The Barley Debate

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 18, 2022

News Letter 5857-052
The 5th Year of the 4th Sabbatical Cycle
The 26th year of the 120th Jubilee Cycle
The 17th day of the 13th month 5857 years after the creation of Adam
The 4th Sabbatical Cycle after the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Sword, Famines, and Pestilence
1667 Days until the Two Witnesses
632 Days into the 2300 Days Started May 31st, 2020

February 19, 2022

Shabbat Shalom Royal Family of Yehovah,


Shabbat Zoom Meeting

There are many people in need of fellowship and who are sitting at home on the Sabbath with no one to talk to or debate with. I want to encourage all of you to join us on Shabbat, and to invite others to come and join us as well. If the time is not convenient then you can listen to the teaching and the midrash after on our YouTube channel.

What are we doing and why do we teach this way?

We are going to discuss both sides of an issue and then let you choose. It is the work of the Ruach (Spirit) to direct and to teach you.

The medieval commentator Rashi wrote that the Hebrew word for wrestle (avek) implies that Jacob was “tied”, for the same word is used to describe knotted fringes in a Jewish prayer shawl, the tzitzityot. Rashi says, “thus is the manner of two people who struggle to overthrow each other, that one embraces the other and knots him with his arms”.

Our intellectual wrestling has been replaced by a different kind of struggle. We are Wrestling with Yehovah as we grapple with His Word. It is an intimate act, symbolizing a relationship in which Yehovah and I and you are bound together. My wrestling is a struggle to discover what Yehovah expects of us, and we are “tied” to the One who assists us in that struggle.

Today, many say Israel means “Champion of God”, or better — the “Wrestler of God”.

Our Torah sessions each Shabbat teach you and encourage you to constantly challenge, question, argue against, as well as view alternative views and explanations of the Word. In other words, we are to “wrestle with the Word” to get to the truth. Jews worldwide believe that you need to wrestle with the Word and constantly challenge Dogma, Theology, and views or else you will never get to the Truth.

We are not like most churches where “The preacher talks and everyone listens.” We encourage everyone to participate, to question and to contribute what they know on the subject being discussed. We want you to be a champion wrestler of the Word of Yehovah. We want you to wear the title of Israel, knowing that you not only know but are capable to explain why you know the Torah to be true with logic and facts.

We have a few rules though. Let others talk and listen. There is no discussion about UFO’s Nephilim, Vaccines or conspiracy-type subjects. We have people from around the world with different world views. Not everyone cares who is the President of any particular country. Treat each other with respect as Fellow wrestlers of the word. Some of our subjects are hard to understand and require you to be mature and if you do not know, then listen to gain knowledge and understanding and hopefully wisdom. The very things you are commanded to ask Yehovah for and He gives to those who ask.

Jas 1:5  But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and with no reproach, and it shall be given to him.

We hope you can invite those who want to keep Torah to come and join us by hitting the link below. It is almost like a Torah teaching fellowship talk show with people from around the world taking part and sharing their insights and understandings.

We start off with some music and then some prayers and it’s as though you were sitting around the kitchen back in Newfoundland having a cup of coffee and all of us enjoying each other’s company. I hope you will grace us with your company someday.

Sabbath February 19,  2022, the room will be open at 12:30 PM Eastern with singing and prayers until about 1:15 PM. You are all welcome to join and watch. It is not recorded. We will have our afternoon service after this. You are welcome to come and join us before during and after we are off the air.

We look forward to you joining our family and getting to know us as we get to know you.

Joseph Dumond is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Joseph Dumond’s Personal Meeting Room

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Septennial Torah Portion

If you go to Torah Portion at our archived section, you can then go to the 5th year which is the 5th year of the Sabbatical Cycle, the one we are in now, as we state at the top of every News Letter. There you can scroll down to February 19, 2022, and see that this Shabbat we could very well be midrashing about

Exodus 28

Isaiah 46-49

Ps 148

John 18

If you missed last week’s exciting discoveries as we studied that section you can go and watch past Shabbats on our media section.


Where is Our Focus

I have a couple of quotes for you all to think about.

In response to a question about his missteps, Edison once said, “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”

“Edison’s not a guy that looks back. Even for his biggest failures he didn’t spend a lot of time wringing his hands and saying ‘Oh my God, we spent a fortune on that.’ He said, ‘we had fun spending it.’”

Albert Einstein once wrote on a chalkboard:
9 x 1 = 9
9 x 2 = 18
9 x 3 = 27
9 x 4 = 36
9 x 5 = 45
9 x 6 = 54
9 x 7 = 63
9 x 8 = 72
9 x 9 = 81
9 x 10 = 91
Suddenly chaos erupted in the classroom because Einstein made a mistake. Obviously, the correct answer to 9 × 10 isn’t 91. And all his students ridiculed him.

Einstein waited for everyone to be silent and said:

“Despite the fact that I analyzed nine problems correctly, no one congratulated me. But when I made one mistake, everyone started laughing. This means that even if a person is successful, society will notice his slightest mistake. And they’ll like that. So don’t let criticism destroy your dreams. The only person who never makes a mistake is someone who does nothing.”

There have been hundreds if not thousands of biblical scholars go before us. And they have gotten some things right and a number of things wrong.

We do not see the 9 things they got right. But we will as fast you can blink your eyes condemn them for the very last thing which they got wrong as Einstein pointed out.

We do not look at all the things we got wrong as opportunities to learn. We just flaunt people’s failings in front of them claiming they are failures, when in fact the one doing the ridiculing is the idiot who has never tried and failed and grown.

Because so many have gone before us and whipped up the people to get them ready for the second coming so many times, today no one wants to hear anything about when that time might be coming. They all want to be left alone so they can carry on doing the same old thing they have always done.

So along comes this guy telling them about the Jubilee years and no one wants to know anything about it. This same guy then shows them how the Jubilee Cycles show the prophetic messages in Leviticus 26, Daniel 9, Matthew 24 and much more and they all in unison call him a false prophet. And yet we are told Yehovah is going to raise them up a prophet in the last days like Moses. But they do not want to hear nor change. (I do not claim to be that prophet, and yes I also believe that Yehshua was not whom Moses was speaking about. But that this prophet is one of the Two Witnesses).

Here is the test. Is that prophet speaking in the name of other gods or in the name of Yehovah? Does what that prophet says, come to pass or not?

Deu 18:18  I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brothers, one like you, and will put My words in His mouth. And He shall speak to them all that I shall command Him.

Deu 18:19  And it shall happen, whatever man will not listen to My Words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.

Deu 18:20  But the prophet who shall presume to speak a word in My name which I have not commanded him to speak or who shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

Deu 18:21  And if you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah has not spoken?

Deu 18:22  When a prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah, if the thing does not follow nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him.

Here is another test. Notice it is a test. If the things that prophet says DO COME TRUE, then what are you to do?

Deu 13:1  If a prophet rises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder,

Deu 13:2  and the sign or the wonder which he foretold to you occurs, saying, Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us serve them,

Deu 13:3  you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For Jehovah your God is testing you to know whether you love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deu 13:4  You shall walk after Jehovah your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

Deu 13:5  And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken to turn you away from Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slaves, to thrust you out of the way in which Jehovah your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put the evil away from the midst of you.

So many people are calling me a false prophet because I am telling them when the Rapture is going to come or when the Messiah is going to come or when the 7th Millennium is going to come. All of which anyone can know just by knowing the Jubilee cycles. It is not rocket science. Anyone can figure it out if they would just try. But few actually do the work to figure it out and they remain in their stupor.

Then when someone does come along to show them, they want to remain in their ignorance and to do so they have to brand everything you say as heretical or as false teaching, so they can remain unchanged.

We now know which prophecies do not and did not work or were misapplied. Awesome, we can rule those off our list. Which of those prophets led people to worship another god or away from the true Yehovah. Most of them. Awesome now we can remove them from our list of people to pay any heed to. That should leave you with a very short list of people leading you to keep the Torah. Who are they? Write all of their names down so you know who to choose from.

