Joseph F. Dumond

Isa 6:9-12 And He said, Go, and tell this people, You hear indeed, but do not understand; and seeing you see, but do not know. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back, and be healed. Then I said, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities are wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land laid waste, a desolation, and until Jehovah has moved men far away, and the desolation in the midst of the land is great.
Published: Feb 28, 2020

News Letter 5856-001
The 4th Year of the 4th Sabbatical Cycle
The 25th year of the 120th Jubilee Cycle
The 4th day of the 1st month 5856 years after the creation of Adam
The 1st Month in the Fourth year of the Fourth Sabbatical Cycle
The 4th Sabbatical Cycle after the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Middle of the 70th Jubilee Since Yehovah told Moses To go Get His People
The Sabbatical Cycle of Sword, Famines, and Pestilence

February 29, 2020

Shalom to the Royal Family of Yehovah,

There is lots going on in my life and I will not bore you with the details. I have been going over each of the reports we have received from the land of Israel about the Barley and its current status. I want to say upfront and give a huge thank you to each and every person who goes there to do this search on all of our behalves. We do not always agree with the decisions that some make but we do appreciate the efforts they put out for the glory of Yehovah. I will be critiquing each report as if I sat on a jury. As I think you should.

This past week, I discussed each report with Brian Hoeck of the Biblical Calendar Forum. We weighed the pros and the cons of each report, the biases of those doing the reports and the merits of the details in those reports in depth. We may not agree on everything, but it was a great pleasure to have Brian to discuss these things and to come to our own conclusions. I will not devolve what we discussed as it was all done in private and off the record. But I wanted you all to know I have put much effort into this study and I did not do it alone. But the views in this report are mine and no one else’s.
We all must remember that all of us are called to be part of Yehovah’s body. And as such we must love one another even when we do not agree.

Joh 13:34  I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. As I have loved you, you should also love one another.
Joh 13:35  By this all shall know that you are My disciples, if you have love toward one another.

I am posting all the reports so you can judge them for yourselves. It is important that you learn how to judge and how to come to the conclusions you come to. You alone will stand before Yehovah to answer for the things you decide upon.

1Co 6:1  Do any of you dare, when you have a matter against another, to go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
1Co 6:2  Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Do you not know that we shall judge angels, not to mention the things of this life?

So judge carefully and prayerfully. I have prayed over this and weighed it all this week. I will share my views and then you can decide what you are going to do.

The Wave Sheaf that People Forget About

First of all, we are not to go along with the crowd if they are wrong. You must stand up and do what is right. And many times we are attacked and persecuted for doing this because while we do this it also tells others they are wrong and they do not like it.

Exodus 23:2 You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice,
Acts 5:27-29 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

It is this principle that has caused all of us to leave our former denominations to follow Yehovah. We do this in a home group or most often by ourselves.
The search for the barley is not done by the masses but by a select group of those seeking to obey Yehovah and keep His Feasts at the proper appointed times.
The one group has as their rules the following three precepts:

  1.  That it is brittle enough to be destroyed by hail and has begun to lighten in color;
  2.  The seeds have produced enough dry material so it can be immediately eaten when parched in fire;
  3.  There is sufficient quantity to clearly indicate maturity that will be fully harvest-ready within a few weeks.

It is my belief and I say this with all due respect, that we have now created Takanot and Ma’asim. The very thing we condemn the Rabbis for doing with the Torah. We have legislated laws created by men not found in the Torah.
Takanot and Ma’asim are the additions to the law of Yehovah added to help us to keep the law or to understand it. They are not found in the law of Yehovah.
To declare a field must be 10% ripe or 20% ripe or even 50% ripe before declaring it Aviv is a Takanot and Ma’asim. The three rules above are also Takanot and Ma’asim and not found in the Torah. To have to declare the Barley Aviv or not by the 29th of the 12th month is also a Takanot and Ma’asim.
Other Groups look for storks to be migrating or grapes to be budding, or lambs to be newly born and many other things they say they need along with the barley to declare the new year. None of these are told to us that we need to begin the year. They have become Takanot and Ma’asim.
I love my brethren who do not agree with me on these points. But we must remove these Takanot and Ma’asim and go back to exactly what the scriptures do say.
There is no reason to look for barley except that we are told to make the wave sheaf offering.
We are told to make a grain offering.

The Feast of Firstfruits

Lev 23:9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin. And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The Grain Offering

But how? We are told exactly how to make this first fruits offering in Lev 2:1

“When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the Lord’s food offerings.
“When you bring a grain offering baked in the oven as an offering, it shall be unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers smeared with oil. And if your offering is a grain offering baked on a griddle, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mixed with oil. You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. And if your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. And you shall bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the Lord, and when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the Lord’s food offerings.

“No grain offering that you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as a food offering to the Lord. As an offering of firstfruits you may bring them to the Lord, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing aroma. You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

“If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain. And you shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. And the priest shall burn as its memorial portion some of the crushed grain and some of the oil with all of its frankincense; it is a food offering to the Lord.

So this is why we search for Barley, in order to make this first fruits offering that we are told to do in Lev 23:9 and we are told in Lev 2 just how to make this grain offering. There is no mention of storks or grapes or newborn lambs. So do not add to the Torah what is not there and develop a new theology.
Let me now quote from Karaite Korner about the Aviv.

Where is Aviv Mentioned in the Hebrew Bible?

The story of the Exodus relates “This day you are going out in the the month of the Aviv.” (Ex 13:4).
To commemorate that we left Egypt in the month of the Aviv, we are instructed to bring the Passover sacrifice and celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot) at this time of year. In Dt 16:1 we are commanded:

“Keep the month of the Aviv and make the Passover (sacrifice) to Yehovah your God at night, because in the month of the Aviv, Yehovah your God took you out of Egypt”.
Similarly, we are commanded in Ex 23:15,

“You will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days you will eat unleavened bread, as I have commanded you, at the time of the month of the Aviv, because in it you went out of Egypt.”
The same is commanded in Ex 34:18,

“You will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days you will eat unleavened bread, as have I commanded you, at the time of the month of the Aviv, because in the month of the Aviv you went out of Egypt.”

What is Aviv?

Aviv indicates a stage in the development of the barley crops. This is clear from Ex 9:31-32 which describes the devastation caused by the plague of hail:

“And the flax and the barley were smitten, because the barley was Aviv and the flax was Giv’ol. And the wheat and the spelt were not smitten because they were dark (Afilot).”

The above passage relates that the barley crops were destroyed by the hail while the wheat and spelt were not damaged. To understand the reason for this we must look at how grain develops. When grains are early in their development they are flexible and have a dark green color. As they become ripe they take on a light yellowish hue and become more brittle. The reason that the barley was destroyed and the wheat was not is that the barley had reached the stage in its development called Aviv and as a result had become brittle enough to be damaged by the hail. In contrast, the wheat and spelt were still early enough in their development, at a stage when they were flexible and not susceptible to being damaged by hail. The description of the wheat and spelt as “dark” (Afilot) indicates that they were still in the stage when they were deep green and had not yet begun to lighten into the light yellowish hue which characterizes ripe grains. In contrast, the barley had reached the stage of Aviv at which time it was no longer “dark” and at this point it probably had begun to develop golden streaks.

And I agree with all that is said above. But there is something we have all missed and this year in my desire to learn more and to understand better the life of the barley I turned to the old fashion way of harvesting the crops. The way my Grandfather used to do it with a large scythe. With modern mechanized machinery, you had to wait until the barley was almost ripe to harvest but not too ripe or you would lose the crop while handling it with the heads shattering. So it was essential to harvest the barley while the heads were still green. (They were green ears or Aviv). But using this modern understanding still leaves you missing the point.
Here is the old fashioned way of harvesting the barley.

It is best, if at all possible, to cut your own supplies yourself, before the reaper/binder harvests the crop. Cutting by hand, although labour intensive, results in far less damage to your working material. It should be done before the corn is fully ripe and has started to head over; there should still be a small amount of green visible at the first joint of the stalk and the kernels are still in the “milky” stage (soft). By cutting while the corn is slightly green, as the grains are not yet fully ripened they are less likely to drop later. It will still dry out to a beautiful golden colour. Do not however cut it whilst it is very green, or the stem will just dry up and wither.

Once they are cut, they are then stacked in “SHEAVES”.

