YahSaves.org

[Dennis]

I received a telephone call asking why the Jewish Hillel II 2009 calendar, which is also followed by the Churches of God Sabbatarian groups, starts the New Year the day before the conjunction New Moon.

First some parameters:

(1) Jewish Hillel II Calendar starts each New Moon month based on the calculated Conjunction New Moon commonly called the "Molad" which is the average time between New Moon Conjunctions in each year.

(2) The Jewish Hillel II Calendar is not based on a visible sighting of the Crescent New Moon.

(3) The Jewish Hillel II Calendar has Postponement rules that can postpone the start of the 1st Month of the New Year by as much as two days.

Now the facts for 2009:

(1) For 2009 the Conjunction New Moon for the 1st month of the New Year occurs approximately 21+ minutes after sunset on Wednesday March 26, 2009 in Jerusalem, Israel.

(2) Thus The first day of the 1st month of the New Year would be Thursday March 27, 2009.

(3) Passover - 14th Day of the 1st month - Thursday April 9, 2009 with Passover services after sunset the previous evening of April 8, 2009.

(4) Thus the Miqra Qodesh 1st Day of Unleavens would be Friday April 10, 2009.

(5) At this point the Jewish Hillel II Calendar Postponements would come into play - A Miqra Qodesh is not permitted to fall on the day before or the day after a weekly Sabbath.

(6) In 2009 if you postpone The 1st Day of Unleavens from Friday to Saturday then the Last Day of Unleavens would then fall on a Friday, a shift of the 1st Day to Sunday would move the last Day to Sabbath, etc.

(7) In order to shift the 1st & Last Day of Unleavens from being either on the day before or after a weekly Sabbath, the 1st Day would have to shift from Friday to the following Tuesday, moving the last day to a Monday, a four day shift. WOW

( It simply was easier to arbitrarily move back 21+ minutes the timing of the Conjunction establishing March 26, 2009 as the 1st Day of the 1st Month and make the 15th day of the 1st month, which is a Miqra Qodesh (a special Sabbaton) and the 1st Day of Unleavens fall on Thursday April 9, 2009 instead of Friday April 10, 2009.

This I believe is the only explanation of why The 1st Day of the coming New Year will occur a day before before the New Moon Conjunction.