Upcoming feast alert!

[Larry]

Passover is quickly approaching - and so are all the questions! In 2013, Passover starts after sunset on March 26 [14th of Aviv/Nisan]. (Our calendar lists all the Feasts of YHWH. After opening, scroll to March.)

Remember - For Passover YHWH expects us to DO something: Rid our houses of leaven in the week leading up to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, as leaven represents sin. So, now is the time to start thinking about eating all the leavened bread in your house, and using up any products containing leaven - or else you'll have to throw them away come April 6! The following articles cover just about any questions you might have about the Passover holy days: On what day are we supposed to eat the Passover meal? and How are we supposed to celebrate Passover? and Circumcision.

As with Sukkot (which falls in the September/October time frame, on the Hebrew date, Tishri 15), Passover is also exactly at the middle of the Hebrew month so there will be a full moon (a sign - Genesis 1:14). This means, if you are counting days properly, you will see a nearly full moon rise at or near sunset, Nisan 14 (March 26th), with the moon passing through its full phase later that same evening or before sunset the next day which is during Nisan 15. This also means that Nisan must begin on the correct day! Though the moon cannot be seen during conjunction, we believe the ancients knew full well how to determine the proper day of the new month, and therefore they were able to preserve the correct month and day of Passover in accordance with Exodus 12:14 and Numbers 9:2-3. Today, we can easily determine the day of conjunction and hence the correct day for the beginning of Nisan and always know our date for Passover is correct. Please see our articles: Barley, Moon observations.

Leviticus 23: 5 "'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between sundown and complete darkness, comes Pesach for ADONAI.

Numbers 9: 1 ADONAI spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert in the first month of the second year after they had left the land of Egypt; he said, 2 "Let the people of Isra'el observe Pesach at its designated time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at dusk, you are to observe it - at its designated time. You are to observe it according to all its regulations and rules." 4 Moshe told the people of Isra'el to observe Pesach. 5 So they observed Pesach at dusk on the fourteenth day of the month in the Sinai Desert; the people of Isra'el acted in accordance with all that ADONAI had ordered Moshe.

Counting of the Omer: Please note, Leviticus 23:15 tells YHWH's people they are obligated to count the days from Passover to Shavu'ot - a period known as the Counting of the Omer. The counting is intended to remind us of the link between Passover, which commemorates the Exodus, and Shavu'ot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah. It reminds us that the redemption from slavery was not complete until we received the Torah. For your convenience, we're including a downloadable calendar for the omer count for 2012.

NOTE: Because of the rabbinic "rules", ALL the High Holy days this year are on the wrong day in the rabbinic calendar for 2013. Please see the explanation in our article entitled Calendar Wars of 2013.