Your sheaves will need to dry out, so stand them upright in the sunshine for a couple of days to allow the moisture to drain down. Bring them in at night to avoid dampness from early morning dew. It is important that they dry out thoroughly.

The thing we are missing and not understanding is the purpose of the “SHEAF”. What does the sheaf do to the barley?

The practice of binding and tying cut grasses or grain stalks into sheaves is a step in the harvesting process. In earlier times, farmers cut grass and grain by hand using or scythes. Once cut, the stalks were bundled and bound into sheaves; the sheaves were bundled together upright to dry. These larger bundles, made up of sheaves, were called “shocks.” A shock of summer wheat consisted of 12 sheaves; a shock of winter wheat or rye contained 18 sheaves. When dry, the sheaves could be threshed. The seed was collected for food and the remaining straw, or chaff, was used to feed livestock.

Let us again read over the method of ancient harvesting and why it was done this way.

The harvesting of grain in biblical times was not just a one- or two-day chore as it is today, when a modern combine harvester can cut, thresh, and clean the grain in a large field in a matter of a few hours. In addition, within a very short time, the grain can be hauled to storage bins for later use. Today, this process is done when the grain is fully ripe and ready for immediate use, yet such was not the case in ancient times, as we will see.

When fully developed and ready for use, grain is golden brown in color. Most of us have observed fields of grain at harvest time, and waves of that golden brown color is what we see. Farmers know that the grain must be this color to be mature and ready to be released from the husk that attaches it to the head of grain. At this stage, it is hard and can be ground into fine flour.
Unlike today’s method, in early times the grain harvest had to begin before the grain was fully ripe so that it would not fall out of the husk prematurely, for instance, while it was being cut. Even though it was harvested earlier, the grain was sufficiently developed to ripen on its own, but the important element to note is that the husk still held the grain securely until it dried, hardened, and was ready to go through a process known as threshing.

Determining when the time was right for the grain to be cut was of prime importance, since cutting it too early would result in immature grain and cutting it too late would mean losing some or all of the harvest. The landowner had to decide when the grain was developed enough but not yet fully ripe, that cutting it would not cause it to be loosened from the husk.
The cutting, no doubt, began when the crop was “white.” This is the transition color between the green of immature grain and the golden brown of fully ripe grain. At this stage, when the grain is still white, a reaper, using a very sharp sickle, cut down the standing grain.

At this stage, one might ask, what happened to the grain until it reached full maturity? Did the farmer just leave it lying in the field after it was cut? The answer is a resounding, “No!” To have done so would have subjected it to the ground moisture, causing it to rot before it was dried and ready for threshing.

The solution to this problem was relatively simple. After the stalks were cut and lying on the ground, harvesters came along and gathered them, tying them into small bundles known as “sheaves.” The sheaves were then stood upright by leaning several sheaves against each other, the resulting shape resembling an Indian tepee. These groups of sheaves were called “shocks.” Normally, between 15 to 20 sheaves made up one shock.

The cone shape of the shock provided support for the sheaves, keeping them from falling to the ground, and allowed the air to pass through the standing stalks, giving the grain the opportunity to age to maturity. It also allowed any moisture from rain or dew to drain from the heads of grain.

Many shocks were scattered around the field, where they would stand until it was determined after a period of many days that they were ready to be threshed. Then, the shocks would be carefully hauled to the threshing floor, and once there, the fruits of grain were secure. Once inside the threshing floor, the grain was ready for the next step in the process, threshing, when the grain was separated from the husks.

The stalks were held and shaken to remove the grain from the husks, and if they proved stubborn, the grain heads were gently beaten with an instrument. Once removed, the next and final step, winnowing, had to be done to prepare the grain for food. Winnowing is done by throwing the grain up into the air on a breezy day and letting the wind blow any remaining chaff from it. Any foreign matter—tares or any other unwanted substance—would be removed, and only clean, ready-to-use grain would remain.

Incredibly, this method of harvesting was used until the early 1900s, when a machine called a “Binder” was invented. This machine, pulled around the field by draft animals, cut and bound the sheaves and deposited them behind it to be picked up by harvesters and put into shocks. They used the same method to dry and mature the grain as had been done for centuries.
A threshing machine had also been invented to thresh the grain. Unlike the more modern combine, however, the shocks of grain had to be carried to it and fed into it in order to be threshed. These were the precursors to the modern-day combine.

With this understanding now watch again what Becca said. This was from the 2019 year.

 

The Mishnah

0 R

The barley to be used in the Omer offering was harvested in a grand public event. Residents of the villages surrounding Jerusalem would all come out to take part in the joyous occasion.

After the Sabbath that fell during the days of Unleavened Bread three men were sent out to harvest the Barley for the Wave Sheaf offering. They would ask the crowd in a loud voice, “Has the Sun Set” and the crowd would confirm by saying “Yes the Sun has set”. This was done three times as were each of the following questions and answers.
“Is this scythe to harvest the barley”  was then asked and the crowd responded with “yes this is the Scythe to harvest the barley.”Is this the basket into which the sheaves shall be placed” and the crowd responded, “Yes this is the basket to put the sheaves in”.
Then the Priest would harvest the barley after the sunset after the Sabbath. This was, in fact, the first day of the week or the Sunday during the days of Unleavened Bread. Here are some pictures of this actually taking place in 2017.

 Entire families, men women and children, gathered in a field in the Negev to harvest barley that would be used the next day by priests to recreate the omer offering of barley. The barley was prepared according to Torah law and presented as a wave offering in Jerusalem by priests in a ceremony that closely resembled what was once seen every year in Solomon’s Temple.

The harvest was done with great fanfare and joy and music and Judah is doing this now in preparation for when the temple is to be restored.

It is at this point that I am now saying the Barley was stood in Sheaves or Stocks in the Temple overnight to dry out and for the green ears to suck up the energy in the stock to the seeds and become harder overnight. None of the seeds would be lost in the cutting or transporting to the Temple.
The Barley was not cut and stored as some have suggested it could be. We know this because of the scripture that says:

Deut 16:9 says you are to count from the time when you FIRST PUT THE SICKLE TO THE STANDING GRAIN

This means you are to count the Omer from the day, That is Sunday when you first put the sickle to cut the grain, that Sunday right after Sabbath ended, to Shavuot. You do not harvest before Wave Sheaf Day. You do not store the grain and wait for Wave Sheaf Day. And you do not delay Wave Sheaf Day as you are told in:

Exodus 22:29 “Do not delay giving your harvest and your vintage. Give Me the first-born of your sons.

The word delay is ‘a?char   aw-khar’

A primitive root; to loiter (that is, be behind); by implication to procrastinate: – continue, defer, delay, hinder, be late (slack), stay (there), tarry (longer).

It is the Feast of First Fruits and it is important that you give the first of your fruits, which in this case is the barley. You do not store it and then take some to give Yehovah. You give the First, The very First cuttings to Yehovah. And from this point when you make this first harvest you begin to count to Shavuot.
Early Sunday morning the Sheaves would then be threshed and the grains separated from the husks and the straw.

Then the grains would be put through 13 sieves to remove any of the unwanted or wrong sized grains. One sieve each of the tribes of Israel. This could also be done to in place of the winnowing process of tossing the grain in the air to let the wind blow out the chaff.

0 R

Once the barley was sieved and sorted and an omer worth collected then it would have to be roasted to remove any remaining moisture and to caramelize the grain so that it could be ground into flour.

This is how much Barley is needed. One Omers worth. Not 10% of the field nor 30% nor 50% of the field. Enough barley to make one Omer for the wave offering.

And from this omer of Barley, it is then waved before Yehovah and one hand full burnt on the fire and the rest eaten by the Priests.

Lev 2:1 “When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the Lord’s food offerings.
Lev 23:14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Now watch the video as the Kohanim Priest practice this offering in preparation for the Temple Service.

Barley Harvested in Preparation for Third Temple Wave Offering [PHOTO/VIDEO SPREAD]

Now You are Ready to Judge

Now that you understand the process of harvesting the barley and how the barley rushes to develop the seed once it is cut and that it has to be cut while it is in the dough stage and still green so that the seeds do not get lost while cutting or transporting them, now you are qualified to judge the following reports to see which ones tell you that stage the barley will be in come wave sheaf day.
Again I am going to share with you the chart so you can know at what stage the barley is and just how many days it takes to be ready for harvesting. If this is the 1st month then Wave Sheaf day would be on March 15. So that is how many days the barley has to grow before being harvested.

