or
many Torah-practicing believers
who begin each Scriptural month with the sighting of the
crescent moon over Israel, the new moon sighting of September
23, 2025 was no big deal. It was, after all, day #30 of the
sixth Scriptural month. By default, a Scriptural month cannot
comprise more than 30 days, or so the claim goes.
And if a month can’t have any more than 30 days, then what’s the
point of even bothering to look for the new moon on the 30th
day? Here’s what new moon observer Devorah Gordon posted on her
Facebook page:
When the moon is spotted at the end of
the 29th day (24 August 2025), but was
so early in its cycle that it had very
low stats, it won’t be far enough along
to spot 29 days later (22 September
2025). Therefore,
the upcoming 7th Biblical Month will
begin on 23 September 2025 at sunset by
default, as a lunar month is never more
than 30 days.
|
The
above remark, on the surface, seems sound enough. In
my 28-plus years of abiding by Yahweh’s Scriptural
calendar (or at least doing my best), it was infused
in my brain that a Scriptural month is never more
than 30 days long, just as specified by Devorah
Gordon.
Maimonides, a.k.a. “Rambam,”
is one of the most respected and revered Jewish
rabbis of all time. He lived during the 12th
century (1138-1204 CE), and in his treatise
“Sanctification of the New Moon,” he plainly stated
that no Scriptural month can comprise more than 30
days:
The first
night when the moon is sighted in the
west after being hidden is the beginning
of the month. Afterwards, 29 days are
counted from that day. If the moon is
sighted on the night of the thirtieth
[day], the thirtieth day will be Rosh
Chodesh [of the following month]. If it
is not sighted, Rosh Chodesh will be on
the thirty-first day, and the thirtieth
day will be included in the previous
month. There is no need [to sight] the
moon on the thirty-first night; whether
or not [the moon] is sighted [the new
month begins that night].
For there are no lunar months longer
than thirty days.
|
So an
ancient Jewish tradition dating back to at least the
12th century maintains that a Scriptural
month cannot contain more than 30 days. Yet, the
question begging to be answered is, “Where in
Scripture do we read that a month cannot include
more than 30 days?” It’s simply not there. It’s a
tradition—a tradition that many are unwilling and
will not let go of. Even I have been guilty of
writing that a month cannot comprise more than 30
days. It’s because we’ve been so conditioned that
it’s become a “no-brainer” for nearly all believers.
However, if you are like me
and are determined that a month that begins
with the sighting of a crescent new moon after
sunset needs to end with the sighting of the
subsequent crescent new moon,
another contingency needs to be considered: What
if a crescent new moon is sighted on day #29 of the
previous month, then is not visible on either day
#29 or 30 of the new month, despite clear
weather conditions on both evenings? Shouldn’t
it have been sighted on that 30th day
under clear skies?
Scriptural Justification for Months
Not Exceeding 30 Days?
As stated above, the fact of
the matter is there are no verses of Scripture
decreeing that a month cannot comprise more than 30
days. Torah does not establish the length of any
given month. Scriptural months begin with the actual
sighting of the crescent new moon; nowhere does
Scripture specify the length of months.
The only hint of when a month begins is found in
Exodus 12:1-2:
1 And Yahweh spake unto Moses and
Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2
This
month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it
shall be the first month of the year to you.
The question that needs to be
asked is, “What is ‘this’
month?” How did Moses and Aaron know what “this”
meant? Were they looking at a set of calculations
enabling them to know precisely when a new month
begins without needing to look into the heavens? Or
were they looking at a crescent new moon—the first
visible crescent after each conjunction? Even the
ancients understood that it's the latter option:
החדש הזה
—
He [Yahweh] showed
him the moon in the first stage of its renewal, and
He said to him, “The time when the moon renews
itself thus, shall be unto you the beginning of the
month”. (The translation therefore is: “This
stage of renewal (חדש)
shall be the moment of beginning the months”; cf.
Mekhilta). But no Scriptural verse can lose its
literal meaning, and He really spoke this in
reference to the month Nisan: this month shall be
the beginning in the order of counting the months,
so that Iyar shall be called the second, Sivan the
third.
The ancient commentators,
including medieval Jewish rabbis, understood that
the month begins with a visible sighting of the
moon, not a set of calculations, and they base their
understanding on the plain and simple reasoning that
when Yahweh told Moses and Aaron “this month,” they
were looking at a new moon in its beginning crescent
stage. And I agree. If a month begins with
the sighting of the crescent moon, then, conversely,
it must end at the moment just prior to the
next new moon’s appearance.