How many of those who predicted certain things led the people back to Yehovah? Then why will we not listen to them?

Look what is going on right now in the world and then read again Matthew.

Mat 24:5  For many will come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and will deceive many.

Mat 24:6  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must occur; but the end is not yet.

Mat 24:7  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places.

Mat 24:8  All these are the beginning of sorrows.

At Sightedmoon.com we told you all of the following things YEARS in Advance. Years! They are all recorded in our videos and book and newsletters.

  1. We got the Jubilee years right. And we showed you how to figure them out so you can prove them.
  2. We got the SAbbatical years right. And we gave you 89 proofs to back this up so you or anyone can then prove it.
  3. We got the plagues of Leviticus 26 right and we showed you how they work in sync with the Jubilee Cycles throughout history.
  4. We got the understanding of Daniel 9:24 right about the 7 Jubilee Cycles from Moses and the burning bush until King David
  5. We got the 62 Jubilee Cycles to the start of the 70th Jubilee cycle in 1996
  6. We got the year 2020 right as the middle of the 70th Jubilee cycle
  7. We got the year 2020 right as the year the USA would leave the UNEP or Paris Accord
  8. We got the year 2020 right about the UK leaving the European Common Market
  9. We kept the Calendar earlier than other groups and on the very day WHO declared a pandemic was the day we kept Passover. That was pretty awesome.
  10. While keeping those Holy Days earlier than most others lined us up with all the First Fruits in their proper season for the entire year.
  11. We got the year 2020 right about the Plague that was to come.
  12. We got the date May 31st, 2020 right about the warring parties starting. The great split in the USA is still there to this day. The riots began then.
  13. In every Newsletter in every book, in every email, we tell people to get back to keeping the Torah and the Holy Days of Lev 23.
  14. We tell you to keep the Sabbatical year no matter where you live in the world.
  15. We tell you to follow Yehovah and not to follow us.

We have an impressive track record of correctly getting important dates right. We lead you back to Yehovah and not away from HIm to follow us or another god.

We do all of this and then learn that the Date of the Resurrection is shown to us in the Holy Days so we tell people.

We then learn the Day the Messiah is to come back on is revealed to us in the Holy Days. We tell people so they too can learn.

We are now learning when the plagues of revelation are coming, why they are coming and how they will come. Should we tell anyone?

We are learning when the Abomination that makes desolate is to be set up. The one which, when you see it you are to flee. Again should we even waste our time trying to tell anyone?

And what do all the brethren want to talk about? The vaccines, and the Trucker convoy, and masks and vaccine passports or Ivermectin. Instead of focusing on Yehovah, they all want to focus on silly things that have contributed to many brethren dying from COVID. Deaths that did not have to be. None of this stuff led anyone to keep the Torah.

COVID could soon be over and despite the growing list of things we got right, the brethren want to leave and follow after the Trucker Convoy which they say is fighting for Freedom of Rights. They are not focusing on studying Yehovah. They are not focussing on learning and sharing these truths with the rest of the world. They are blinded by their own lust after the freedom train and the latest gossip from FaceBook that supports their ever-changing position. Are they so ignorant, that they do not realize that all your rights are about to be taken away along with many of your lives? Do they not realize they have been fighting the wrong cause?

And because we are so often put down and accused of being a false prophet, or false teacher, we feel like throwing our hands in the air and saying screw them all. Let them figure it out for themselves. At the most important time in the history of mankind, the brethren are flaking apart and wandering away instead of pulling together and preparing for the fight of our lives which no generation has ever seen. None will admit their errors. They just double down.

Does anyone read Paul’s admonitions to the brethren? Does this not sound familiar to the very things going on in our time now?

2Th 2:1  Now we beseech you, my brothers, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,

2Th 2:2  that you should not be soon shaken in mind or troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word or letter, as through us, as if the Day of Christ is at hand.

2Th 2:3  Let not anyone deceive you by any means. For that Day shall not come unless there first comes a falling away, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition,

2Th 2:4  who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself forth, that he is God.

2Th 2:5  Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you?

2Th 2:6  And now you know what holds back, for him to be revealed in his own time.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of lawlessness is already working, only he is now holding back until it comes out of the midst.

2Th 2:8  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of His mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming,

2Th 2:9  whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

2Th 2:10  and with all deceit of unrighteousness in those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, so that they might be saved.

2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie,

2Th 2:12  so that all those who do not believe the truth, but delight in unrighteousness, might be condemned.

Satan is not going to be revealed until after the falling away. Look at the meaning of that Greek word falling away.

G646   (Thayer)
ἀποστασία

apostasia

Thayer Definition:

1) a falling away, defection, apostasy

Read the other things Paul warns them of.

1Ti 4:1  But the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and teachings of demons,

1Ti 4:2  speaking lies in hypocrisy, being seared in their own conscience,

1Ti 4:3  forbidding to marry, saying to abstain from foods which God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

2Ti 3:1  Know this also, that in the last days grievous times will be at hand.

2Ti 3:2  For men will be self-lovers, money-lovers, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

2Ti 3:3  without natural affection, unyielding, false accusers, without self-control, savage, despisers of good,

2Ti 3:4  traitors, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

2Ti 3:5  having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; even turn away from these.

2Ti 3:6  For of these are those who creep into houses and lead captive silly women loaded with sins, led away with different kinds of lusts,

2Ti 3:7  ever learning and never able to come to the full knowledge of the truth.

2Ti 3:8  But as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so these also resist the truth, men of corrupt mind, reprobate concerning the faith.

2Ti 3:9  But they shall proceed no further. For their foolishness shall be plain to all, as theirs also became.

2Ti 4:1  Therefore I solemnly witness before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is going to judge the living and the dead according to His appearance and His kingdom,

2Ti 4:2  preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.

2Ti 4:3  For a time will be when they will not endure sound doctrine, but they will heap up teachers to themselves according to their own lusts, tickling the ear.

2Ti 4:4  And they will turn away their ears from the truth and will be turned to myths.

2Ti 4:5  But you watch in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fully carry out your ministry.

Did Yehovah not send COVID? Did He not warn us before it came. Has He not done this very thing in each of the last 6 Jubilee Cycles which we have been telling you about since 2005? Look at our Prophecy Club video part two if you do not believe us.

Amo 3:6  If a ram’s horn is blown in a city, will the people not also tremble? If there is a calamity in a city, has Jehovah not also done it?

Amo 3:7  For the Lord Jehovah will do nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

Amo 3:8  The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord Jehovah has spoken; who will not prophesy?

Has Yehovah not told His prophet these things? Has the shofar not been sounded? Will you still not listen?

We have had to cut back in the Philippines and in East Africa due to the shortage or withdrawal of funding. You have not silenced me, but you have hurt those who were growing and need that help. At this same time, we are seeing signs in India that we may be growing there. But we are in no shape to offer them help or to finance the planting of groups.

The Greatest time in the history of mankind and we are sidelined because people do not like to be rebuked nor corrected. I will not be sidelined until Yehovah puts me away. I will continue to do this work, without you if need be or with those who want to be a part of it.

We have a proven track record. We have some errors where we misspoke. But never, not once have we ever led people away from following and obeying Yehovah in doing this work.

In case you do not know, I have launched an ad campaign aimed directly at the Christian groups out there. There is a lot of pushback and condemning spirits. We have been seen by about 100,000 people on Twitter and Facebook combined. We have about 600 comments on both mediums, with me trying to respond to as many as I can who show they might be interested. They did after all take the time to write their views on our ad. Most are not complimentary. We have added 78 new people to our mailing list. And all sales during this time are under 2 dozen in total. We are engaging them.

I have also joined rapture groups and Book of Revelation groups as well as many other Christian groups on Facebook, all in an effort to share the truth with them. I hardly ever take part in the safe Hebrew roots groups many of you are now in. It is exhausting and tiresome and a constant overwhelming flood of false doctrines being thrown at you.