Becca Biderman

February 7, 2020 – Becca Biderman
Re’im in the south. Not in bloom yet, heads have emerged (out of the boot). Cold and rainy today

February 9 – Becca Biderman
Since the 5th of February, the anemonies have been blooming in Re’im, actually maybe even a day earlier. I have a friend on a Kibbutz near there that has been watching for me. The photo of the anemonies is from Feb 5 at Re’im. Friday when I left Re’im, on the way back north, I saw anemonies blooming pretty much all the way to Tel Aviv, on the way down south they had not bloomed. As of yet, I have not gotten reports of anemonies from J’lem. The anemonies have not bloomed in the north but the plants are well up (photo).

Edited: today, Monday, Feb 10th; the anemonies started popping out in the Galilee!!! Near Kibbutz Kineret (photos)
Since Friday the almond trees have been blooming in Jerusalem at Lifta forest, and another friend photographed and reported almond trees in Jerusalem at Gazelle Park. Since Friday the almond tree in my garden has been blooming. I checked the almond orchard in the next Kibbutz over, Yavne’el, and that almond orchard is just starting to bloom. (there will be a few photos from the orchard but it was muddy and a bit hard to move around inside) I saw several almond trees in bloom just before Tel Aviv as I traveled south on Friday and more as I traveled back north, including an orchard.
Today I was out and about and the fig trees in my village, the ones that I check every year, these three trees all have figs.
I would say that more than 50% of the vineyards have been pruned.
No lambs or kids on the ground
Migratory birds but not the ones that are listed in the book of Jeremiah.
Here’s a bonus marker that I look for, the mandrakes are in bloom in the north and the south

Joseph Dumond

This is all exciting but none of this tells me the state of the barley except the part where she said,

Not in bloom yet, heads have emerged (out of the boot).

On our charts above this is about number 45 -51-59. And this is on Feb 5, 2020

Brian and Linda Convery

Feb 8, 2020: Abib Update – Brian and Linda Convery
Happy Sabbath Brethren,

We hope this communication finds you safe and sound in the bosom of Father, and our Lord and Savior/Husband, Jesus the Christ. As we write the sun is not up yet and the snow and cold are blowing around outside. But the wood burning stove is moving right along sending out its warmth throughout the house. Such a wonderful blessing to live in such comfort and ease of life here at the end of the age. We are very thankful for it and we also know it may change at any given time.

It appears that some of the brethren are getting a little antsy about the expectations at the end of this 12th Biblical month and a possible start to the new year. In that venue some of you are a little annoyed at us for not sending out all the updates of the barley growth cycle and the meteorological conditions affecting it like we have in past years leading up to the end of the 12th month.

Well, dear brothers and sisters, if you are of that persuasion then you have forgotten how we emphasized last year that we were going to do exactly that with the expectation you would use your computer and time to search articles, photos, and videos originating in Israel from December on to practice this all for yourselves. We have demonstrated over the years how simple it is to do. This year there have been lots of pictures and videos to examine. And there still will be. For many, many years we have stressed the importance of doing this individually. In doing so we are instructed in knowledge of both the climate, and the barley growth cycles being put in place for the determination of the end of one year and start of another. We then sift this knowledge through the experiences we have gained through the patterns in creation and in the Word of God to gain understanding. Only then can we make a decision based in wisdom. A good farmer watches the weather conditions which affect his crop growing so that he is not caught unawares of the time of harvest so he does not suffer any unnecessary hardships related to it. We are all to be doing the same.

So far, the last 3 months of the Biblical Calendar have been setting record upon record for rainfall in much of the Land. Many locations have already exceeded their annual rainfall quantities and are still doing so with the exception of some isolated areas where volunteer/wild barley grows. Much of this has had devastating effects on crops and people. Some have lost their lives as a result of it. There are areas where croplands were devastated and needing to be turned and reseeded. Unfortunately, that could not happen while the soils were soaked. Some will just wait for a drier environment and plant a different later crop in that same ground.

As we are writing much of the Land is receiving strong winds and rain. The temperatures are falling with the forecast of frost starting Sunday night through Tuesday. The threat of loosing young crops and early budding fruit trees is very real. Ask yourself this: Does that sound like the preconditions that an entire country of people would be traveling to a pilgrimage feast of Passover/UB in the mountains surrounding Jerusalem 31 days from today? Could our Creators adjust that with a miracle? Of course, They could and we also would adjust for we follow our Savior/Husband wherever He goes. But why would They do such a thing? They are teaching us all about Their patterns in scripture and in creation. We will need that knowledge and understanding desperately in the years to come. All of this is actually rooted in common sense which is a fleeting thing these days. They have established the intercalation pattern with us since 2004/2005. That has not changed unless you have been a Nehemiaite anti-christ calendar follower.

So far this year we have been able to review many photo’s and videos of the barley growing. Nothing is remotely mature enough to sponsor a wavesheaf by March 10th. Not even the unacceptable barley growing along roadsides and in stony soil, with their greenhouse effects. Those plants are always much earlier than barley growing in good soil, yet not even close this cycle to date.

What we have witnessed is a huge amount of tillering taking place all over the country. Some may ask what is tillering? Tillering is when a plant decides to send out auxiliary shoots off of the main shoot at its root system underground. That results in the possibility of the plant producing multiple shoots with multiple heads and thus a greater harvest. Water is the number one early and late component in all of this cycle. That is exactly why it is taking place in such vast numbers this year, record rains in most regions and locations that grow grain. You may then ask: what does that have to do with the upcoming end of the 12th Biblical month? Almost everything. We say that because volunteer barley is the number 1 sign used for the decision to change from winter to summer in the Land. However, it is not alone for it is just 1 of 10 given to us in scripture to look for which witness to the end of the year.

What is taking place is simple to follow and observe and thus understand. The root system under this phenomenon is supporting multiple stocks or shoots which will be producing multiple heads of grain. That slows down the maturing process. The idealistic 90-day standard cycle is completely disrupted as to days to maturity and harvesting. Things like tillering as a result of lots of moisture is all designed into the seed and has been since day 3 of creation. The Elohim use it to instruct us as to their decisions. Water just does not slow down the plants maturing from tillering but also from the fact the root system will put a lot of production and time into growing thicker and taller stalks so it can reach higher when it bows its head before the Elohim. This all increases the time of the life cycle of the plant and thus puts of the time of harvest. The plant will not reach physiologic maturity so it can reproduce itself and thus be Aviv until much later than that of a normal cycle in the Land. In fact, green heads can be seen for many weeks past the normal Zadok time frame

Once again, nothing we have observed to date gives us any hope of a March 10th Passover/UB festival. We will be continuing our normal daily observations of the pictures and weather conditions for several more weeks. We will have a Zoom meeting online on Sabbath the 22nd of this month to discuss what we have for making decisions.

Please understand, we know there are some out there stirring the pot in the hope that you will be drawn into their sphere of influence. Don’t be easily tossed to and fro. Its not worth it. You have what you need to follow the balance of the Biblical month along as to growth cycles and weather conditions. Apply the current cycles to the written reports of the past 18/19 years on the site and make your determinations as we approach the end of this 12th Biblical month. Use all of this so you grow in the knowledge of our Lord, Jesus the Christ, for He is our Wavesheaf. Be patient and see what takes place between now and then.

Brian and Linda

Joseph Dumond

I am disappointed in this report. They are not even in the land yet and they are already saying that the barley will not be ready in time for March 10 Passover. This is not a witness. They are still in England. This report leads me to think they have an agenda to make this the 13th month. We cannot pre judge things until we are in the land and see it with our own eyes. We are relying on those in the land. I could have written a similar report from Canada.

Gisela Weisemberg

February 18, 2020 –  Gisela (posted by Brian Convery)
Abib Update: Tuesday February 18, 2020
Hi Folks,
Gisela made her annual trek to the Gamah Junction/Re’im area today. She lives much further south where little to no vegetation survives without irrigation. We have included some of her pictures here. No defined area of growth to be found.
Some excerpts from her message follows:
“I cannot say I was disappointed from what I found because I pretty much knew what will be and understood the reasons. I’m attaching all the pictures I took. The biggest difference between today and last year… first and foremost the amount of barley. Last year at around the same date it was hard not to spot barley EVERYWHERE and of course spots of golden barley all over.”
“Today… Well.. I’m not going to say that I needed a magnifying glass to find barley but it was hard to spot. Evergreen color, mixed with a ton of flowers and other plants.”
“So, in conclusion: The Master and Creator is reserving most of the barley for next month. He just gave some “early birds” for us to understand His way. Weather forecast for the next few days: Rain and more rain until Monday! Mostly for the Negev!”
Everything we have received and viewed to date compliments her inspections today. We have added a copy of Zadok’s growth scale to this update for you to use in stablishing the age of the intermittent heads.
We will keep you posted. Pictures follow.