The question many biased
believers don’t think to ask is, “Where in Scripture
do we find the verse stating that a month cannot
endure for more than 30 days?” Answer: It’s not
there. The question, then, is not how long a
month must be, but rather, when is the moon renewed
and then made visible? It is the moment
just prior to that appearance—that’s when
the previous month ended, not when man dictates its
duration.
Why Not Allow Optical Aids?
Many zealous new moon
watchers use modern telescopic equipment to enhance
their viewing experience. Binoculars are very
popular and inexpensive, but they weren’t invented
until 1825 by J. P. Lemiere. The telescope was
invented a century earlier. Suffice it to say these
optical aids did not exist in the first century and
beyond, and for that reason June and I do not accept
reports in which optical aids were used to first
sight the new moon crescent. Early believers did not
have the luxury of being able to first sight a thin
crescent moon with binoculars or telescopes. While
those devices are wonderful and really do
enhance our sighting experience, we only use
them after first having sighted the crescent
with the naked eye. More often than not, we leave
our binoculars at home. We want to experience the
same viewing opportunities our first century
counterparts experienced, the only exception being
that we make allowance for corrective lenses, such
as eyeglasses.
Gadi Eidelheit of The Israeli
New Moon Society obviously disagrees with our
position, as he routinely posts sightings from
individuals who first use optical aids to
sight the new moon. While I appreciate his honesty,
I am nevertheless disheartened by the report he sent
on the evening of September 25, 2025 at 6:41 PM IDT
(Israel Daylight Time), which was 2:41 AM Central
Standard Time in the USA. First, his report was sent
over seven hours after our Yom Teruah
observance had concluded. His frequent delayed
reports suggests he regards sighting the new moon
crescent to be more of a hobby than a heartfelt
desire to help believers know when to request time
off from work for feast observance. Second, all
of his witnesses used optical aids to first sight
the new moon crescent. Here’s an excerpt from the
email he sent to his distribution list on September
25th. Please keep in mind the sun set over Israel at
6:34 PM IDT on September 23, 2025:
Out of three observers who
were able to sight the new moon crescent with
optical aids, two of them were unable to locate it
when attempting to do so without the assistance of
modern technology. Would the other witness have been
able to see it if he hadn’t first used a
telescope or binoculars? And would observers in
ancient Israel have been able to see it? While many
believers accepted such questionable reporting, June
and I do not and did not in September 2025.
Frankly, there is only one
reason I can think of for wanting to use optical
aids to locate the new moon crescent: The desire
to be first. Yeshua experienced this same basic
mentality during His earthly ministry. Even His
disciples argued amongst themselves about who was
the greatest. People simply have this desire to be
first and to be the greatest; both aspirations have
the same underlying mentality, which is completely
contrary to the approach Yeshua calls His
followers to use:
25 But Yeshua called them unto him,
and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles
exercise dominion over them [the general populace],
and they that are great exercise authority upon
them.
26 But it shall not be so among you:
but whosoever will be great among you, let him be
your minister;
27 And whosoever will be chief [Gr.
protos] among you, let him be your servant.
As noted above, the Greek
word translated "chief" is the word protos,
which can also be translated "first."[5]
As it was during the first century, so it is in the
21st century. People simply like to be first.
A friend once told us of how he called a certain
well-known Sacred Name group to report a local new
moon sighting. Without asking him any questions
apart from his name and location, the leader of the
organization accepted the report and reported the
sighting in their forthcoming newsletter. A seasoned
observer who happened to be on their mailing list
read about the sighting and immediately knew
something "fishy" was going on. He remarked to his
wife, "Only a blind man could have seen the
new moon crescent on that date!"
It turns out our friend, who
called in to report the sighting, is indeed blind.
It was his wife who reported having seen the moon to
him before he placed the call to report the
sighting. The seasoned observer obtained our
friend's contact information and called him to find
out how they were able to see a moon that was only a
few degrees above the horizon at sunset. Upon closer
examination, his wife confessed that she thought she
may have seen the crescent moon, but she
wasn't sure. And based on that highly questionable
sighting, the Sacred Name assembly began their feast
a day ahead of other organizations. They got to
be first!