I could sure use some help.


Dear pastors,

Let’s just state it: The past few years in ministry have not been what you thought you were signing up for. My guess is that you didn’t pursue a career serving in the Church because your passion for epidemiology didn’t pan out. I’m sure you anticipated conflict, but I doubt you predicted the nuclear reactivity of increasing polarization among parishioners. You likely didn’t expect fully half of your congregation’s wrath to rain down on you no matter what decision you made—or didn’t. And then there’s the weight of knowing that the decisions you make have significant repercussions on both the physical and mental health of your congregants.

You have been carrying a seemingly impossible burden.

If you were here for the money, you’d have left ministry long ago. There are far simpler ways to provide for your family. As a pastor’s kid, I do not envy your job, but I gained some insight into its challenges through osmosis. No matter what decision you make, it feels as though you’re disappointing someone—and many won’t hesitate to let you know when you have. Division and lack of civility seem to be at an all-time high, and “contentious” and “fractious” might better describe some congregations than “compassionate” or “unified.”

A recent Barna poll shared that 46% of pastors under 45 and 38% of pastors overall have seriously considered quitting. We are about to experience a ministry exodus of biblical proportions. And for some—for their good and for the good of their family—that’s unquestionably the right choice.

But there are others who are called to remain. I want to thank you—and to simply remind you that, on your own, you do not have what it takes to endure through this. James writes, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (James 1:5 NLT). Let me remind you that insufficiency is not a design flaw; it’s an invitation to root your hope in the God who called you to a life of service and sacrifice.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians of facing troubles far beyond what he could endure, then concluded, “But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God” (2 Corinthians 1:9, NLT). You don’t have what it takes—but that doesn’t mean hope is lost. Your congregants, too, are struggling—and perhaps your greatest impact in this season will be in modeling where Christ’s followers turn to find hope in times of trial. You can show us what to do when we come to the end of our abilities. Will you look within and muster the resolve to grit it out another day or will you, like Paul, testify, “On him we have set our hope” (2 Corinthians 1:10 NIV)?

We need you in this time to lead us to “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV).

There is always Hope,
Peter Greer


The (Calendar) Barley Debate

Last week Devorah of Devorah’s Date Tree sent out the following notice about the possibility of adding a 13th month to the calendar this year. She is representing what you could call those who follow the Karaite calendar.

I want to say I have the utmost respect for all those who follow Devorah as well as Devorah herself. And I am not looking to say anything derogative nor start maligning any other group. These are our brothers and sisters and they are striving to obey Yehovah the same as we are.

By “We” I mean those of us who kept the last two years and in 2016, one month ahead of this group. We have already declared a 13th month, Adar Bet, for us this year.

Why is there this difference and discrepancy between us both?

Let me now share what Devorah has sent out.

Dear Friends,

We have received a number of inquiries asking what the likelihood is of this being a leap year, so I’d like to take this opportunity to explain the impact the Biblical Calendar drifting on the Solar Calendar has on determining leap years.

The first thing you need to understand is that the Biblical Calendar is a lunisolar calendar. This means that the beginning of the year is determined by the earth orbiting the sun, which creates seasons, and the months are determined by how long it takes the moon to orbit the earth (Gen 1:14).

As you probably already know, it takes approximately 365 days for the Earth to orbit the sun. And if you have been following our New Moon reports for a while, then you probably also noticed that it takes 29.5 days on average, for the moon to orbit the Earth (this is why some months are 29 days and some are 30 days).

Now let’s compare the number of days in a solar year, with the number of days in a Biblical year. We already said there are approximately 365 days in the solar year and to calculate the number of days in a Biblical year, we need to take 12 months and multiply it by the average length of lunar month, which we said is 29.5 days, so that comes out to 354 days (12×29.5=354).

So there are approximately 365 days in a solar year and only 354 days in a Biblical year, which means we drift from the solar calendar approximately 11 days each year that we don’t have a leap year (365-354=11).

The more years that have passed without us having a leap year, the more we have drifted on the solar calendar, which means the less strong the sun will be when we inspect the barley at the end of the 12th month, which means we would expect to find less developed barley on our inspection.

Now, you may be thinking that since we drift approximately 11 days each year, then that means we can simply add an extra month every three years, to get us back on track with the solar cycle. However, I think it may be more nuanced than that, and that is why we not instructed to such, but rather to start the year with Chodesh HaAviv (the month in which the barley is Aviv) (Ex 12:2, Ex 34:18, Dt. 16:1).

Last year, we had shattered barley by Yom HaNafat HaOmer (The Day of the Wave Sheaf Offering). Meaning the barley was so ripe that the kernels had fallen to the ground. A farmer would have obviously harvested before his crop got to that stage, as we are only forbidden from eating from the harvest before Yom HaNafat HaOmer (Lev 23:14), but there is no prohibition against harvesting before Yom HaNafat HaOmer. But my point is, given that the barley was PAST RIPE on Yom HaNafat HaOmer last year (4 April 2021), the question is, could we have harvestable fields (Lev 23:10, Lev 23:14, Dt 16:9, Joshua 5:10-12) by Yom HaNafat HaOmer in Scenario #1 (20 Mach 2022)?

In 2016 we went one month before the main group of Barley and Crescent moon keepers. I did not want to do this but the evidence was overwhelming and we have to follow Yehovah’s lead.

On Wave Sheaf Day Nehemia Gordon to his credit went out and CONFIRMED with a video that the Barley was in fact shattering and ready for harvesting. And yet he and the main group kept Passover a month later. Please watch the video and listen carefully to everything he is saying. Nehemia even held up barley that was already shattering. Again to his credit and integrity.

You have heard Yehshua say;

Mat 23:1  Then Jesus spoke to the crowd and to His disciples,

Mat 23:2  saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.

Mat 23:3  Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do. But do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.

Mat 23:4  For they bind heavy and hard-to-carry burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders. But they will not move them with one of their fingers.

Therefore, all he says to you diligently do, but according to their reforms (takanot) and their precedents (ma’asim) do not do, because they talk but they do not do.

Our Bibles (which are translated from the Greek Manuscripts) read in Mat 23:3 regarding the Pharisees as follows:
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
The Hebrew Manuscripts of Matthew read the same verse as follows:
Therefore all that he says to you, diligently do, but according to their reforms(Takanot) and their precedents(Ma’asim) do not do, because they talk, but do not do.

If you are familiar with what the Pharisees taught and believed you would know what “Takanot” and “Ma’asim” refer to. These are traditions and customs that they added into God’s Word (The Holy Scriptures). “Takanot” and “Ma’asim” were sometimes even regarded more important or higher than God’s Word. Examples for Takanot and Ma’asim are, the “Washing of Hands” mentioned in Mat 15:2 and “The Breaking of the Sabbath by plucking corn” mentioned in Mat 12:2. The Hebrew Matthew gives us a better understanding of what went on in such instances, while our own Bible translations are silent on these issues.

Nehemia teaches on this very subject. In fact, it is from him that I learned this.

Concerning the searching for the barley, they have incorporated a takanot and are in the process of making it a Ma’asim. They are declaring that the barley MUST BE Aviv by the end of the 12th month in order for them to declare the next month Aviv or Adar Bet. Next week they might very well declare a 13th month this year.

Where does it say the Barley must be Aviv by the end of the 12th month in the Torah? Where is the precedent?

It does not.

By Devorah’s own testimony above she has said the following:

Last year, we had shattered barley by Yom HaNafat HaOmer (The Day of the Wave Sheaf Offering). Meaning the barley was so ripe that the kernels had fallen to the ground.

Both Nehemia in 2016 and Devorah above after admitting the barley is already SHATTERING, that it would then be impossible to harvest, and they both go on to say that the farmer would have already harvested his barley and had it stored. He would not eat any of it until AFTER Wave Sheaf Day. But he would not let it reseed, so he would have to go out and cut it BEFORE WAVE SHEAF DAY!!!