“The following picture is one we took yesterday showing a stark contrast between the field this year and that from last year. When we sent out the videos last March 2019 of the current conditions several days prior to the March Passover of all the hundreds of acres of Aviv barley we included this field in it. Tall golden waves of barley then. Look where it is now.” (Brian & Linda Convery – February 26, 2020 Abib Update addendum)


“Here is another section of the same field. Please evaluate the pictures. We see anemones, some wild flowers and a field composed of very young oats and barley. This is the state of the overall area of each of our traditionally early fields except for a few small patches. And then there are the cherry-picking little mounds. Notice how the oats in them are more mature than anything else around them even the other oats. The reason is simple, there is structure mixed into the soil under those little areas in the field. Thus, they grow up more quickly as the parable of the sower instructs us for all the wrong reasons. Is it acceptable to use one of those clumps on the mounds to direct us as to the fields expected date for maturity? The answer is simple if we apply common sense with a little agricultural background and the spirit of the Elohim. Summed up that is defined as the simplicity in Christ/Messiah.”
RE: “The following picture is one we took yesterday showing a stark contrast between the field this year and that from last year. When we sent out the videos last March 2019 of the current conditions several days prior to the March Passover of all the hundreds of acres of Aviv barley we included this field in it. Tall golden waves of barley then. Look where it is now.” (Brian & Linda Convery – February 26, 2020 Abib Update addendum)

Joseph Dumond

I appreciate this report but Gisela does not give us anything we can use for direction. She does not show us the barley up close nor tell us what stage it is in. She does say it was hard to find.
Brian Convery then tells us from the pictures that there is barley on the clumps of dirt, but that these do not count according to his conclusions.

Gisela Weisemberg

“Here we have heads just out of the boot, coming out of the boot, and still in the boot. This little clump is surrounded by weeds.” (Brian Convery – Abib Update February 18, 2020)
photo by Gisela Weisemberg

“Another good picture of a clump of barley in the boot, coming out of the boot, and actually out of the boot. Notice the oats near the top of the picture accompanied by weeds and young barley” (Brian Convery – Abib Update February 18, 2020)
picture by Gisela Weisemberg

“Very descriptive picture. This was the most advanced head found by Gisela. For you old timers you can see it is of the red strain variety. It has a thistle shadowing it. Notice all the oats still very green holding down young barley. This once again is an isolated clump. Keep in mind as a rule the oats are 3 weeks ahead of the barley in maturity as we have established over the years in the reports.” (Brian Convery – Abib Update February 18, 2020)
photo by Gisela Weisemberg

Joseph Dumond

Now we have pictures of the barley and Brian has said barley was in the boot, coming out of the boot and actually out of the boot. He did not examine or open the barley in those pictures that was of a golden colour. Again the boot stage is about 45-51 on our scale above.
This was taken Feb 18, 2020. That is 26 days before a potential wave sheaf day on March 15, 2020. That would put the barley at 71-77 by wave sheaf day which is the Clear liquid stage, which would not be ready by wave sheaf day. But they did find some that were golden in colour or in other words mature.

John Illgen

Feb 17 – 25, 2020  –  John Illgen

I’ll be in Israel during the final week of the 12th Month to look at barley to make an Abib determination or a 13th month. I will look from Dan to Be’ersheva. If you are interested in what I find for the purpose for your own calendar determination send me a direct message and I’ll share my findings with you. Shalom.

We reckon this to be the 12th Month now. I’ll arrive in Israel on Feb 17th and fly out on the 25th. I’ll check the same spots as in years past. I don’t expect to see Abib barley, but for me it’s important to see it for myself.

Follow up from Brian Hoeck  – John did not find any barley even close to abiv so declared a 13th month.
John noted that he “revisited several spots that last year had Abib cultivated barley and wild or volunteer barley.” So he examined both domestic and wild. Both are represented in John’s videos.

John’s first report: “I don’t have much to report yet. I arrived in Tel Aviv late morning and by the time I got through customs and baggage claim and the car rental it was afternoon. I drove up to Galilee and was able to look at a few fields.
So far I can confirm Brian Convery’s report of Feb 8th, that the heavy rains in the land this winter have really caused significant crop damage. I saw many fields today that have been reseed. There is standing water in most low lying fields. The fields that are growing don’t even have heads emerging yet. You can see in the photos that parts of the fields have been damaged by too much water. I saw at least 5 more like this today.

Tomorrow I plan to scout around some more here in Galilee and Jezreel Valley and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I’ll be in Be’ersheva and Re’im and Sdrot. More tomorrow.”

John’s 2nd report: “Still no sign of any barley even close to Abib, Today I revisited several spots that last year had Abib cultivated barley and wild or volunteer barley close by.

This year those same spots did not have any barley with even a head emerging. I went to the last spot that Solomon Meyer and I visited last year and we shot a minute or so of video. I went to that same field this afternoon and although it looks like a healthy crop there was not even a head emerging. The video can be seen here on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUFdB0nhrhk

Tomorrow I’ll finish up in Re’im up to Sdrot and have a final report before Shabbat.”
John’s final report: “Today, I did see some heads emerging in some fields today west of Be’er Sheva. First segment is from a field on RT 234 just north of Urim, then next segment is the small field of wild barley that Brian Convery/Brian Hoeck reported last year [COMMENT – this was not the field, but Brian and Linda Convery to go the same field this year and provided pics of how young it is right now – Brian Hoeck], continuing up 232 towards Sdrot another field and then another just north of Sdrot.
As everyone expected, no abib barley right now in the 12th month. For me, anyway, it’s important to look. As for me and my family we will be adding the 13th month. I hope to be able to spot the new moon here on Monday night before I fly back Tuesday morning.

I’ve posted another video with today’s findings on our YouTube channel you can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bd-Dj4oTpE

I intend to post the rest of the photos from the trip on our website: www.gbsabbathfellowship.org when I get back”

Joseph Dumond

Do keep in mind that those searching this year were doing so while the Palestinians were shooting rockets at them and other places in Israel. Again I do appreciate thier efforts. When you watch the video John does show you planted barley that was becoming hard seed. And then in another field, the heads were not out. And yet he declares a 13th month. Anyway, I will let you look and judge this for yourself.

 

Devorah’s Date Tree – Report # 1 – February 25, 2020

Dear Friends,
We are back from another successful Aviv Search and feel very blessed by the protection and provisions Yehovah provided us on this trip and everyone’s support and prayers! We were obviously nervous about the security situation in the South, but decided to go anyway. Fortunately, there were no incidents when we were in the fields, but since we left, over 40 rockets have been fired from Gaza into the region we were inspecting, which has resulted in schools, roads, and railways in the area to be closed today. Please join me in keeping the people in the South in our prayers during these tumultuous times.

As for our search and findings, we carried out this Aviv Search on Sunday, February 23, 2020 and inspected wild volunteer barley growing in the Northern Negev. We concentrated our search in this region, as we have found the climate in this area to be particularly conducive to the maturity of barley, and one of the earliest places in which barley ripens in Israel. We did not know what we would find when we set out on our search and approached our inspection with humility and openness to whatever we would discover.

Just to give a little weather context before I share our findings, we have enjoyed a second consecutive very rainy winter in Israel this year, and although we have observed some signs of the seasons beginning to change, it should be noted that it is still raining here, including in the South of Israel where we were looking. However, this did not deter us from going out and inspecting the fields, as we have seen in the past, that aviv can be found during the rainy season, including last year (2019) when we found a handful of aviv barley during the rainy season, which  was enough for some of you to decide to begin the new year in March 2019.