Oh what a tangled web we weave, When
first we practice to deceive
We understand modern-day Jews
operate under the premise that a month, by default,
cannot comprise more than 30 days, and we have seen
that such a belief can only be based on tradition,
not Scripture, and certainly not Torah. In September
2025, this premise was masterfully
orchestrated
by new moon reporter Devorah Gordon. June and I are
encouraged to know that Devorah, like us, only
accepts reports from those who sight the new moon
crescent with the naked eye. However, Devorah, like
many believers, is persuaded that a month cannot
extend beyond 30 days, and based on her report of
09/23/2025, it appears her bias carried over into a
tainted report.
Having established her
premise that “a lunar month is never more than 30
days,” it appears she may have overzealously wanted
her fellow new moon watchers in Israel to confirm
new moon sightings on day #30 of the sixth month. I
say this because she posted three “naked eye
witness” reports, all of which were very dubious.
Was she desperate to come up with any
potential witnesses that may or may not have been
properly vetted? I mean, it does look rather
silly to declare that a month cannot contain more
than 30 days when, at the end of that 30th
day, no crescent is seen in spite of clear
conditions. You want it to be there for all to
see! And the weather conditions were indeed
clear on that day, September 23, 2025. Devorah
herself did not see it. Did she herself even bother
looking? She didn’t say.
One of Devorah’s “witnesses,”
Tirzah Rapuano, reported seeing the new moon
crescent “shortly after sunset.” The form Devorah
asked all Israel-sighters to use requires listing
the date and time of the sighting. Why did
Tirzah not record the time of her sighting? Also
concerning is the fact that, with Devorah’s initial
posting, she included the fact that Tirzah mentioned
the sighting was “a particularly difficult sighting
and visible for only a few minutes.” Devorah later
edited the post by removing this detail. Could it be
because the other “witnesses” reported sighting the
crescent nearly a half hour after sunset? I
guess it all depends on how one defines “shortly
after sunset”!
The other two “witnesses”
referenced above only supplied the initials of their
names. The form Devorah asked all Israel-based
sighters to use requires including both first and
last names. Why did the “witnesses” choose to not
reveal their identities? And would an experienced
new moon watcher consider 26 minutes after sunset to
be "shortly after sunset"? They claimed to have
spotted the new moon crescent at 7:00 PM IDT—26
minutes after sunset. Could this stretch of time
explain why Devorah removed the phrase “a
particularly difficult sighting and visible for only
a few minutes" from her report?
Since June and I do not
regard anonymous new moon sightings as valid, the
only potentially valid sighting on her list is that
of Tirzah Repuano. However, even her report
is dubious because she didn’t include the time of
the sighting. Why did she ignore the requirements as
posted on Devorah’s form? And why did Devorah
accept a report from someone who didn’t feel the
need to comply with the form’s requirement?
Might it have been from a dire need to receive
reports from anyone and everyone to bolster her
claim that a month cannot have more than 30 days?
That is certainly the impression I got when I read
her report. When all is said and done, June and I
chose to reject the report from Devorah’s Date Tree.
Why Two Or More Witnesses?
Many believers are content to
accept the testimony of one eyewitness. June
and I are not and neither was the Apostle Paul. Paul
understood that the Scriptural command to only
execute idolaters on the testimony of two witnesses
extends to all matters. In Deuteronomy 17:6,
we read:
6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or
three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be
put to death; but at the mouth of one witness
he shall not be put to death.
This command is repeated in
Deuteronomy 19:15 and Numbers 35:30. It would be so
easy to say something like, “Well, that command only
pertains to carrying out the death penalty! There’s
no need to carry it over to official new moon
sightings!” It’s so easy to say such a thing, and
indeed this is the precise general understanding
we’ve seen exhibited by modern-day new moon watchers
living in the land of Israel. But that’s not
how the Apostle Paul saw it. Here’s what he wrote in
2 Corinthians 13:1:
1 This is the third time I am coming
to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall
every word be established.
That Paul understood the "two
or three witnesses" principle to apply to every
potentially controversial matter is settled in 1
Timothy 5:19, where he wrote the following:
19 Against an elder receive not an
accusation, but before two or three witnesses.