Devorah then says the following.

but there is no prohibition against harvesting before Yom HaNafat HaOmer.

Again, I love these people. I have nothing but praise for them and all they have taught me.

So let’s look at the scriptures themselves.

Lev 23:10  Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.

First look at the meaning of the word harvest.

H7105   (Ancient Hebrew)
H7105 = AHLB# 2727 (b)
2727) Ryq% (Ryq% QTsR) ac: Sever co: Short ab: ?: The cutting short of something such as the reaping of the harvest where the stalks are made short or patience which can be cut short. [from: yq – being cut short]

V) Ryq% (Ryq% Q-TsR) – Sever: To cut something short or small. Often in the sense of harvesting where the plant is severed at that stalk or short in patience as being severed. [freq. 49] (vf: Paal, Hiphil, Piel) |kjv: reap, reaper, shorten, shorter, discourage, loathe, straiten| {H7114}

H7105   (Strong) קָצִיר qâtsı̂yr kaw-tseer’

From H7114; severed, that is, harvest (as reaped), the crop, the time, the reaper, or figuratively; also a limb (of a tree, or simply foliage): – bough, branch, harvest (man).

H7114   (Strong) קָצַר qâtsar kaw-tsar’

A primitive root; to dock off, that is, curtail (transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively); especially to harvest (grass or grain): –    X at all, cut down, much discouraged, grieve, harvestman, lothe, mourn, reap (-er), (be, wax) short (-en, -er), straiten, trouble, vex.

Now understand the word for sheaf.

H6016   (Ancient Hebrew)
H6016 = AHLB# 2554 (g)

gm) Rmfo% (Rmfo% AhW-MR) – I. Sheaf: As bound. II.Omer: A standard of measure. [freq. 14] |kjv: omer, sheaf| {H6016}

H6016   (Strong) עֹמֶר ‛ômer o’-mer

From H6014; properly a heap, that is, a sheaf; also an omer, as a dry measure: – omer, sheaf.

You are to present an omer, a sheaf or dry measure of barley to Yehovah.

Then when you are told to count the omer to Shavuot Yehovah says this:

Lev 23:15  And you shall count to you from the next day after the sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete.

Lev 23:16  To the next day after the seventh sabbath you shall number fifty days. And you shall offer a new food offering to Jehovah.

This is where you are told to count the OMER. You start your counting of the Omer from the Sunday after the weekly Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

What is a wave sheaf? The word “sheaf” is translated from the Hebrew word “omer.” Strong’s H6016 states: ‘Omer, i.e. a sheaf; also an omer, as a dry measure:–omer, sheaf.’ In English the word sheaf refers more to a bundle of cut stalks of grain. A more accurate translation of verse 11 might be: “He shall wave the dry measure of grains of the firstfruits of your harvest to the Priest.” What was actually done in the Temple was the waving of about two quarts (two liters) of new crop barley flour. After the flour was waved, the people were permitted to eat of the new crop. There is evidence that the grain was actually cut after sunset the night before, then thrashed and parched and ground into fine flour so it would be ready to be waved early the next (i.e. Sunday) morning.

Now I would like you to read about the ceremony that was done to begin the Wave Sheaf celebrations. We are going to read it from the Mishnah which recorded these events back in the 3rd century C.E. while being driven out of the land of Israel. Thanks be to Yehovah that they did this or we might have lost all understanding of many of the events that just are not explained in the Torah.

The Mishnah or the Mishna (/ˈmɪʃnə/; Hebrew: מִשְׁנָה, “study by repetition”, from the verb shanah שנה‎, or “to study and review”, also “secondary”)[1] is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first major work of rabbinic literature.[2][3] The Mishnah was redacted by Judah ha-Nasiat the beginning of the 3rd century CE[4] in a time when, according to the Talmud, the persecution of the Jews and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the oral traditions of the Pharisees from the Second Temple period (536 BCE – 70 CE) would be forgotten. Most of the Mishnah is written in Mishnaic Hebrew, but some parts are in Aramaic.

Mishnah Menachot 10

How would they perform the rite of the harvest of the omer? Emissaries of the court would emerge on the eve of the festival of Passover and fashion the stalks of barley into sheaves while the stalks were still attached to the ground, so that it would be convenient to reap them. The residents of all the towns adjacent to the site of the harvest would assemble there, so that it would be harvested with great fanfare. Once it grew dark, the court emissary says to those assembled: Did the sun set? The assembly says in response: Yes. The emissary repeats: Did the sun set? They again say: Yes. The court emissary next says to those assembled: Shall I reap the sheaves with this sickle? The assembly saysin response: Yes. The emissary repeats: With this sickle? The assembly says: Yes. The court emissary then says to those assembled: Shall I place the gathered sheaves in this basket? The assembly says in response: Yes. The emissary repeats: In this basket? The assembly says: Yes. If the sixteenth of Nisan occurs on Shabbat, the court emissary says to the assembled: Shall I cut the sheaves on this Shabbat? The assembly says in response: Yes. The emissary repeats: On this Shabbat? The assembly says: Yes. The court emissary says to those assembled: Shall I cut the sheaves? And they say to him in response: Cut. The emissary repeats: Shall I cut the sheaves? And they say to him: Cut. The emissary asks three times with regard to each and every matter, and the assembly says to him: Yes, yes, yes. The mishna asks: Why do I need those involved to publicize each stage of the rite to that extent? The mishna answers: It is due to the Boethusians, as they deny the validity of the Oral Law and would say: There is no harvest of the omer at the conclusion of the first Festival day of Passover unless it occurs at the conclusion of Shabbat. The publicity was to underscore that the sixteenth of Nisan was the proper time for the omer harvest.

I want you to take special note, that both the groups here, the Pharisees and the Boethusians, agreed that this was the start of the harvest, whether or not they went by the Sunday or the 1st day of the Day of Unleavened Bread. We can discuss this another day.

There is no place where you can find the barley being cut and stored and then offered after sitting on the shelf or in a barn for 3 or 4 weeks. NOWHERE! Would anyone think to offer Yehovah two-week-old or two-day-old grains? No, He demands the very first of the first fruits.

To say a farmer can harvest the barley and store it until after Wave sheaf day is not right. That is a Takanot, a man-made reform that will become ma’asim precedents for future generations.

Why am I speaking out against this takanot, even though I love Nehemia and Devorah, Joel HaLevi and any other people who search for the barley on our behalf? Because when I first learned about keeping the Holy Days I was confronted with continuing to do them according to the Hillel Calendar which everyone was doing or switching to this Barley New Crescent moon one. It meant the difference between obeying Yehovah or missing the mark, sinning by keeping the Holy Days at the wrong time. It was that important then and just as important to me today now still.

Yehovah tells us the following.

Deu 16:9  You shall count seven weeks to yourselves. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time you began to put the sickle to the grain.

If you cut the grains two weeks before or four days before then that is when you are to start the count to Shavuot and if you do then you will never end up 50 days from the Wave Sheaf Day during the days of Unleavened Bread.

Deuteronomy 16:9 tells you to count from Wave Sheaf Day, THE DAY YOU BEGAN TO PUT THE SICKLE TO THE GRAIN. You do not get to choose when that day is. Because of this, BECAUSE OF THIS VERSE, YOU MUST ACCURATELY DECLARE WHEN THE BARLEY IS AVIV. This is the time if needed when it can be roasted as green ears to remove any moisture that may be there.

If the barley is already shattering on wave sheaf day, then you are admitting we most likely are a month too late.

I pray you all will be vocal and do so in a loving caring way to help others understand this. But if you chose to be silent then you are complicit in them sinning. If you know the truth and say nothing you are guilty of killing your brother as Lev 19 warns us.

Speak out and help explain this to all who will listen.


Equinox

This year in 2022, there will be some people who are also going to be keeping Passover April 16, 2022. They are those who must not keep Passover before the Spring Equinox.

