The Feast of Trumpets, the 1st day of the 7th biblical month, is coming up. When, that is the big question (more at you do not know the day or hour). Here in the US, the new moon is projected to be seen Friday evening. However, this year the new moon cannot be seen from Israel on Friday evening:
“Yom Teruah [Day of Trumpet Blowing, or the Feast of Trumpets] this year will begin at sunset on Saturday September 7, 2013 and continue until sunset on Sunday September 8, 2013.
“The new moon will only be potentially visible from Israel on Saturday night September 7, 2013. Visibility is impossible from Israel on September 6, 2013. The last new moon was sighted from Israel on Thursday night August 8, 2013. This makes Saturday night September 7 the 31st evening from the previous sighting. Since a lunar month can only be 29 or 30 days long, Saturday night has to be Yom Teruah by default, whether or not the moon is actually sighted.”
– Nehemiah Gordon, www.nehemiaswall.com
Now the question becomes, do we celebrate the Feast of Trumpets beginning Friday evening, or Saturday evening? Let each one be convinced in their own mind – this is a true gray area.
We go by the sighting in Israel. This is what we would go by if we weren’t in the Dispersion, and what we will go by when we return to the land. This is the place of YHVH’s name from antiquity, the origin of the Law of the Feasts, and the place He will return to, to rule and reign. We are living in a day and age when we can know instantly when the new moon has been sighted in Israel, so we take advantage of it. If we did not have that capability, we would have to go by our own sighting. We still search for the new moon ourselves. We plan our Feast days according to Israel’s calendar, however.
Many thanks to my friend Anne Elliott at Anne’s Coffee Break and Homeschooling Torah for the discussion about this question!
Therefore, by Israel’s calendar (all begin at sunset the evening prior):
Feast of Trumpets, a High Holy Sabbath: Sunday 08 Sep 2013
Day of Atonement, a High Holy Sabbath: Tuesday 17 Sep 2013
Feast of Tabernacles, the 1st day is a High Holy Sabbath: Sunday 22 Sep – Saturday 28 Sep 2013
The 8th Day, a High Holy Sabbath: Sunday 29 Sep 2013
For further reading:
the feast of trumpets 2009 sep 18
you do not know the day or hour (feast of trumpets and messiah’s return) 2009 sep 20
feasts of the Lord index of studies and resources
the torah calendar at nazarene israel (off site)
We watched the Kotel cam today and they were blowing the shofar since Israel as a nation was celebrating Rosh Hashanah yesterday and today. I understand that the dates have been changed to keep a high holy day from falling on a Sabbath which is not instructed in the Torah. I realize that we must rely on the moon to know when to start the feast. My question is, will the shofar be blown from the wall again by those who are faithful to looking to the moon for the day and hour of the feast? Paul states that the rapture will occur at the last trump. Will there still be another last trump this year that is faithful to the timing of the moon or do we wait another year. A friend and I were trying to figure out if there would be a second round of trumpet blast on the correct dates for the feast. I sure would appreciate an answer if you know.
Blessings!
I don’t know what they will do in Israel at the wall. I do know those who watch for the moon do blow their shofars at the sighting, no matter what else others do. My opinion is that God will do things by His calendar and not by man’s calendar, and not by the changes man has made to His calendar that He did not command. 🙂