There are even two witnesses
against Israel. Yahweh forged a covenant with
Israel, a covenant that includes obedience to His
Torah (Ex. 24). In Deuteronomy, Moses expounded that
there are two witnesses against Israel: heaven and
earth. Not one witness, but two
witnesses. Here’s Deuteronomy 4:26:
26 I call heaven and earth to
witness against you this day, that ye soon utterly
perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan
to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days
upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
The overall scope of
Scripture requires understanding that having merely
one eyewitness in matters of potential
controversy is not sufficient. In John 5:31-32,
Yeshua stated:
31 If I bear witness of myself, my
witness is not true [valid].
32 There is another that
beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness
which he witnesseth of me is true [valid].
Finally, even in the book of
Revelation we read of the two witnesses who
prophesy on Yahweh's behalf for a thousand two
hundred and threescore days:
3 And I will give power unto
my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a
thousand two hundred and threescore days,
clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:3)
We have already seen that Moses and Aaron were two
witnesses to the new month of Abib in the critical
verses of Exodus 12:1-2. Why should we accept the
testimony of fewer witnesses in these modern
times? In view of the Jews’ biased, purposeful
desire to never experience a month having more than
30 days, June and I needed clear reports of
sightings from reliable witnesses, not contradictory
reports, and certainly not reports from individuals
who first sighted the moon with optical aids.
Displayed below is Devorah’s
initial new moon report of 09/23/2025, which I
copied and pasted from her Facebook page:
Devorah's Date
Tree - Restoring the Biblical Calendar
1d ·
Dear Friends,
The crescent moon was spotted
with the naked eye from Israel this evening (23
September 2025), thus marking the beginning of
the 7th Biblical Month!
The crescent moon was spotted
with the naked eye from:
* Jerusalem (Gilo) by Tirzah
Rapuano shortly after sunset. The sighting was
confirmed by binoculars by Ralph Mikel Yehudah
Rapuano who was with her.
It was
reported to have been “a particularly difficult
sighting and visible for only a few minutes."
To remind you, the Biblical
Calendar is a luni-solar calendar (Gen 1:14),
with the Biblical months beginning the first
evening the crescent moon is spotted by the
naked eye from the Land of Israel, or 30 days
have passed.
We don’t use optical aids, such
as cameras, binoculars, or telescopes, to spot
the crescent. Nor is a photo of the crescent
proof that it’s the beginning of the Biblical
Month. This because, the crescent can be spotted
through a powerful enough optical aid any time
after conjunction, whereas the criteria for
beginning the Biblical Month at the end of the
29th day, is the crescent being spotted by the
naked eye.
Displayed below is
Devorah’s “2nd Update” new moon
report of 09/23/2025, which I copied and pasted from
her Facebook page. Notice that she removed the key
phrase "It
was reported to have been 'a particularly difficult
sighting and visible for only a few minutes'":
Devorah's Date Tree -
Restoring the Biblical Calendar
1d ·
Dear Friends,
The crescent moon was spotted
with the naked eye from Israel this evening (23
September 2025), thus marking the beginning of
the 7th Biblical Month!
The crescent moon was spotted
with the naked eye (corrective lenses are
permissible) from:
* Jerusalem (Gilo) by Tirzah
Rapuano shortly after sunset. The sighting was
confirmed by binoculars by Ralph Mikel Yehudah
Rapuano, who was with her.
* Ezuz by Y.M. and A.G. at
7:00pm.
To remind you, the Biblical
Calendar is a luni-solar calendar (Gen 1:14),
with the Biblical months beginning the first
evening the crescent moon is spotted by the
naked eye from the Land of Israel, or 30 days
have passed.
We don’t use optical aids, such
as cameras, binoculars, or telescopes, to spot
the crescent. Nor is a photo of the crescent
proof that it’s the beginning of the Biblical
Month. This because, the crescent can be spotted
through a powerful enough optical aid any time
after conjunction, whereas the criteria for
beginning the Biblical Month at the end of the
29th day, is the crescent being spotted by the
naked eye.
Devorah’s Date Tree also provides the
link
to a “New Moon Observation” form
that she requests all Israel-based observers to use
for sending her their reports. The questions on the
form seem straightforward and easy to understand;
however, as mentioned earlier, none of her
reporters complied with the required information;
nevertheless, Devorah gladly accepted their reports,
a clear nullification of the standards as indicated
on her form. Displayed below is a screen capture of
the form:
I included Devorah Gordon’s entire form because I
think it’s terrific! A dedicated observer shouldn’t
have had any difficulty with completing it. I’m only
saddened that Devorah didn’t actually hold any of
the observers accountable for completing it,
resulting in what I believe is a tainted report. Her
actual standards of acceptance most certainly do not
align with the requisites as specified on her form.