There is nothing in the scriptures telling us to wait until after the Equinox before keeping Passover. Not a word.

Q: Doesn’t Genesis 1:14 show that the Vernal Equinox, not the barley, determine the holy day seasons?

We read in Gen 1,14:

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven, to divide between the day and the night and they will be for signs and for times (Moedim) and for days and for years.”

From this verse it is not clear what is dependent on what. Certainly no mention of the Vernal Equinox is made. Perhaps the year is dependent on the moon or the stars? If the year is dependent on the sun, then what about the sun effects the beginning of the year? Gen 1,14 does not specify these things and we must turn to other Biblical passages to get a more precise understanding of the Biblical calendar. In Dt 16,1 we read:

Keep the month of the Abib and make the Passover (sacrifice) to YHWH your God at night, because in the month of Abib YHWH your God took you out of Egypt”

Similarly we read:

“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 Abib, because in the month of the Abib you went out of Egypt.” (Ex 34,18)

The word “Abib” refers to barley which has reached a certain stage in its development. This meaning of Abib is preserved in the verse:

“And the flax and the barley were smitten, because the barley was Abib and the flax was Giv’ol. And the wheat and the spelt were not smitten because they were dark (Afilot).” (Ex 9,31-32)

To keep the Passover Sacrifice in the Month of the Abib requires taking the Abib (ripening barley) as an indicator of the beginning of the year. This is entirely consistent with Gen 1,14, for the ripening of the barley is dependent on the seasons of the year and therefore indirectly is controlled by the sun. Central factors, which cause the barley to ripen, are the lengthening of the days and the increasing sunlight, changes in humidity, and other factors which affect the environment. Therefore, it is the sun, which indirectly causes the barley to ripen, and thereby acts as an indicator of years. It is this indirect effect which causes the barley to become Abib which Gen 1,14 is referring to when it says the sun and moon will be for years.

It should be noted that the equinox is never mentioned in the entire Hebrew Bible. Gen 1,14, which has often been cited as proof of the equinox theory, does not mention the equinox either. On the contrary, the use of astronomical calculations for determining the time of the equinox, was in this period synonymous with the idolatrous practice of fortune telling and was certainly not practiced in ancient Israel (Isa 47,13).

Q: Is the equinox (Tekufah) mentioned in the Tanach (Hebrew Bible)?

The claim has been made by proponents of the equinox calendar theory that the word equinox actually appears in the Tanach. They are referring to the word Tekufah or Tequfah which appears in the Hebrew Bible four times. Tekufah is in fact the post-Biblical word for “equinox”, however, it never has the meaning of “equinox” in the Tanach. In Biblical Hebrew, Tekufah retains its literal meaning of “circuit”, that is something which returns to the same point in time or space [from the root Nun.Quf.Pe. meaning “to go around”]. To claim that Tekufah means equinox in the Tanach, just because it had this meaning in later Hebrew, is an anchronism. This would be like saying that there were handguns in ancient Israel because the word EKDACH, the post-Biblical Hebrew word for handgun, appears in Isaiah 54:12. Let us consider another example of this anachronistic use of language: Before the invention of the electronic computer during World War II, the word “computer” referred to a man who sat at a desk calculating (computing) mathematical equations. Imagine if we found an 18th century document mentioning “computers” and proclaimed to the world that there were really electronic computers in the 18th century. This is exactly what the equinox-followers are doing with the word Tekufah. To better understand this, let us consider the four appearances of Tekufah in the Tanach.

Tekufah in Exodus 34:22

The first appearance of Tekufah is in the list of Pilgrimage-Feasts (Hagim) in Ex 34:22 which refers to the agricultural character of the Feast of Booths (Sukkot):

“And the Feast of Ingathering at the circuit of the year (Tekufat HaShannah).”

Being mislead by the Post-Biblical Hebrew meaning of Tekufah, some have interpreted “circuit of the year” anachronistically to refer to the Autumnal Equinox (it is doubtful whether the ancient Israelites even knew of the equinox and they certainly had no way of calculating when it would be). This anachronistic reading leads to the suggestion of fixing the beginning of the year so that Sukkot (The Feast of Ingathering) falls out at the time of the Autumnal Equinox. However, a closer investigation shows that “circuit of the year” has nothing to do with the equinox. The list of Pilgrimage-Feasts also appears in a parallel passage in Ex 23:16 which describes Sukkot as follows:

“And the Feast of Ingathering at the going out of the year (Tzet HaShannah), when you have gathered in your work from the field.”

Exodus 34 is actually an almost verbatim paraphrase of Exodus 23 and it is important to compare and contrast these two passages; the differences are often very enlightening. Comparing Ex 34:22 and Ex 23:16 it is clear that the “going out of the year” and the “circuit of the year” refer to the same time. The “going out/ circuit” of the year is described in Ex 23:16 as “when you have gathered in your work from the field”. This agricultural ingathering is also described in Dt 16:13:

“You shall keep the Feast of Booths for seven days, when you have gathered in from your threshing floors and from your wine presses.”

The Feast of Booths/ Ingathering is described as the “going out of the year” because it takes place at the end of the yearly agricultural cycle of planting, harvest, threshing, and ingathering. At the same time, Sukkot is described as taking place at the “circuit of the year” because once the agricultural cycle ends it then immediately recommences (making a circuit, returning to the same point in time) with the planting of the fields after the first rains (sometimes during or shortly after Sukkot itself).

Tekufah in Psalms 19:7

The term Tekufah (circuit) appears in Psalm 19 in reference to the sun, but here too it has nothing to do with the equinox. Psalm 19 describes the heavens and sun, which from their unique vantage point are witness to all things in creation, and thus (metaphorically) testify to the incomparable glory of God. Verses 5-7 describes the sun:

“(5)… He [YHWH] placed a tent among them [the heavens] for the sun. (6) Which is as a bridegroom going out of his chamber, and which rejoices as a strong man running a race. (7) From the end of the heavens is its [the sun’s] going out and its circuit (Tekufato) is to their [the heavens] ends, and none is hidden from its heat”

Verse 6 describes the sun as a bridegroom that bursts forth out of his chamber and as a hero that runs along a path. Verse 7 then describes the “going out” of the sun at one end of the heavens and the “circuit” (Tekufato) of the sun at the other end. Clearly what is being described is the daily path of the sun which rises at one end of the heaven (its going out) and sets at the other end (its return), “and none is hidden from its heat” during the course of the day. What has confused some readers is that the going out or exiting of the sun refers to sunrise, but this unusual terminology is used throughout the Tanach. For example, we read in Judges 5:31:

“Thus shall all the enemies of YHWH be destroyed; and all those whom he loves shall be as the going out of the sun (KeTzet HaShemesh) in its might”. (Jud 5,31)

Those loyal to YHWH shall shine forth with glory as the “going out of the sun”, that is sunrise. It may seem strange that sunrise is referred to as the “going out” of the sun. After all, in Exodus we saw that the going out of the year was the end of the year, whereas the going out of the sun is the beginning of the day. However, this is consistent with Biblical usage and in fact the common Biblical way of saying sunset is the coming in or entering of the sun. This is related to the ancient Israelite conception of the sun which at night was thought of as metaphorically dwelling in a celestial chamber (Ps 19:5). At dawn the sun goes out of this metaphorical chamber and the earth is lit while at night the sun comes into the metaphorical chamber and it is dark. This is also the thought behind the comparison of sunrise to a bridegroom coming forth from his chamber. Ps 19:7 refers to the going out of the sun (sunrise) at one end of heaven and its circuit (return to the same place, to its nightly chamber) at the other end, that is sunset (for a similar thought see Ecc 1:5). We see that here too Tekufah (circuit) has nothing to do with the equinox.

