The Torah Calendar By Norman B. Willis

1. The Torah CalendarBy Norman B. Willis

2. Ancient Jewish Saying:“Whoever’s calendar you keep,that is who you worship.”

3. Yahweh is very practical.He organized His calendar around the agricultural cycles.

6. - Family Reunion- Rod of Iron (Human Intelligence)- Israelites come up from all over the world- Gather with their Father and family.(We want to be there at the right time.)

7. Everything is aboutright relationships:Between us and Yahweh,Between us and each other.

8. Three meals a day,something to eat,to grow our bodies.Three festivals a year,something to bring,to grow His kingdom.

9. Originally agricultural offerings.Tithe = 10% of all crops (animals, grains, etc.)- System to share the load equally.

10. Three Levitical tithes.Tithe 1: PriesthoodTithe 2: People (travel, feast gifts,make it a special time).Tithe 3: Poor, widows, orphans (2 years in 7).

11. Melchizedekian Order:Free-will offerings.Whatever you want to give, to help grow Yeshua’s kingdom.

12. 2 Corinthians 9:66 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

13. 2 Corinthians 9:77 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for Elohim loves a cheerful giver.

14. You should only give what you truly want to give to Him, to help His body grow.(10% in the Torah.)

15. When does the calendar start?(Depends what calendar.)Gregorian = Sun’s “rebirth” in winterRabbinical = Approximates the barleyTorah Calendar = Barley & New Moon

17. On the first day of the week after Pesach (the Passover) we are to present an Omer (“Wave Sheaf”) of our firstfruits to Yahweh.(This offering drives the train.)

18. Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:10-1110 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you [all] come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you [all] shall bring a sheaf [singular] of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.

19. (10) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וּקְצַרְתֶּם אֶת קְצִירָהּ | וַהֲבֵאתֶם אֶת עֹמֶר רֵאשִׁית קְצִירְכֶם אֶל הַכֹּהֵן

20. Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:10-1111 He shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the [weekly] Sabbath [after the Pesach] the priest shall wave it.”(11) וְהֵנִיף אֶת הָעֹמֶר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה לִרְצֹנְכֶם | מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת יְנִיפֶנּוּ הַכֹּהֵן

21. Yeshua ascends to YahwehYochanan (John) 20:1717 Yeshua said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending [presentation / wave sheaf] to My Father and your Father, and to My Elohim and your Elohim.'"

22. Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:1414 “You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your Elohim; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”

23. “Don’t eat anything from the new crop until after you bring Me some.”Barley comes ripe,Offer some to Yahweh,Then we can buy, sell, eat.

24. Group Solve for X:How do we make sure the barley will be ready on time? Very tight schedule: Head of year (1/1) Passover (1/14) Unleavened (1/15) Wave Sheaf (soon)

25. 1. The Torah Calendar solution to making sure the barley is ripeis to make sure the barley is ripe,and then declare the new year.2. It is the simplest, surest,most reliable method.

26. Seven basic barley stages (bottom to top):7. Modern ripe (ready for combine/granary)6. Hard Dough (“Carmel”) (Sickle ready)5. Soft Dough (“Aviv”) stage (New Year)4. Milk stage3. Budding and Flowering (“cotton”) stage2. Seed pod formation stage (“in the boot”)1. Vegetative (growth) stage (cereal grass)

27. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 11bIt once happened that RabbanGamliel was sitting on a step on the temple mount, and the well-known scribe Yochanan was standing before him with three cut sheets [of parchment] lying before him. He [Gamliel] said to him [Yochanan]…

28. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 11b“take the third [sheet] and write to our brethren, the exiles of Babylon and to those in Media, and to all the other exiled [sons] of Israel, saying: ‘May your peace be great forever! We beg to inform that the doves are still tender, and the lambs are still young, and the aviv [barley] is not yet ripe. It seems advisable to me and to my colleagues to add thirty days to this year.’”

29. Aviv (אביב) “Green heads of grain”“In the ear.”“Soft dough stage”Parch it in fire, and you get something like Puffed Wheat.(Something to eat.)

30. “Carmel” (כרמל) “Hard dough”Ancient sickle ripe,but not storable.(Hard enough to grind, but not dry enough to store without molding.)

31. Ancient sickle ripeVery hard, sun dried.Dry enough to be ground or stored(but not so ripe the seed has dropped)

32. Vayiqra (Leviticus) 2:1414 'If you offer a grain offering of your firstfruits to Yahweh, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits, green heads (Aviv) of grain roasted on the fire (parched/puffed barley), [and] grain beaten from full heads (Carmel / hard dough).

33. My Interpretation:“As soon as there is something to eat,bring Me the first and the best.”(Symbolic of Yeshua.)

34. Torah Calendar method:Wait until aviv barley is seen,then wait for the first crescent sliverof the new moon.That is Rosh HaShanah (Aviv 1).

35. Shemote (Exodus) 12:1-21 Now Yahweh spoke to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 "This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.” (Not in the fall.)

36. Shemote (Exodus) 13:44 “This day you are going out, in the month of the Aviv.”(4) הַיּוֹם אַתֶּם יֹצְאִים | בְּחֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב

37. 1. The Passover takes place in the month of “the aviv.” 2. When the barley in Israel is aviv, that is the month for the Passover.

38. Determining the New Year:1. Sight the aviv barley in Israel.2. Look for the next first crescent sliver.That is the Head of the Year (Rosh Hashanah).

39. Why the First Crescent Sliver?1. Lunar month is +/- 29.5 days long.2. In practical terms, a month can be either 29 or 30 days in length.3. Usually the months alternate (29 days, then 30 days, then 29 days, etc.)4. Yet since the flight paths are irregular, this is not always the case.

40. Why the First Crescent Sliver?1. The need is to be able to declare one single day when “the new moon” is.2. If you don’t have one single day, then you have disagreement and confusion over when to bring Yahweh’s offerings.

41. Bemidbar (Numbers) 28:22 "Command the children of Israel, and say to them, 'My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time.’”

42. We want to be at the family re-unionwhen Dad will be there.(Don’t miss a date with your Husband.)

43. Bemidbar (Numbers) 28:1111 “'At the beginnings of your months you shall present a burnt offering to Yahweh: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish….”

44. 1. Yahweh has a day He wants His offerings brought. 2. He tells us to be careful to bring His offerings in their time.3. We can think of these like “dates” with our Husband (don’t stand Him up).

45. Let us understanding the moon cyclesbefore we talk about alternate theories

46. Modern astronomy goes by “conjunction”(dark moon)

47. Flight paths odd and irregular

48. Usually2 or 3dayslunar“dark”phase.

49. 1. In Israel, the moon is usually “dark” 2-3 days,and usually “full” 2-3 days.2. If you go by conjunction,which of these 2-3 days is“the” new moon day?

50. - If sunset is at 7:00 PM,and the conjunction is at 7:00 PM,which day is the new moon?- Torah does not say how to resolvethis dilemma.