All in all, I am persuaded that the Israel new moon
reporting of September 23, 2025 was lackadaisical
and untrustworthy, with none of the reporters
complying with the basics of new moon reporting,
likely due to a fervent, biased desire to bolster
their belief that a month cannot possibly include
more than 30 days. Here’s a chart summarizing my
concerns:
Timeline of Israel
New Moon Observation Reports
|
Observer
Name |
Time of
Sighting |
Initially
Seen With Naked Eye? |
Trust
Concerns? |
|
Tirzah
Rapuano |
Unknown
(“Shortly after sunset”) |
Yes |
Yes
– No time given, as per form. |
|
Binyamin
Nissim |
6:50 PM IDT |
No |
Yes
– Optical Aid was used. |
|
Danny Levy |
6:44 PM IDT |
No |
Yes
– Not seen with naked eye. |
|
Simcha Borer |
6:47 PM IDT |
No |
Yes
–
Not seen with naked eye. |
|
Y. M. |
7:00 PM IDT |
Yes |
Yes
– Anonymous reporter. |
|
A. G. |
7:00 PM IDT |
Yes |
Yes
– Anonymous reporter. |
Please
bear in mind that in Devorah Gordon’s initial
report, she included the phrase, “a particularly
difficult sighting and visible for only a few
minutes.” She later removed this phrase, likely due
to the fact that from 6:50 PM (the earliest reported
naked eye sighting) to 7:00 PM (the latest reported
naked eye sighting) is more than “a few
minutes.” A 10-minute lag time is significant—not
something I would expect if the moon was only
visible for a few minutes. Moreover, June and I have
seen many new moon crescents "shortly after
sunset," i.e., within as little as a minute after
sunset. If Tirzah Rapuano sighted the crescent
within, say, five minutes after sunset, this would
mean it was visible for a whopping 21 minutes before
"Y. M" and "A. G." were finally able to see it! In
summary, if any of the reported sightings
were legitimate, the observers, in my opinion,
failed to do their due diligence with their
reporting.
Update—October 14,
2025
Two and a
half weeks after the September 23rd
sighting, a friend informed us that she found an
additional report on a
Facebook page owned by a
believer named Brian Hoeck.
I had never heard of Brian Hoeck, possibly because
he appears to be a reclusive, cavalier reporter who
restricts new moon observation reports to his
Facebook page, not sharing his information with
other interested parties. I say this because his
“second witness” isn’t identified on any of the
other reports I consulted—it would appear he keeps
his reports to himself, either because he’s stingy
or because he’s reclusive. Years ago, I had resolved
to not obtain a Facebook account, and I have since
heard from many that having a Facebook account can
be a very time-consuming pastime if you’re not
careful. I prefer to spend my free time researching,
working around the house, and spending time with our
grandchildren, not spending hours on end
reading and composing Facebook posts. The negative
side of not having a Facebook account is that I’m
only able to access very limited information from
those who do have Facebook accounts.
Sometimes I’m unable to access anything, depending
on how they adjust their restriction settings.
Based on what little I’m able
to see on Brian’s Facebook page, he hasn’t been
looking for new moons very long—the earliest I can
discern goes back to May 2016. June and I began
looking for new moons back in 1987, before we knew
of any reports going out from Israel. In the 1990’s
we began going with the Israel reports to begin
Scriptural months. Possibly due to Jewish
indoctrination, Brian says it’s not possible for a
month to consist of only 28 days, nor more than 30.
If only he had begun his investigation a few months
earlier in 2016, he might have discovered a rare
Scriptural month consisting of only 28 days. Here’s
a
link to our Abib 2016 calendar
displaying this fact. We also experienced a
28-day month in early 2014.
In May 2014, I composed a study titled “Can
a Scriptural Month Have Only 28 Days?”
explaining how and why such rare circumstances may
occur. Here's a screen capture displaying Brian’s
denial that any month can include fewer than 29 days
or more than 30:
Brian says the standard of
lunar months consisting of only 29 or 30 days is
based on Scripture, history and
astronomy. Since I have already established that
Scripture does not mandate any such thing,
combined with the fact that Brian conveniently
omitted a Scriptural reference that might have
validated his claim, I can safely say he is wrong
to base his standard on Scripture. I’ll grant him
the historical record going back to at least
Maimonides’ claim. Insofar as his claim about
astronomy, there is no question the new moon was
there, so the question is, “Was it visible to the
naked eye under clear weather conditions?”