Tekufah in 2Chronicles 24:23

As seen above the “Tekufah (circuit) of the year” in Exodus referred to events in the autumn (the time of the ingathering). The same expression (circuit of the year) is also used to refer to events which take place in late spring as we see in 2Chr 24:23:

“And it was at the circuit (Tekufah) of the year that the army of Aram went up and they came to Judah and Jerusalem…”

In this instance the “Circuit (Tekufah) of the year” comes in place of the common expression “Return (Teshuvah) of the year” which appears several times in the Tanach as “the time when kings go out [to war]” as in:

“And it was at the return (Teshuvah) of the year, and Ben-Haddad counted Aram and went up to Afek to war with Israel.” (1Ki 20:26).

“And it was at the return (Teshuvah) of the year, at the time the kings go out [to war] and David sent Yoav… and they smote the Amonites and besieged Rabbah…” (2Sam 11:1)

The time that the kings went out to war was the late spring before the oppresive heat of summer and after the winter rains which made the mud roads in the Land of Israel impassable. We see here that Tekufah (circuit) of the year is used interchangeably with the more common Teshuvah (return) of the year. Whenever this annual set time for kings to go out to war comes around it is a “circuit of the year”, returning to the same point in time as last year.

Tekufah in 1Samuel 1:20

The term Tekufah (circuit) also appears in 1Sam 1:20 which says:

“And it was at the circuits (Tekufot) of the days, and Hannah conceived and bore a son…”

Here the “circuits” of the days refers to “the same time the following year” [or possibly to the completion of the term of pregnancy?]. It is worth noting that Tekufah is plural in 1Sam 1:20 as tekufot “circuitS”. If we apply the anachronistic meaning of Tekufah as equinox then we get the absurd translation: “And it was at the equinoxes of the days, and Hanah concieved and bore a son…” This emphasizes how important it is to understand Scripture in its historical and linguistic context.

None of the four appearances of Tekufah in the Hebrew Scripture have anything to do with the equinox. Instead, this term is used in Biblical Hebrew in its primary sense of a “circuit”, that is a return to the same point in space or time. Only in Post-Biblical Hebrew did Tekufah come to mean “equinox” and to read this meaning into the Tanach creates an anachronism.


Passover must be kept in the Constellation of Aries

Some people are keeping the Holy Days based on the Constellations and trying to do them in sync with when the constellations are. This has caused them to be as much as two months off for the Holy Days. Again there is no scriptural basis for this claim nor for this group other than Genesis 1:14 as explained above.

The “1st of Aries” is a reference to the Vernal Equinox and as seen above the Pharisees determined the New Year based on 3 factors, one of which was the Vernal Equinox. In his autobiography, Josephus himself informs us that he is a Pharisee, so it is not surprising that he should quote the Pharisee practice of intercalation. As is Josephus’ practice he only gives the details of that which would be comprehensible to his pagan Greek readers. In this case Josephus does not mention the agricultural indicators of the New Year [according to the Pharisees the Abib and the Fruits] and only refers to the astrological indicators which his pagan audience would have been able to relate to. Josephus’ repeating the Pharisee position on intercalation does not give it any more credence.


 

The Metonic Cycle Rules

Wednesday, March 2, 2022, begins Adar Bet for those on the Hillel Calendar. This is an automatic leap year for all those who are following the Hillel calendar.

Leap years follow a 19-year metonic schedule in which years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19 are leap years. The Hebrew year 5758 (which starts in the Gregorian year 1997) is the first year of a cycle. The Jewish years all begin in the 7th month since they came back from the Babylonian captivity around 539 B.C.

Hillel created the calculated calendar because the Jews were being driven out of the land of Israel through persecutions. They needed something so that all Jews around the world would be able to keep the Holy Days at the proper time even if they had no one in the land of Israel to observe the barley and the crescent moon.

Hillel II (Hebrew: הלל נשיאה, Hillel the Nasi), also known simply as Hillel, was an amora of the fifth generation in the Land of Israel. He held the office of Nasi of the Sanhedrin between 320 and 385 CE. He was the son and successor of Judah III. He is sometimes confused with Hillel the Elder, as the Talmud sometimes simply uses the name “Hillel”.

He is traditionally regarded as the creator of the modern fixed Jewish calendar. This tradition first appears in a responsum of R. Hai Gaon (written in 992[3]) cited by R. Abraham bar Hiyya in his Sefer Ha’ibbur (written in 1123).[4] The citation explicitly refers to the year that this event happened, 670 of the Seleucid era, which corresponds to 358/9 CE.

The fixed calendar was of great benefit to Jews of his and subsequent generations. The Jewish calendar is lunisolar. That is, its months are synchronized with the phases of the moon, but its average year length approximates the mean length of a solar year. The Sanhedrin declared new months based on observations of the new moon, and added a 13th lunar month to certain years to ensure that holidays would continue to fall in the same seasons of the solar year. But Constantius II, following the precedents of Hadrian, prohibited the holding of such meetings as well as the vending of articles for distinctly Jewish purposes. The worldwide Jewish community depended on the calendar sanctioned by the Judean Sanhedrin to observe Jewish holidays on the correct dates. However, danger threatened the participants in that sanction and the messengers who communicated their decisions to distant congregations. Temporarily, to relieve the foreign congregations, Huna ben Abin once advised Rava not to wait for the official intercalation: When you are convinced that the winter quarter will extend beyond the sixteenth day of Nisan declare the year a leap year, and do not hesitate.[7] But as the religious persecutions continued, Hillel decided to provide an authorized calendar for all time to come, though by doing so he severed the ties which united the Jews of the diaspora to their mother country and to the patriarchate.

The Metonic cycle or enneadecaeteris (from Ancient Greek: ἐννεακαιδεκαετηρίς, from ἐννεακαίδεκα, “nineteen”) is a period of almost exactly 19 years after which the lunar phases recur at the same time of the year. The recurrence is not perfect, and by precise observation the Metonic cycle defined as 235 synodic months is just 1 hour, 27 minutes and 33 seconds longer than 19 tropical years. Meton of Athens, in the 5th century BC, judged the cycle to be a whole number of days, 6,940. Using these whole numbers facilitates the construction of a lunisolar calendar.

A Small Mahzor (Hebrew מחזור, pronounced [maχˈzor], meaning “cycle”) is a 19-year cycle in the lunisolar calendar system used by the Jewish people. It is similar to, but slightly different in usage with, the Greek Metonic cycle, and likely derived from or alongside the much earlier Babylonian calendar.[13]

Three ancient civilizations (Babylonia, China and Israel) used lunisolar calendars and knew of the rule of the intercalation from as early as 2000 BC, about the time of the biblical Tower of Babel, the confusion of language, and dispersion of nations. Whether or not the correlation indicates cause-and-effect relationship is an open question in theological discussions.[

When we count the Metonic Cycles the year 5758 starting with the 7th month is the 1st year of the cycle. We then add 19 years to 1997 and we arrive at 2016 as the 19th year in that cycle. So going from Tishri to Tishri.

1997 + 3 = 2000

1997 + 6 = 2003

1997 + 8 = 2005

1997 + 11 = 2008

1997 + 14 = 2011

1997 + 17 = 2014

1997 + 19 = 2016

2017 is 1st year of new cycle

2016 + 3 = 2019

2016 + 6 = 2022

Based solely on the Metonic cycle the Hebrew calculated calendar this year in 2022 will add another month with no regard to whether the barley is Aviv or not.

Let me now toss in this article from the Jerusalem Post from May 21, 2007. I am only taking the last part of the article to show the confusion that now exists in the Hillel Calculated calendar. They were then out of sync by 19 days because of the calendar they are using.

