A Brief History of the Use of Direct Observation for the
Calendar of Yisrâ’êl
Calendar of Yisrâ’êl
By Ya`aqov (James) Walker, for the Consideration of the Faculty of the Karaite Jewish University. English quotations from the Hebrew sources are of my own translation.
6th of the Ninth Month, 3319 A.E. (After Exodus) – 12/5/2008 C.E.
There are few topics as essential – or as controversial – as the way that a society marks the passage of time. Among the blessings upon the nation of Yisrael is that the Torah was revealed in order to clarify the Way of God in writing, so that we might become a civilization whose principles exemplify His intentions for Mankind. In the course of this essay, we will review several special aspects of the calendar system given to Yisra’êl, beginning with the function of natural observation, and concluding with the concept of the sacredness of time.
Before examining our own calendar, it is important to admit that for the majority nations around the world, the passage of time is marked by seemingly arbitrary rules when compared to natural events: theirs is a system where years begin in the dead of winter, where months are given names of foreign gods whose duration are fixed without any regard for the condition of the Moon itself, and where days are begun in the darkness of midnight. In contrast, the Torah explains the transition of time in a way that requires no technology at all to understand, and takes very little delay to declare that God Himself used the setting of the Sun in the evening to establish the ending of one day, and the beginning of the next. Only fourteen verses into Parashath BeRêshîth, we read that the visibility of the Sun, Moon, and even stars from Earth’s surface were specifically designed “to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for signs and for mo`adhîm (appointed times, which we will discuss shortly), and for days and years.” [BeRêshîth. 1:14]. History confirms that most of the calendars of the ancient world manage to preserve some elements of this original ideal, but the definitions became increasingly murky, and nations began diverting away by having systems that only use the Moon (such as the Yishmâ`êlî method used by Muslims), or only have regard for the position Sun (as did the ancient Egyptians). Over the course of four centuries of slavery, even our nation needed divine revelation to re-acquaint us with the original way of using both luminaries. Firstly, we see that Mosheh was given especially specific commandments regarding the definition of a day as beginning and ending with the evening sunset when commanding the people regarding the week of Hagh HaMasoth; as it is written: “In the first [month], on the 14th day of the month, at evening you shall eat unleavened bread, until the 21st day of the month, at evening.” [Shemoth 12:18] Next, knowing the Torah speaks in the language of the sons of men, we should note that the Miqrâ uses to the term ‘hodhesh’, meaning ‘newness’, when referring to a month on our calendar – conveying an idea that a month is not simply a rote cycle of 30 or 31 days, but only begins with the direct observation of the first visible edge of the moon from Earth’s surface. Furthermore, unlike a Solar calendar, there are no fixed number of visible new moons that occur within a year, and yet, unlike a purely Lunar calendar, we are given an observable way to know when a new year has begun. As it is written, “And YHWH said to Mosheh and to Âhârôn in the land of Egypt, saying, ‘This month shall be the head of months for you. It shall be the first of the months of the year for you.” [Shemoth 12:1-2], and he goes on to clarify that, “Today, in the month of Âvîv (ripened barley), you are going out’” [13:4]. Since we learn from Shemoth 9:31 that Âvîv is an agricultural term from the Hebrew root for “blossoming”, we are clearly instructed to define the first month of the year as the one in which barley (one of the staple crops of the region of the land of Yisrâ’êl) had already begun to ripen and turn green. From all these examples, we learn that our Creator was careful to establish a system which is simple enough for a child to remember: days end with setting of the Sun, months begin with the earliest visible crescent of the Moon, and years begin with the first crescent moon to be seen after the barley harvest begins to ripen; as it is written: “for the word is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.” [Devârim 30:14]
With an appreciation for the origins of the calendar of Yisrâ’êl, let us consider that those who enter into the Covenant of Sinâi are expected to also observe the holiness of fixed times thorough the week and year. Given the “organic” nature of even the definition of the number of days that will be in a given month, it is easier for us to fulfill the command in Mishlêy Shelomoh 27:1 “Do not boast in the day of tomorrow, because you do not know what a day will give birth to.” Nevertheless, among the many blessed people, places, and things, which are described in the Miqrâ, the first thing which God Himself designated as holy and blessed was the 7th day of the week, as it is written: “And God blessed the 7th day and made it holy, because He rested (=ki shavath, from the root of Shabbath) from all His work on it, which God had created to make.” [Ber. 2:3]. Throughout the prophets, our irresponsibility to commit to guarding the days of Shabbath and Mo`adhim came to a dramatic ultimatum: “But if you will not listen to Me, to make the day of Shabbath holy, and to not carry a burden and enter at the gates of Yerûshalem on the day of Shabbath, then I will ignite a fire in her gates. And it shall consume the palaces of Yerûshalem; it shall not be put out.” [Yermeyâhû 17:27] The lack of concern over the importance of holy days led to 70 years of captivity and destruction, but also led to a renewed hope among the leadership of our nation that – just as YHWH has proven faithful to his promise to punish those who violate Shabbath, so too we can trust Him to fulfill the ultimate goal of Shabbath: to spend a full day worshipping our God in peace and without the distractions of everyday life. In the course of guarding the Shabbath from desecration, some Qârâ’î schools of interpretation (such as that of the Âvlêy Siyôn), made sure that their students would even keep their distance from Rabbanite synagogues on Holy Days, as we read in Hakham Sahl ben Masli’ah’s famous letter: “Nor could the Karaites hold an assembly with him (Sa`adhyâh HaGâ’ôn) on the Shabbath, because of the lamps burning in the synagogue.” Regardless of whether a Karaite student would go to such lengths to avoid becoming complacent with Rabbinic practice, history has shown that Jews who take Shabbath seriously are far less likely to become assimilated into the surrounding culture, and we are given every reason to be confident that in the future, the entire world will appreciate the blessings of Shabbath and will learn from those who keep it presently regarding the proper way to worship the Most High God. As it is written: “And it will be, from new moon to its new moon, and from Shabbath to its Shabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says YHWH.” [Yesh`ayâhû 66:23]