Anyway, I found it
interesting that when I accessed Brian Hoeck’s
latest updated Facebook posting, which he submitted
the following day, he included Tirzah Rapuano’s
sister as an additional, though much belated,
“naked eye” eyewitness. Brian, although certainly
aware that there are interested, invested
individuals waiting for news (and details) of
new moon sightings over Israel, nevertheless did not
share this second eyewitness report with anyone,
essentially limiting the report to those who follow
his Facebook page. Of course, the same can be said
of his source, Ralph Mikel Yehuday Rapuano. Neither
individual exhibited any desire to share the report
with believers outside of their circle. Here’s a
screenshot of Brian’s updated posting:
We can now add Josa Rapuano’s
name to the list of questionable new moon sightings
on September 23, 2025. Here’s an updated chart that
summarizes my concerns:
Timeline of Israel New Moon
Observation Reports
|
Observer
Name |
Time of
Sighting |
Initially
Seen With Naked Eye? |
Trust
Concerns? |
|
Tirzah
Rapuano |
Unknown
(“Shortly after sunset”) |
Yes |
Yes
– No
time given, as per form. |
|
Josa Rapuano |
Unknown |
Yes |
Yes – Late
report that was not disseminated to others
till the following day. Also, no time of
sighting offered. |
|
Binyamin
Nissim |
6:50 PM IDT |
No |
Yes
– Optical Aid was used. |
|
Danny Levy |
6:44 PM IDT |
No |
Yes
– Not seen with naked eye. |
|
Simcha Borer |
6:47 PM IDT |
No |
Yes
–
Not seen with naked eye. |
|
Y. M. |
7:00 PM IDT |
Yes |
Yes
– Anonymous reporter. |
|
A. G. |
7:00 PM IDT |
Yes |
Yes
– Anonymous reporter. |
In my own quest for reports
of Israel new moon sightings, I not only check out
Devorah Gordon’s Facebook page, but I also turn to
Mark Harris’s “
When
Is the New Moon?”
website. He apparently went with Devorah’s initial
report of Tirzah Rapuano’s lone eyewitness sighting,
and ran with it. Since he doesn’t agree with my
conviction that there needs to be two
witnesses, he pursued the matter no further and
“that was that.” Here’s a screen capture of his
report:
For the record, I do
find it unsettling that the only two possible
eyewitnesses to have sighted the new moon over
Israel on September 23, 2025 were siblings.
Nevertheless, if Devorah Gordon would have sent a
report of those two “naked eye” observations,
including her assurance that the observers didn’t
first sight the new moon with optical aids, I would
most likely have accepted her report, despite the
fact that the second report came a day late. But for
June and me to have already begun our Sukkot
observance before learning of this second eyewitness
only adds to the questionable and disorganized
nature of the reports from Israel. I understand
there’s a lot of tension in Israel at this time, and
I do not know the circumstances involved in their
searches. I try to give others the “benefit of the
doubt,” but with this level of irresponsible
reporting, including the fact that the woman who
requested specifics, in the final analysis, caved
and accepted incomplete reports, solidifies my
perception of lackadaisical and even chaotic
reporting.
Again, I do not question
whether or not the new moon crescent was there or
whether or not it was seen. The question is, “Was it
seen by two eyewitnesses who didn’t first use
an optical aid to locate it?” And if so, why be so
reticent about reporting it, including omitting the
full names, as well as the date and time of the
sighting? What I needed was a timely
confirmation that it was sighted by at least two
eyewitnesses who did not first locate it with
optical aids. That did not happen.
Dedicated students of the Word who practice Torah
observance should rightly question if we can
henceforth trust the new moon reports from Israel,
at least when pre-determined Jewish doctrinal views
come into play. June and I only began relying on
reports of sightings from Israel because we are
persuaded that, just as a new day begins in Israel
before it makes its way to our location here in the
United States, in the same way, a new month
shouldn’t begin here until it first starts in
Israel. But if we are only able to access reports
from biased observers with an agenda to defend,
maybe it’s time to go back to local sightings. Our
goal has always been to align with Yahweh's
timing, even if it means not joining with others'
feast observances.
I have
several friends who went along with the reports from
Israel. I am certainly willing to agree to disagree
agreeably on this matter.