As for our findings, let me say right off the bat that we did not find any aviv barley. In fact, the vast majority of the barley in the region, would simply look like grass to the untrained eye, as it was a deep green and very low to ground. However, the development of a barley field is not uniform, nor are the different fields in the same region, and so not surprisingly, we also saw a fair amount of barley with the heads fully emerged in the flowering and cotton stages. We even saw a few stalks in the soft dough and hard dough stages, the latter meaning we could not squeeze the seed out, but could still easily cut the seed in half with our fingernails, but again we only found a few of these.

As we didn’t find any aviv by this new moon, I think most people will be beginning the new year next month, meaning at the end of March 2020, which will be the end of the 13th month for those who believe we only need to find a minimum of an omer/sheaf of aviv, and the end of the 12th month (following a leap year) for those who believe a significant amount of the field needs to be aviv before beginning the year. That being said, in case there is someone who believes they need a particular amount of aviv by Yom HaNafat HaOmer (the Day of the Wave Sheaf Offering) and thinks they have enough information from our report in order to predict that, I have decided to leave both the March and April Chag HaMatzot dates in the image below.

As I mentioned in a previous message, this was only the first of several Aviv Searches we would like to carry out this season. We would very much like to go out again in a couple weeks’ time and inspect the barley fields to see how much they have developed, we hope you understand how valuable this kind of research is and will help support our efforts.

I want to thank Goldie Jurkowicz and Ephraim Lee for joining me on this Aviv Search. I know we each made personal sacrifices to come from all over the country to inspect and witness the state of the barley crop for those who wish to keep the Biblical Calendar and holidays in their appointed times. Your participation, observations, and insights contributed greatly to its success and we thank you for all your efforts.

I also want to give a big thank you to all of you who are supporting our efforts to restore the Biblical Calendar, financially, through prayer, words of encouragement, and helping to spread the word, your support is immensely appreciated! This Aviv Search was another valuable learning experience for our team, which is committed to providing reliable first-hand New Moon and Aviv Reports from Israel.

If you have been enjoying our New Moon and Aviv Reports and have been meaning to make a contribution, now would be a great time to support our efforts, and if you are a regular contributor and able to give a little extra this time of year, that would be greatly appreciated as well.

Also, if you live in Israel and are interested in participating in a future Aviv Search, please send us what city you live in, languages you speak, and your phone number and we will be in touch with you if we have any available places.
This concludes this Aviv Report. We hope this report has been helpful to you in determining when you will begin the new year. We will be leaving shortly to look for the new moon and will be sending out the New Moon Report following the observation.

How to receive the New Moon Report following the observation:

1. Via E-mail – Subscribe to receive the reports via e-mail (be sure to add “DevorahsDateTree@gmail.com” to your contacts, so the reports don’t go to your SPAM folder).
2. Via Facebook – “Like” our Facebook Page Devorah’s Date Tree, then hover over the “Following” button (next to the “Like” button) and select “See First” to ensure you don’t miss the reports.
* The New Moon Report will be sent as soon as possible following the observation. We ask for your patience and understanding while we confirm the sightings.
If reliable first-hand New Moon and Aviv Reports from Israel are of value to you, please consider supporting our efforts. We could really use your support in restoring the Biblical Calendar!
Devorah Gordon
Jerusalem, Israel
* Please note, that while I have no reason to think those who participated in this Aviv Search with me would disagree with the description of the findings I presented above, it is worth noting that the observations and opinions expressed in this report are my personal perceptions and interpretations and may or may not represent those of the other participants.

Copyright © 2020 Devorah Gordon, All rights reserved.

 

Joseph Dumond

Now we are getting some where.
Devorah said this

As for our findings, let me say right off the bat that we did not find any aviv barley. In fact, the vast majority of the barley in the region, would simply look like grass to the untrained eye, as it was a deep green and very low to ground. However, the development of a barley field is not uniform, nor are the different fields in the same region, and so not surprisingly, we also saw a fair amount of barley with the heads fully emerged in the flowering and cotton stages. We even saw a few stalks in the soft dough and hard dough stages, the latter meaning we could not squeeze the seed out, but could still easily cut the seed in half with our fingernails, but again we only found a few of these.

Devorah has just described to you barley in stages 45 through to 81-89.
But Devorah is of the Karaite understanding that the barley must be ready to harvest by the end of the 12th month. We do not agree with that understanding. We believe the barley must be ready by wave sheaf day as we have explained above. This is why Devorah has declared a 13th month. So this is a good testimony.

When you add on the number of days from February 25, the date of this report until wave Sheaf day March 15, a total of 18 days and look on the chart for the barley you can see that by wave sheaf day we would have ripe barley or barley that was in the dough stages.
And yes barley ripens at various stages and is not uniform. This is shown to us in the story of Ruth as they worked parts of each field and going back when the rest was ripe later on.

February 22 – VIDEO of his Abib Inspection – Brian & Linda Convery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gITR2AqQT9w&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2bGtv3PD2ZuGSGmijw8wXGN8es3uaPRg3APCeJAoK2oZsZmQP3SwmmLWU
 
 
 
February 25 – Abib Inspection Report from Brian & Linda Convery
Be sure to check out the most recent pictures and commentary in the PDF attachment at the bottom from various traditional early fields in the Jezreel and Jordan Valleys, Rehov, the Negev, and North of Re’im. Also note some miscellaneous pictures at the end.
Below is Brian Convery’s Summation from the day:

Hi Folks,
We landed yesterday in the rain and it was off and on all day. Today we drove through some rain in all 3 regions which grow grain crops of Israel: north, central, and south. We only use locations where good soil conditions are found. No stony soils, etc. as mentioned in all our literature and reports over the past 19 years.

We made our way to the majority of our traditionally early fields of volunteer/wild barley. Because of the extent of the young barley (looks like grass) in all three regions we focused on taking pictures of the most advanced in each for representative examples to weigh things out with. You will see the following pictures have a written account with each.

As we had stated last year after the inspections, we were quite confident, based on the pattern of intercalation started in 2005 that we would be looking at adding a 13th month to this year. That is why we put up the dates accordingly last summer, as well as the dates for 2021. Of course, we back that up with inspections as well as with past experience. This year the evidence is overwhelming to say the least. You will be able to compare wavesheaf quality fields in pictures from last year to this year in the reports.
None of the traditionally early figs showed any hint of green coming out. The almonds where blooming nicely in various parts of the country as they should be for, they are a late winter bloomer, at least the “early birds” are.

Who mentioned grapes? A long way from putting forth their blossom clusters. The only grapes with green on them in the areas we drive through were in the Jordan Valley under dark mesh and being irrigated. Even they were not that robust.

We saw lots of white egrets today and some nice raptors. However, no sign of the actual bird witnesses in scripture. Hopefully you can use this information to assist you in making your personal decision as to the year. We will continue to send out pictures and some videos as the month moves along from here in the Land.
Our peace we give to you
Brian and Linda

Attached Report from Brian and Linda Convery

Abib Inspection: Tuesday February 25, 2020

Traditionally early fields in the North as well as everything else in the region is young. In the boot, emerging from the boot, and out of the boot with florets.

This is a standout early field at the confluence of the Jezreel and Jordan Valleys. The oats have not even risen above the young barley grass yet. This is the result of a lot of extra rain on good soil. Look at how broad the leaves are. Tillering is exponential and holding back the main stalk from maturing.
The next picture is of another traditionally early field near Rehov just north of the one above. Some of the heads are emerging but still well into flowering with the rest several Zadok stages behind. It did rain off and on at this location early this morning.

Old olive grove in the background.

Inspections in the SW Negev: Tuesday 2/25/2020

Quite a mixed bag in the south at our T.E.F. (traditionally early fields). We will write up a description with each picture or group of pictures so you can compare them to those of last year at the end of the 12th month.

Many will remember this as the wave sheaf location from last year. The farmer took back more of the land but the picture speaks volumes. Notice that there is wild mustard growing in it. The heads are in the boot and out of the boot. The following pictures clearly show the age.

Notice both strains are present here with the red strain being more mature but still has some florets attached to it. We broke the news to them: “Not this year boys!”
Next, we have the adjacent ridge which was also Aviv by wave sheaf day but slightly behind the winner of the crown.

Please take note of all the heads out of the boot. However, they are very young even though the sun shining on them makes them look older. The following picture of the heads lends us understanding to the fact they are just out of flowering.

 

North of Re’im

Here we are at a prominent location from last year which is subject to the 4 legged lawn movers the past 5-6 years. Chanse and I call this the Todd and Brian location. Notice the oats mixed in with some dropping seed.

