Understanding The Hebrew Calendar
When doing a study on the Holy Days (holidays), it is helpful to begin with learning about the Hebrew calendar.
There is a considerable difference from how the world tracks days and the way the Lord commands us to reckon time.
Night then Day
In the creation story found in Genesis chapter 1 we read “the evening (dusk) and the morning (dawn) the first day” This is repeated for every day of creation.
So in the first moments of the Scriptures, we learn time is to be counted from sundown through dawn to the next sundown. Not midnight to midnight like we normally count it.
New Moon and Months
Next we must understand that the Jewish calendar is based on the Lunar cycles (monthly phases of the moon) versus the Gregorian Solar cycle (earth’s yearly revolution around the sun)
Psalm 104:19 - He made the moon for seasons;
The beginning of the Jewish months are marked by sighting of the new moon by two witnesses in Jerusalem followed by blowing a shofar (trumpet). You can listen to an interview of Nehemiah Gordon and Dr. Roy Huffman discussing this practice.
This means the months start and end at different times from the Gregorian calendar. The problem is there are 12.4 lunar months each year, which causes a drift in the seasons.
This seasonal drift is corrected every few years by the addition of a 13th month called Bet Adar or Second Adar (last month on the Hebrew calendar). This is similar to the adding of February 29 on the solar calendar every 4th year called a leap year.
As a side note to complicate things even more there are two observed “New Year’s” in Israel.
One, the real first month (Leviticus 23:5), is the start of the Jewish calendar year in March/April called Aviv (Abib). And again in mid September, the 7th month, some celebrate Rosh Hashanah (meaning head of the year) by blowing trumpets, which is the Feast of Trumpets.
The Purpose For The Sun and The Moon
There is an interesting verse, Genesis 1:14, which introduces the concept of time. From the calculation of night and day, to the observance of seasons and years, this verse says the LORD created the sun and moon for 5 reasons.
Separate (or distinguish) day from night.
Signs (signals, beacon, tokens), possibly lunar phases as well as eclipses.
Seasons (Moedim, appointed times, feast days).
Days (which would usher in the weekly Shabbat).
Years (a repeating or literally double revolutions).
It is the word seasons, Hebrew moed (plural moedim), where we get the idea of appointed times or feast days/festivals. They are an appointed time when the LORD wants to meet with His people.
These appointed times are often translated as the word feasts, like in Leviticus 23:2, which is the Biblical chapter that outlines the seven feasts of the YaHoVaH. This chapter along with Exodus 12 are the foundational texts which teach us about the Feast Days as well as the Sabbath.
The Gift of Shabbat
The Sabbath day, which begins at sundown on Friday, is a day of rest from labor or work. According to Leviticus 23:3 and other texts we should refrain from work which is modeled by the LORD in the creation story.
Genesis 2:2-3 - And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
There is a very large debate as to what constitutes work.
Some believe it is rest from your job or occupation while others believe work is any form of physical labor. Orthodox Rabbis believe the later and distinguish 39 categories of work and its prohibitions.
No matter your definition, the heart of Sabbath, is a time of relaxing from work. Sabbath means rest.
We should set aside time with God, family and friends for rest as well as reading, studying and contemplation of His Word.
Along with the weekly Sabbath, there are also days, called High Holy Days, within the feasts that are treated as a Sabbath. There are is to be no work and there is also an assembling together for worship.
These High Holy Days include the first and seventh day of Unleavened Bread, the day of Pentecost, the day of Trumpets, the day of Atonement and the first and eighth day of Tabernacles.
Hope this helps in your study and obedience to follow YHVH in observing the Feast Days.
Shalom.