When confirming the calendar by sighting of the moon became impractical, tradition has it that a fixed calendar was set down by the Patriarch Hillel II in 358 or 359 CE. It is not certain that this was so as, for instance, Maimonides does not mention it, though he says that monthly sightings did cease some time before the end of the Babylonian Talmud. Although some flexibility may have continued, it is clear that by the time of the Geonim in the ninth century a fixed calendar was being adhered to. That calendar, like all previous ones, divided the year into four tekufot or seasons, which conformed to the solstices and equinoxes of the earth around the sun. The first division was the tekufa of Nissan, or the spring season. It was in that season that the festival of Pessah had to fall, as the Torah tells us to “Observe the month of Aviv (Spring) and make Passover” (Deuteronomy 16:1), so the calculation of the four seasons was of paramount importance. ALTHOUGH we do not know when the fixed calendar started, whether in the fourth century or not, it is our guiding light today and 26 years ago it told us that the “Blessing of the Sun” was to be on April 8, 1981. It is a ceremony held every 28 years, when the sun is considered to be in the same position as the one it held in the days of Creation, that is, on a Wednesday. If the year is held to be 365 days long, then the date of its “birth” – its birthday – falls on the same day of the week every 28 years. But when we celebrated that in 1981, the tekufa date was April 8, or 18 days after the true astronomical equinox of March 21. In other words, the Jewish calendar was 18 days out of sync with the heavenly facts. How did this happen? Quite simply because the original calculations, whether by Hillel II or others, were based on the Julian Calendar of their time and, as we have seen, the Julian Calendar would now also be about 15 days out of line with the sun. Does this really matter? As the tekufa of Nissan, or Spring, continues to progress ahead of the sun, by more than 11 hours a year, we shall find that in time it will approach nearer and nearer to the astronomical summer, and the festival of Pessah will no longer fall in our tekufa of Nissan. It can be calculated that this will occur in about 640 years, and then we will be in breach of the Torah law. The festival may still be in the spring, but the tekufa of Spring will be in the summer. SO GREAT BRITAIN was not the last country to adopt the Gregorian correction of the Julian calculations. The Hebrew calendar has not yet recognized the discrepancy but it is something we should consider very carefully and quite soon, for the next “Blessing of the Sun” will occur in two years‚ time, in April 2009, so it would be sensible to reform the calendar before then, so that our prayers will be in line with God’s Creation, and not 19 days ahead of it. As in England, that change may well cause riots in the streets, this time in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak – but is it sensible to let this time bomb go on ticking any longer?


Conclusions

Yehovah never said to begin the year in the 7th month. Yehovah said to begin the year in the 1st month called Aviv. Exodus 12:2.

This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you.

Yehovah never said to calculate His timing. He said to watch for when the Barley is Aviv.

Aviv (Hebrew: אביב) means “barley ripening”, and by extension “spring season” in Hebrew. It is also used as a given name, surname, and place name, as in Tel Aviv. The first month of the year is called the month of Aviv in the Pentateuch. The month is called Nisan in the book of Esther, and in subsequent post-exilic history up to the present day. These names are sometimes used interchangeably, although Aviv refers to the three month season, and Nisan is called the “first month of Aviv.”

The basic meaning of the word aviv is the stage in the growth of grain when the seeds have reached full size and are filled with starch, but have not dried yet.

The Month of Aviv is not the month the Barley MUST BE RIPE as some today assume. It is the month when the barley is ripening which is why it is also known as the month of green ears.

Yehovah never said to keep the Passover or any of His Feasts according to the Constelations.

Yehovah who is PERFECT would not create a calendar that would be out of sync by 19 or more days years later.

Last year and the year before we at sightedmoon.com kept the Holy Days a month earlier than most other groups. I was, to say the least, trepidacious about doing that. After all who am I to step out from the crowd? As it turned out each of the Holy Days lined up perfectly with the growing seasons. The First of the Barley, the first of the wheat, the first of the grapes in the 5th month and the first of the fall fruits at Sukkot.

If we had to add a 14th month to this year I would gladly do so. If on the other hand I had to have an 11 month year I would also do so and correct any error in which I was then involved in. Repenting of my error and going forth. I have read of Jews who did keep an 11 month year, but I am unable to locate that source now for you. My desire to meet with Yehovah when He says to meet Him. Not when men calculate He might be there.

Every year the calendar debate is hot and heavy. The only way you can recognize the false systems of the Enoch calendar or the Dead sea calendar or the Jubilee Calendar or the Zadok calendar or even the false Hillel or Equinox calendars is to be thoroughly attuned and in sync with the Barley and Crescent moon calendars. That is in order to recognize the fake you must be totally familiar with the real deal. This means you need to teach it and talk about it and share it so that you become totally acquainted with Yehovah. Become intimate with Him. Know these details and become the expert so that you can easily explain why this or that one is false. Because you know the scriptures for each aspect of the calendar.

To rely on my telling you when the Holy Days are is asinine. You have your bible and right now we have observers who all report the same thing each year. The difference is that some have added Takanot to what they think needs to be there. Can you spot them?

I have only touched on some of these takanot with this newsletter. In our Archives section, you can find many many articles explaining in detail various aspects of the calendar. Take advantage of them while they are still online. At some point, they will be removed. Print them out if need be. But KNOW THEM, absolutely so that you become that teacher others look to for counselling. Be THAT TEACHER!


The latest report is that the barley is just heading and or flowering. Some of it was in the early dough stage.

With just that report alone, knowing that Passover could be on March 18, 2022 and today is February 19, then you know there are 4 weeks until Wave Sheaf Day. So all you have to do is add 28 days to the flowering and milk stage, to know if we will have barley in order to make the Wave Offering.

Remember you must have barley you can roast to remove the rest of the water from in order to make flour by Wave Sheaf Day, and not by the first of the Month of Nisan. Passover is always two weeks after the new moon.

If you add 28 Days (4 Weeks until Passover) on to the number 61 (current stage of barley growth-Flowering) you get a total of 89, which is the state of the barley for Passover and you can dry this and turn it into flour.

But all of this depends on if Yehovah sends the warming weather for it to develop or the cold weather to stunt the growth.

If you go and add 14 days on to the flowering 61 + 14 = 75 you will only be in the milk stage by the first of the month. So some groups may very well go for the 13th month.

It is important for you to understand and know the reason what we need barley. Not to begin the year but to make the Wave Offering.

11 Comments

  1. Ella H Morgan

    Joe, As you were talking about the things you are currently learning, you asked the question: “Again should we even waste our time trying to tell anyone?”
    Without thinking my spirit answered “No, not now. There needs to be a push for accepting the Sabbath for that is foundational-first fruits- and when people accept and start doing that then they will WANT to learn more.”
    I tried to think about that to get an analogy to understand it. If, when my child was 2-3 years old and I thought it was time for them to start learning to brush their teeth, I came along and started giving them a lecture about the bad things that could happen if they didn’t brush them-like they could rot in your head causing you pain. Or you will have to go to a man who would either pull them out or put a loud machine in your mouth to grind on them. (Get the picture) would my baby understand the depth of anything I just said or just hug me and run off to play? OR, should I take my own toothbrush and show him/her how to put tooth paste on and show the motion and how much fun it it is? Then should I give them their own toothbrush with some good tasting toothpaste and gently guide their hand and show them how it should be done.
    When I learned when the Sabbath was Iaccepted it and immediately asked, “What else thay I had learned was wrong.” I wanted to know and began to search. I think I remember you saying when you started keeping Sabbath things changed and Father began to show you more truth. I believe you need to go back to the basic and most important truth-accepting Sabbath will open the door to greater truth. Give the deep stuff to those who are on the right track but spoon feed the masses that don’t know what they don’t know.

    Reply
    • Elaine

      that was me as well, when i started keeping the 7th day wanted to know more same thing as you Ella i was searching thru youtubes hunting for someone i could learn from and there it was ~ an elephant in the room. joeseph dummonds and then blood moons, then i went thru all his tubes and was happy with this teacher. and have been learning with you all ever since.

      Reply
  2. Larry Pratt

    Many messianics will dig into this deeper theology. I am glad that Joe taught the Sabbatical & Jubilee Years in Tennessee in 2013. It sure made a difference in my life as I was tired of the “milk” I was getting each week.