Also notice the red strain is dwarfing the standard volunteer/wild barley. The sheep and goats have made trails through much of it and in some areas eaten it down. We were able to extract some advanced red strain dough heads randomly spread throughout the younger plants.

This red strain head here is what we call an early bird. It can be dried in the sun or roasted to achieve what is required for a Leviticus 2:14 wave sheaf offering. Unfortunately, all the rest of his friends want to suck on the milk bottle much longer. This specimen is far too advanced for harvesting with a sickle as we have often pointed out. Just touching the head sends it apart as it was designed to do. This does not happen with domestic barley of this age for it is designed, through manipulation by man, for the seeds and awns not to disperse unless under a violent event. Like a harvesting machine.
Here is a great picture with Linda holding some beautiful young red strain wild barley. Only in wet years can it achieve such stature. But we all know the lesson in that. The more water the longer the plant puts off seed production.

Notice it is flowering. Florets are clearly visible.
Some miscellaneous pictures from today.
Lots of sheep out and about. We only saw one lamb today in one of the other flocks not seen here. The young man said the little ones are about to pop out. Some of these mums here are really ready.

Tare in with the young barley. Once they show in the head, they expose themselves for what they are.
The following picture is of a sea of oats surrounding flowering barley. The oats are traditionally 3 weeks before the barley when found in good ground.

February 26 – Brian Convery

Abib Update: February 26, 2020
Good Morning Folks,
Good to have some sleep behind us. It rained heavy in Shoresh last night and is still very cloudy here. We put off our early morning hike until the chance of rain had ended.
We did go by all our early fig trees here in Shoresh. Two pictures are included here. For those of you who have been obtaining the reports over the years you will recognize them as several of our go to trees for the past 10 or so years. Some have asked what do you mean by traditional locations for early barley and figs, etc.? Good question for newcomers and as a refresher for old timers.

The first five years of conducting inspections to understand the turn of the year from winter to summer were a lot of random searching. When Nehemia, Devorah and one or two of their fellow Karaite’s inspected with us (us is our fellow members of the body) for the first two years we were confined to just a few areas. Since then we would drive all over the country for the next 3 years looking in every nook and cranny so to speak for acceptable ground which would produce excellent samples of wild/volunteer barley year after year.

For the past 15 years we have been going to the earliest of the early fields each and every year. We have become very intimate with the growth patterns in each of them based on the weather conditions of the particular year. It is like a farmer using the same ground year after year and knowing how it will produce a good crop. He knows its timing secrets which someone from another area would not.

This undertaking is life to us not a living for it is the shadow of the reality of our Savior Wavesheaf who was accepted on our behalf. Thus, we do not take it lightly. Thus, we do not run around the country any longer seeking out new representative fields. Father and Christ have made it very clear to us how dependable these locations are. Many of you who have never been here in person have become familiar with them also through our pictures, videos, and writings about them.

We have over the years trained many people who wanted to learn how to inspect. Unfortunately, some have gone a different direction as to the simplicity of Christ and the witnesses He has placed in creation. As we promised we will continue to send out updates over the course of the next month for all to use in gaining knowledge so that understanding of the entire process can be achieved to a point one can actually speak of such things with wisdom. It hurts to see many stupidly lazy virgins running to and fro, demanding answers from others who have their hands to the plow. No surprise though for our Savior tells us all about it in Matthew 25. Itching ears will be the death of many here at the end of the age.

Notice how the rain runoff has washed gravel onto the roadway last night. Lots more photo’s but this will suffice to demonstrate winter force rains are still here. We posted an article from Y-net News on the site from yesterday as to this fact.

Here we have a familiar site to many of you. The trees we use year in and year out have always had green shoots on them at a minimum, on the last day of the 12th Biblical month. Not even a hint of life on any of them. These traditional witnesses have been with us for 10 years as mentioned above.

On the next tree you can see one dead fig from last year near the top. No green shoots whatsoever on the tree. That brings up a point. We were sent pictures of fig trees with dead figs from last year on them which were being touted as new early fruit.

Our internet is not all that good in this location so it takes time for us to send reports to Bridget and Brenda for them to post more easily. I will try to add another picture to this file and see if it will load.

Here we have a lesson in illusions. If you look at this picture you will see that the taller barley in the top right gives an appearance of being much older than the rest from the perspective of color. Simply not so. That is what young awns look like when light hits them and they move in the wind. They almost look like they are lightening up ready to become Aviv. Optical illusion folks. Do not be misled by such things. Look at the pictures from yesterday and the representative head picture from them. In every case these heads are green and in the flowering stages except where noted. That is why we do a closeup photo of them.
Please remember we are looking at representative fields for the start of a harvest, not tip toeing through the tulips picking a bouquet.

Our Peace we give to you!
Brian and Linda

February 26, 2020 addendum
Hi again folks,
The following picture is one we took yesterday showing a stark contrast between the field this year and that from last year. When we sent out the videos last March 2019 of the current conditions several days prior to the March Passover of all the hundreds of acres of Aviv barley we included this field in it. Tall golden waves of barley then. Look where it is now.

Here is another section of the same field.

Please evaluate the pictures. We see anemones, some wild flowers and a field composed of very young oats and barley. This is the state of the overall area of each of our traditionally early fields except for a few small patches. And then there are the cherry-picking little mounds. Notice how the oats in them are more mature than anything else around them even the other oats. The reason is simple, there is structure mixed into the soil under those little areas in the field. Thus, they grow up more quickly as the parable of the sower instructs us for all the wrong reasons. Is it acceptable to use one of those clumps on the mounds to direct us as to the fields expected date for maturity? The answer is simple if we apply common sense with a little agricultural background and the spirit of the Elohim. Summed up that is defined as the simplicity in Christ/Messiah.

Here is a picture from 10 am this morning in Shoresh. This is what winter fog looks like for those of you not familiar with it. For those of you familiar with the view from here, we can normally see all the way to the Mediterranean and the Judean Hills to the north.

February 27, 2020 – Brian and Linda Convery

February 27, 2020
Hi Folks,
Finally, a sunny and warm day in the Negev. I personally have never been in Israel where I had to wait for 3 days to see the sun. However, even with clouds it seems so much brighter than home on the south side of Lake Ontario.
We did see our first little groups of white storks near Ofakim today. The largest was around 100 and the 2 others much smaller. They were just having fun soaring up in the sky. Beautiful to watch. Does everyone remember what triggers the migration in birds? It is caused by an enzyme in their brain reacting to either the increasing sunlight in the northern hemisphere as summer comes on and the decreasing sunlight as the year moves toward winter. In Israel the passthrough can start as early as February 20th. However, it intensifies as the month of March loses its days. That is the same year after year because the sun is its master except for short delays based on bad weather.

Next, we have a picture of one of our traditional vineyards. At the end of a 12 month year it always has buds and leaves popping out. We have passed over 60 vineyards to date with no sign of any life emerging. Every intercalated year to date for us has had no grapes budding. That is a good pattern to follow.

As many of you know we have not entered an intercalated year with figs budding as well. Every normal 12-month year has had grapes and figs “blooming.” We will continue to watch for both on our stay here.
Some wanted a close up of the field from last year that qualified for a wavesheaf. Here is a picture of the most advanced in it. It is all within a week of each other in age development as it should be. No sheep have defiled it with stomping around and such.

We have some videos which are loaded with info if we can get them to Bridget and Brenda to put up. One is of sheep with some lambs. The other is of a field we are watching and following its maturing process. Some want a close up of a barley head with florets. It follows.

For you folks who consider domestic we have a video of the most advanced field we have found. Many heads are just coming out of the boot. Here is a picture of what most of the domestic barley looks like in the Negev. Notice no heads emerged yet, but lots of Tillering taking place because of all the water from above.

Joseph Dumond

This is the statement that has bothered me with Brian’s reporting.
I too fully expected it to be a 13th month year. But I did not set out to prove it as such.

As we had stated last year after the inspections, we were quite confident, based on the pattern of intercalation started in 2005 that we would be looking at adding a 13th month to this year. That is why we put up the dates accordingly last summer, as well as the dates for 2021.

We have clearly shown those of you who read our news letters that the Jews in the city of Zoar kept the Passover before the Equinox on many occassions. We proved this by looking at the dates and working back to the first of the year. We did this because Becca indicated that Passover might just be early based on her observations from living in the land of Israel.
If you want to look at the picture that Brian posts then you can go to his site and view them. I will now get to the next witness and then let you all decide when Passover is.

