it’s important for you to know that we have not found anyone who has sighted the Moon in Isreal on April 2nd, and we would normally assume that the New Moon would be on the next night; and if you need to continue on with that approach, we completely understand.
However, after serious review and prayer, we believe that the night of April 2nd starts the New Moon.
(i.e. Sunday, April 3rd, 2022 is the New Moon, and the first day of the year)
5th. Therefore, and most importantly, in order to explain all of this, and to help you understand what we’ve learned; in the next few days, we’ll be putting out a video to address the issues mentioned in #3 above.
This should give you plenty of time to review these things for yourself, prior to Passover and the upcoming feast days.
Thank you for your understanding,
Brother Mark Harris
Biblical Hebrew Month: This is the First Biblical Hebrew Month, also known as Aviv.