    Reply
    • Niel de Villiers

      Shalom Joe – many thanks for this deep study into this subject .
      The fustration that you must feel however , becomes evident in this newsletter . May i join you here , as one who has started to investigate not only when to determine the beginning of the year – but also who determines the year – the sun or moon ?
      Now please don’t rush to conclusions – just hear me out , which might give us understanding the fustration felt by anyone , coming from a Christian background , to a Messianic view of believing .
      In the book of Jubilees chapter 6 , it states the sun was given for days , years , Jubilees and more . It also states that the moon will wrongly be used to determine time , being 10 days short in a year .
      So initially i disregarded this in the belief that the bible does not include Jubilees .
      However if we look at the Damascus document of the exiled priests in Cumran ( not the Esieens ) we find they write – the Hasmonians ( Pharisees ) does not hold to the original timing – as given in the book of Jubilees . Confirming hereby , that the book of Jubilees would be the place to go to – to determine time – before the Hasmonian takeover of the original Temple priesthood in 162-165 BC .
      The fustration ? Who is right – and for us as hard working people , who do not always have the time to do research into these matters , who do we believe .
      Have you any study material on the Hasmonian dynasty and their takeover of the original temple priesthood – as i can see that you study a subject in great detail .
      May i share how i have come to understand and live with the fustration we feel – even in witnessing to others – we are only the messangers of the invitation to join the Kingdom of God through Yahusha our King . When we have made the invitation , we can move on – leaving it to the Holy Spirit to take it from there . I have found much peace in this . In the ” few that is chosen ” it is not for me to choose – only to give the invitation .
      Shalom and thanks for great newsletters .

      Reply
      • Joseph F Dumond

        Shabbat Shalom Niel, you begin your argument from two faulty positions. The moment you begin to quote from the book of Jubilees as an authority you have errored. You then want to back it up using the Damascus document to support the poor exiled priest of Qumran.
        If I used a piece of paper found in the garbage can that is two hundred years old thrown out by a bunch of dissidents, would you consider that as proof that trumps the bible? Come on.

        Jubilees was written around 200 BC to 200 C.E. It has errors in the first chapter using its own information on chronology. It is a work of fiction. You cannot rely on it.

        The Essenes left Jerusalem in revolt against the Hasmoneans. They wrote a lot of scrolls making themselves out to be the more righteous of the two groups. They thought it was the end of the world using the Daniel 9 prophecy and the fact that John Hyrcanus the High Preist took down the Akra and the City of David for 3 1/2 years. The Essenes wrote and said he was that evil king. John Hyrcanus defeated the Syrians and drove them out of the Akra and then worked to remove the Akra. So much for the record of the Essenes.
        You put your garbage or false teachings with the name of Yehovah in them in earthen jars and put them in the Geniza of the Synagogue to the front and right hand side of the synagogue. Old Torah scrolls were also placed in this Geniza. The Qumran caves acted as a Geniza for these false and or old scrolls. The Shrine of the books states this as you enter the museum. Few ever read the history behind the Dead Sea Scrolls.

        This act of putting false books to the right of the synagogue is prophetic as to the Abomination that makes desolate.

        But if you want to debate the Calendar issues using the Bible then I am all ears. Quote me chapter and verse from Exodus or Leviticus. Stop using books that were thrown in the garbage for a reason. They have no merit in determining the calendar of Yehovah. None zero nada.
        Like I said in the article. To recognize a forgery, you need to be grounded in the real deal first. The calendars of the Dead Sea Scrolls, or Jubilees, or the Enochian calendar, or Zadok calendar and even the Hillel calendar itself cannot be found in the scriptures of the Bible. But when the light of scriptures is shone on each one they vaporize into thin air. Get grounded in the Torah Calendar and all these other false ones fall apart so that even a child can point out their fallacies.

        Reply
        • Niel de Villiers

          Shalom Shabbat Joe – thanks for the extended reply .
          I actually remembered after asking you about the Hasmonian Dynasty – that you would have researched them – given the excellent piece on Simon Magnus – which i could share with some of my neighbours . Not very popular now – but i know they have some serious thinking to do
          now .

          Take care and God bless

          Reply
  3. Arthur Schulz

    “Yehovah never said to calculate His timing. He said to watch for when the Barley is Aviv”

    Please can you show me where I can read this in the Torah….
    I want to believe what you are saying…but I need to “prove all things”…

    Reply
    • Joseph F Dumond

      Shabbat Shalom Arthur, it is not readily there for you to just sit down and read. This is where you need to sit down and meditate on what you have read.

      Ask yourselves how do you make a first fruits offering at Passover. There is another one for Shavuot which is different and yet it too is called a first fruits offering.

      The answer should be barley. Leviticus 2.

      Once you have figured out that barley is the first fruit offering at Passover then you have ask when is this done. The answer is in Lev 23.

      The most important question now once you have meditated on those two is next to ask WHY. What was the purpose for all of this? The answer to that is profound.

      I can tell you to go and search our archives on sightedmoon.com and look under the calendar topic. For a shortcut that is direct and fast to explain every facet of this subject is to get the two books, The Mystery of the Jewish Rapture and It Was A Riddle Not A Command, which both answer the question as to why we need to do this.

      It is because we must have barley for the Wave Sheaf Offering on Sunday morning that we watch each year with giddy anticipation to see if it will be mature enough (in the dough stage) by Wave Sheaf Day. Other groups supposed it had to be ready by the 1st of the month. This leaves a full two or even three weeks for the barley to mature until Wave Sheaf Day. By postponing it another month the other groups are then adding an additional 6-7 weeks on the growth cycle of the barely.
      If it was doe stage at the end of the 12th month then it would be reseeded before they ever got to the harvesting on the wave sheaf day. So this is why it is extremely important to be both knowledgeable about the growth of the barley in Israel and to be looking for it.
      I hope this helps. Please do write it you have further questions about this important subject.

      Reply
  4. Frank Smyth

    Shalom Joe.
    Do you remember being taught in the RC Catechism the question;-
    Q.When is Easter Sunday?
    A. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the 21st of March.

    This shows Easter is a lunar festival. It never left me and has always underlined for me that the spring feasts are lunisolar, happening in the month of the barley being abib.

    Reply
    • Joseph F Dumond

      Shabbat Shalom Frank, it was Constantine who desired a better way than relying on those pesky jews in order to determine when Pesach was. He had such a hate-on for them. But at that time the only way to know when Passover was, was to wait until the Jews declared it using the barley and the crescent moon. But when they would have two Passovers in the same year because they could not get the barley reports in time, Constantine freaked out and demanded they synod find another way to know when Passover was.
      This is when they devised that Pesach should be kept on the third Sunday after the Spring Equinox which is changing over time. It used to be March 19 and now is March 22. This all did not happen in 321 C.E. It took a number of years to develop. It was fully developed by the Council of Laodicea around 364 C.E.

      Reply
  5. Kay Beard

    Joe,
    I loved everything you wrote. Thank you so much for all the research you’ve done and how you exhaust yourself trying to get through to everyone and encourage them to learn all this so they can teach others too! I love how you are passionate about being true to the Word, while proving it, putting it our face, and strongly insisting that we check it out for ourselves!!! I love that you spoon feed it to us because you know we are lazy….because you love Yehovah and are called to do so, and by doing so, you are loving others, I John 5:1-2, by keeping His commandments! I love how your deep intense study in truth, has enabled you to reject and expose wrong teaching harshly. I especially love your humility to apologize and admit error, which I’ve experience and seen.
    I’m sorry for any pain and anguish, lack of financial support and criticism that other brothers and sisters may have or any losses by your family and friends, that I imagine have been great.
    I want to learn from you and support you, as best I can, because I have no one else that is so driven to obey Yehovah,and loves Yeshua like you do.
    Keep up the good work…..for people like me want to know and want to be able to prove it, not just have our ears tickled.
    I have a lot more to learn and I’m enjoying the ride!
    Thank you,
    Kay

    Reply

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