“Becca Biderman”

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HisAncientPath/
You can go to her private page and view all the documentation she has of pictures and videos.
I am going to quote just the ones section that is of importance.

This is the barley that was cut the morning of the 25th of February in the Negev. These photos I am posting are from the morning of the 27th of February. The random grain I checked is in the final stage of dough. It can still be barely divided by my thumb nail and there is a large amount of starch on the inside, very little moisture left. It would be a perfect example of what to roast by fire to complete the extraction of moisture from the grain. Notice how easily that barley shattered, or fell apart.

Joseph Dumond

I am not considering anything else that Becca may believe in or think about. I am only considering the barley in order to determine if the new year has now begun.
She cut that barley and these pictures are one day later. As if they were standing in sheaf overnight as described above. The seed has formed and is ready to be roasted. And this was done on February 26, 2020. This field of which she has a video on her site showing much of the field in this stage that she has picked, will be more than ready by wave sheaf day in 18 days.

Each of the other witnesses have mentioned some early barley in the soft dough stage. They all mentioned it in the boot stage. Becca has shown us barley and a large field of it in the hard dough stage on Feb 26, 18 days before wave sheaf day.

Sightedmoon.com will be declaring this current month as the 1st of Aviv. And we will again check the barley before wave sheaf day.

One More Note to Consider

Each of the reports above have been completed or shared on or about February 26. For the most part they are saying the Barley was in or coming out of the boot with some some flowering and in the milk stage and some even in the soft dough stage.
If you agree with them that Passover will not be until April 9 and Wave Sheaf Day April 12, then you must also consider what will be the state of the barley by that date. This is 47 days from the reported dates. So just add that to the charts above and then decide.

The Holy Day Dates for 2020 based on the Barley being Aviv in March

Tuesday March 3
The 7th day of the first month. You are to pray for your family specifically on this day.
Monday March 9, 2020.
This is the last supper and the foot washing ceremony. This is the fast of the first born.
Tuesday March 10, 2020.
The is Aviv 14, the preparation day for the Passover and the day Yehshua was crucified at 9 AM and died at 3 PM. He was then rushed to be placed in the grave before the High Sabbath. The Passover meal is eaten this evening after sunset. You are to eat unleavened bread for 7 days during the days of Unleavened Bread.
Wednesday March 11, 2020.
Passover.
Sunday March 15, 2020.
Wave Sheaf day.
Tuesday March 17, 2020
Last Day of Unleavened Bread.
May 3, 2020.
Shavuot

The Special Prayer of the 7th day of the 1st Month.

L’Shanah Tovah Brethren! The New Year has now begun. The term “L’Shanah Tovah” conveys the hope for a good year rather than a happy one. May Yehovah shine His face upon you this year and give you more knowledge and more understanding of His ways and His Torah. May Yehovah grant you the Shalom you need to grow in “The Way.”
Some of you may be asking how I figure this is the year 5852. Well, Aviv one is the beginning of the new year. When you do the Chronology from the creation of Adam up until they entered the Promised Land you will learn that it was 2500 years. Then when you do the chronology from Solomon down to our time today you learn the rest of what is known and recorded. Gen 6:3 says there will only be 120 cycles of time for man. We explain the rest of the details in our book “Remembering the Sabbatical year of 2016”. Get a copy and learn how to know for sure what year we are in and when the Sabbatical years are.

Each year I share with you a teaching about the 7th day of the first month.
I want to emphasize this important teaching once again this year as we approach the 7th day of the First month, with the new crescent moon having been sighted in Israel on February 25 making February 26 the first day of Aviv. This year the 7th day begins at sunset Monday, March 2 and the day of Tuesday March 3 2020.

18 So says the Lord Jehovah: In the first month, in the first of the month, you shall take a bull without blemish, a son of the herd, and cleanse the sanctuary. 19 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the house, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the inner court. 20 And so you shall do on the seventh of the month for each man who goes astray, and for the simple. So you shall atone for the house. (Ezekiel 45:18-20)

It is just seven days after this event until Passover, when the blood is again placed on the door of the house for protection.
We all have spouses, children, parents and family who do not and will not have anything to do with Torah. Yet it is now the Torah that has become your way of life.
Many times you wonder why they do not get it – why you are the only one. All these years and they still make fun of your Sabbaths and Holy Days.
Here in Ezekiel we are told to pray for our household on the 7th day of the first month. “Thus says Yehovah…”
Why? I do not know why – but He said to do this, so I am going to do this again this year and we will see what happens afterwards. We are often instructed to pray and obey. This time you are being told to obey by praying.
do know that in the 7th month, on the 7th day of that month, is Shabbat Shuva- the “Sabbath of Return.” Is this a connection to that? I can only speculate, but look at the Scriptures you are to read on Shabbat Shuva (for the haf-Torah) and tell me this is not connected.
I also want you to notice what the bullocks are. We have explained this in our video teaching on Daniel 9:

Return, O Israel, unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast stumbled in thine iniquity.  Take with you words, and return unto the LORD; say unto Him: ‘Forgive all iniquity, and accept that which is good; so will we render for bullocks the offering of our lips. (Hosea 14:1-2)

It is our prayers Yehovah is wanting; not the sacrifices of animals, but the sacrifices of our lips, symbolized by the bull itself.

Therefore let us go forth to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14  For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By Him, then, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, confessing His name. (Hebrew 13:13-15)
O Jehovah, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. 16  For You do not desire sacrifice; or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:15-17)
For I desired mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)

Look at what happened in Acts chapter 11 when they prayed:

12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, not discriminating. And these six brothers went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he declared to us how he had seen an angel in his house, who stood and said to him, Send men to Joppa and call for Simon whose last name is Peter, 14 who will tell you words by which you and all your house shall be saved. 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the Word of the Lord, how He said, John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 17 If God gave to them the same gift as to us, they having believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to prevent God? (Acts 11:12-17)

Here we have Gentile believers receiving the Holy Spirit and the whole household was saved. Is this not what we all want for our families as well?
Yehovah has given us a specific date to meet Him; for us to plead for our families. Will you take Him up on this opportunity?

28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, Do yourself no harm, for we are all here. 29 Then asking for a light he rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And leading them outside, he said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, and your household. 32 And they spoke the Word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his household. 33 And taking them in that hour of the night, he washed from their stripes. And he was baptized, he and all his, immediately. 34 And bringing them up to the house, he set a table before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his household. (Acts 16:28-34)

In both of these cases it was just one person who believed and then the whole family was blessed. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around this. I cannot imagine having my whole family keeping this walk with me. How awesome would that be? I cry with joy if I think about it for too long.
If you are having trouble praying, here is one prayer that King David prayed that may help you get started:

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall rest under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of Jehovah, my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him I will trust. 3 Surely He will deliver you from the fowler’s trap and from the destroying plague. 4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall trust. His truth shall be your shield, and buckler. 5 You shall not fear the terror by night; nor because of the arrow that flies by day; 6 nor for the plague that walks in darkness, of the destruction laying waste at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; it shall not come near you. 8 Only with your eyes you shall look and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because You, O Jehovah, are My refuge; if You have made the Most High Your dwelling-place, 10 no evil shall befall You, nor shall any plague come near Your dwelling. 11 For He shall give His angels charge over You, to keep You in all Your ways. 12 They shall bear You up in their hands, lest You dash your foot against a stone. 13 You shall tread on the lion and adder; the young lion and the jackal You shall trample underfoot. 14 Because He has set His love on Me, therefore I will deliver Him; I will set Him on high, because He has known My name. 15 He shall call on Me, and I will answer Him; I will be with Him in trouble; I will deliver Him, and honor Him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation. (Psalm 91:1-16)

If you keep the Commandments and are striving to walk them out; If you keep the Weekly Sabbath, the Annual Holy Days and are going to keep the coming Sabbatical Year (all of which are part of the 4th commandment) and if you are walking in Torah – then you are righteous. Even if you are not perfect.
If you are doing this, then you are considered one of the righteous. And if you are one of the righteous, then Yehovah will hear your prayers.

