Greetings to all Restorers of Zion around the world! REMINDER: Rosh Ha-Chodashim (the New Year) arrives at sundown, 31/march.* We are resending our announcement from last year, so that you can review the Messianic significance of celebrating this Forgotten Milestone of the LORD. Literally translating as Head of the Months / the New Things, the first day of the first month (today called Nisan) was commanded by GOD (Exod.12:2) as the proper date for (1) marking the Jewish New Year, and (2) counting the passing years since Israel became a nation. Even though the Talmud recognizes the first truth (Rosh Hashana 2b), and Scripture confirms the second (Num.33:38, 1 Kings 6:1), at some point in Jewish history these truths were abandoned. Nisan 1 was downgraded to one of four rabbinically derived new year dates - taking a distant second place behind the seventh month (Tishrei 1). Likewise, year-counting was completely divorced from Israels departure from Egypt by a 3-fold switch to a different month, a different beginning event, and a different message. Today, Rosh Ha-Hodashim is arguably the most neglected of the LORDs appointed times for Israel... receiving less attention from the orthodox community than even marginal holidays like Tu BShvat and Lag BOmer. And after second-Temple times, rabbinic leaders not only stopped counting the years since the Exodus, but made it impossible for anyone else in the Jewish community to count them. Ever wonder why? We did. In 2012, RZ set out to investigate what happened to the original Rosh Ha-Hodashim. We discovered unexpected treasures: scriptural truth, spiritual wealth, and even neglected wisdom from ancient Jewish sages - all connected to this very first commandment given to Israel as a nation. A great deal of the Forgotten Milestone points to Yeshua, which hints that the rabbinic move away from earlier observance was deliberate and calculated. For the same reason, some remarkable Jewish teachings surrounding the month of Nisan have also been altered, moved to another time of year, or denied. We also investigated the various attempts by scholars to restart the counting of the years since the Exodus, which involved a hunt for the lost years in rabbinic calculations that show up in contemporary secular sources. Patient untangling of the conflicting theories resulted in a suggested solution - along with reasons why it was worth the effort. To access all of the above findings, start here: restorersofzion.org/RT_illust_gospel.htm As a service to the Restorers network, we are sending out this reminder so that you have an opportunity to prepare for the coming month. Explore with us: •Learn about this forgotten Head of the Months, and the rich traditions rooted in the Month of Redemption. •Discover second-Temple teachings about Nisan that made Yeshuas Messianic claims even more powerful. •Enjoy these insights as spiritual pictures that build up the entire Body of Messiah and glorify the Lord. Join with us: •Observe Rosh Ha-Hodashim, the true beginning of the year and of all things New, with our suggested celebration. •Add your own insights and ideas for celebrating Yeshuas fulfillment of the day, and share them with us. •Restore the counting of the years since that unheard-of event when G-d first took a nation for Himself. * A NOTE ABOUT THE DATE, THE DILEMMA, AND THE OPPORTUNITY: According to the ancient rabbinic calculations, the new month begins sundown, 1/april. But according to computerized NASA projections, the new moon will set over Israel one evening earlier, 31/march. (To verify the NASA information with a second witness, we used the online calculator of the U.S. Naval Observatory: aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php . The results are copied at the end of this email. This of course affects the beginning of Passover and the time to abstain from leaven - the 14th of the month. This is marked sundown on monday, 14/april on the Jewish calendar... but going by the moon, it should be sundown on sunday, 13/april. It raises a valid question for the Messianic community: Does the Lord prefer that we begin His Feast on the day indicated by the moon, or on the day dictated by the Jewish leaders? For believers who feel that parting ways with the rabbinic community in observing the Lords Appointed Times is a dilemma the Lord would like us to avoid.... be aware of some unpublished Jewish realities: 1.In this civil year (2014), the Jewish calendar is wrong on the new-moon dates 10 times out of 12. 2.The rabbinic community is aware of the increasing unreliability of the 1600-year-old calculations... and some are worried. 3.Nevertheless, no rabbi (not even the new Sanhedrin in Jerusalem) is brave enough to return to the second-Temple traditions. 4.The Talmud records an ancient teaching that this artificially set calendar was only meant to be followed until the Messiah comes! Go here for more information: restorersofzion.org/NGF_yom-kippur.htm (scroll down to Reasons 10,11,12 and 13) The followers of Messiah worldwide, both Jewish and Gentile, are already familiar with the idea of restoring the Feasts of the Lord to something more faithful to G-ds word - in terms of how and why they are observed. What would be more fitting than to also restore the G-d-given calendar that governs when they are observed? We at RZ believe the time has come for Yeshuas disciples to reclaim this abandoned territory in His Name. Pray about taking a step in that direction this year. As always, feedback is welcome. Have a blessed month celebrating our Redemption! Hannah Weiss for RZ Restorers of Zion on-line network: restorersofzion.org U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department Sun and Moon Data for One Day The following information is provided for Jerusalem, Israel (longitude E35.0, latitude N31.0): Monday 31 March 2014 Universal Time + 3h SUN Begin civil twilight 06:06 Sunrise 06:30 Sun transit 12:44 Sunset 18:58 End civil twilight 19:23 MOON Moonset 18:47 on preceding day Moonrise 06:44 Moon transit 13:14 Moonset 19:50 Moonrise 07:25 on following day Phase of the Moon on 31 March: waxing crescent with 0% of the Moons visible disk illuminated. New Moon on 30 March 2014 at 21:45 (Universal Time + 3h).
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 08:43:21 +0000
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