Jehovah is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:29)
15 The eyes of Jehovah are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of Jehovah is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry, and Jehovah hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 Jehovah is near to the broken-hearted; and saves those who are of a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Jehovah delivers him out of them all. (Psalm 34:15-19)
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul. 17 I cried to Him with my mouth, and exaltations were under my tongue. 18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, Jehovah will not hear; 19 Surely God has heard; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed is God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me. (Psalm 66:17-19)

When we do not keep the Torah, when we will not keep the Sabbath Holy nor the Holy Days, when we will not keep the Sabbatical Years… then Yehovah will not hear our prayers and it is those who will not repent that are hurt:

1 Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened so that it cannot save, nor is His ear heavy so that it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have come between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, from hearing. (Isaiah 59:1-2)

Do you remember the Lord’s Prayer? The prayer Yehshua offered to Our Father? In it, we confess our sins. This is what Solomon and Daniel did in their prayers. They confessed the sins of the nation and of themselves. It is then that Yehovah will turn and hear us where we are in our affliction and save us. Go, read these things and know He waits until you repent and then He answers.

11 Let him turn aside from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears open to their prayers. But the Lord’s face is against those who do evil. (1 Peter 3:11-12)

We are de-leavening right now, all in preparation for the Days of Unleavened Bread. It is symbolic of putting sin out of our lives. Do not cover up your secret sins, nor walk past the obvious elephants in the room. Take care of them and address them and turn back to the truth and have your prayers heard.

He who covers his sins shall not be blessed; but whoever confesses and leaves them shall have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)
Who can understand his errors? Oh make me pure from secret faults; 13  and keep Your servant back from presumptuous sins; do not let them rule over me; then I shall be upright, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. 14  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:12-14)

Yehovah listens to those who fear Him, who stand in awe of His greatness, goodness and power. Ask Him to expose your secret sins that you do not want anyone to know about and those which you try to hide from even yourself. Get rid of them the same way you are doing now with the leaven in your homes. Get rid of it and do not bring it back in.

16 Then those fearing Jehovah spoke together, each man to his neighbor. And Jehovah listened and heard. And a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Jehovah, and for those esteeming His name. 17 And they shall be Mine, says Jehovah of Hosts, for the day that I will make up My treasure. And I will pity them as a man has pity on his son who serves him. 18 Then you shall again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God, and him who does not serve Him. (Malachi 3:16-18)
16 Confess faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one avails much. 17 Elijah was a man of like passion as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for the time of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth caused its fruit to sprout. (James 5:16-18)

Our Bibles are full of examples of people who prayed, and Yehovah heard their prayers and answered them. Repent of your sins and your secret sins and return to the Truth. Let your name be found in the Book of Remembrance as one whose prayers were heard and answered.
Take the time this year, at the appointed time, to pray for your family on Aviv 7, 5856. That falls on March 2-3, 2020 this year.

12 Comments

  1. Paul collier

    Shalom brother Joe sholom so does this mean that the countdown clock is also changing time is even shorter than we think so the Daniel vison of what is coming is starting sooner rather than later does this change the timeline of Daniel or is is coming at Yah timing shalom to the family of our beloved Yah Paul

    Reply
    • Joseph F. Dumond

      Shabbat Shalom Paul, yes you are correct, it shortens the time by 30 days as well.

      Reply
  2. Judith Dennis

    Wow. There is so much in this newsletter to comment on but I’m only going to say this:
    1) my comment to you on this past Tuesday (the 25th) was this:
    “Where will the barley stage be in 6 weeks +/-”
    This is the crux of the matter IMHO. Although we can only GUESSTIMATE those findings, I believe they can be achieved to some measure of accuracy.
    If we were to wait and have a 13th month, the barley will have fallen and re-seeded by that stage right now.
    My other comment comes from a statement at the end of the NL.
    You again reminded us to PRAY for our lost loved ones on the 7th day of this new year. It struck me that this “practice?” Is indicative of the “sacrifices” that we will be doing during the “7th day” millennium. The prayers of the Saints for our family who are not there with us during that 1,000 year Millennium.
    For all the Saints following this NARROWING path of The Way,
    HAPPY NEW YEAR and Shabbat Shalom!

    Reply
  3. Judith Dennis

    I believe this is why there is no “Holy convocation” on the first day of the New Year. It is impossible to back-track and have one if we are unsure, as we were this year, of our determination of Aviv.
    The first day we are to acknowledge is the 7th day of the month when we are to pray for our families. Next would be the 10th day of the month where we bring in the lamb.
    So, IMO, the determination of a New Year being declared must take place by the 7th day.

    Reply
  4. Judith Dennis

    Perhaps we have reached the “except those days be SHORTENED there would no flesh be saved” stage?
    Yehovah Himself orchestrates the seasons! This was very unexpected this year!

    Reply
  5. Robert White

    Shalum Joseph, may Yahuah continue to Bless you. I do like reading your post but I do have to disagree with you on your interpretation of the 7th day reconcilation in Ezekiel. One thing I do now is that, this whole book is written for Israelites. In Ezekiel, this was to bring those of Israel back to Yahauh. Those who were of age to know the difference(who had erred) and the little ones(smiple). They were doing this to bring back their House to Yahuah. In Ezra, they had to put away their stange wives and children, those who hates Yahuah, to become Right with Yahuah. So why would he now tell us to pray for them? Malachi 3:6 “For I am Yahuah, I change not…”

    Reply
    • E

      And Yeshua said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).
      And kneeling down, Stephen cried out with a loud voice, “Master, do not hold this sin against them.” And having said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:60).

      Reply
  6. Mike Hogan

    Thank you Joseph for another revealing newsletter. I have to admit reading through it at times felt rather confusing given all the extenuating circumstances and situations with the weather in Israel and the various views of Aviv of the witnesses there. I have to say that given the amount of time, devotion, research you give to the study of this and your desire to keep the calendar as close and accurate to what Scriptures say makes sense that it is the New Year and we are in the season of Passover this March. I am going to let our Shabbat Fellowship know this today as we had planned on doing the festival in April. Also, I had never heard about Aviv 7 being a prayer day for ones family. Much appreciated that you put that in the newsletter. I am going to read that section to our fellowship as well.
    Again, thank you so much for doing this for us and being a faithful watchman. I continue to pray for you, your family, and the ministry. Shalom!

    Reply
  7. Kurt MacPherson

    Thank you Joe, I was eagerly awaiting your analysis of the situation. When I read devorah’s report I was thinking this looks pretty close what will it be in two weeks. I am of the we have begun the new year camp myself. Becca’s report is excellent and greatly appreciated. She let the barley speak for itself.
    I had the question come to mind that is it possible that we may not be in sinc with the other calendar groups again. This may become our new normal to be out of sinc with the hebrew calendar.
    Would this search not be done nearer to Jerusalem in temple times? I wonder if some of these folks search out places that support their own leanings?
    Shalom
    L’shanah tov
    Kurt

    Reply
  8. Kimmy

    Wow! I am sorta new to Torah. We found Torah in August 2016 and it has been a slow and steady climb in understanding. And one of those steps was move from following when everyone else is celebrating the feasts to really understanding how those dates come about. I am convinced after reading all of this laid out research and reports that you are correct Joe. Thank you so much for your research and gathering all of this data. We honestly had no clue where to look or how to begin our search. We missed Yom Teruah this year now that we are going off the dates with Aviv beginning a month earlier than those who chose to add a 13th month. However, we are getting our tent ready now for Sukkot since it is less than two weeks away!

    Reply
  9. Jaci

    Yeshua clearly says that harvest happens when the crop is ripe, not before or when it is almost ripe. Mark 4:28-29 “for the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in its head. but when the grain ripens, IMMEDIATELY HE PUTS IN THE SICKLE BECAUSE THE HARVEST HAS COME.

    It is also clear from Yahveh’s commandments that you count the omer from when the full harvest of the fields begins. That would mean even if only an omer is needed for the offering it still happens at a time when all the fields are being harvested.
    Deu 16:9
    “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain.

    This starting from the feast of First Fruits.

    I agree 100% with Joseph that we do not want to make or follow man-made laws. That being said, where in the bible does it say you need one grain of Aviv for each tribe os Israel for the offering? Or the whole ritual that is explained for harvesting and processing the Aviv? That is nowhere to be found in the bible. Is this from the Talmud? Where did you get this info because it is not commanded in the bible?

    Reply
  10. Jaci

    To clarify, I meant sieves not grains.

    Reply

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