Stop Freaking Out About When the Bible Was Written!

(The following teaching was written by Rich Oka at The Messianic Revolution.)

"Shlomo formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her into the City of David, [where she lived] until he had finished building his own palace, the house of Adonai and the wall around Yerushalayim."-1 Kings 3:1

In chapter 2, we saw how Solomon eliminated all potential rivals and rebels.

This gave him a rock-solid foundation from which to run his government.

The next step was to begin creating alliances with the surrounding nations.

Verse 1 doesn't waste any time in explaining that Solomon married the Pharaoh's daughter to establish an alliance with Egypt.

Interestingly, the author tells that after marrying the Egyptian princess, Solomon had her live in the City of David until his palace and the Temple were finished.

These are things that wouldn't happen until much later.

So what does this tell us?

It tells us the writer recorded these events much later than they actually took place.

A lot of homies get bent out of shape when they hear a particular Bible book was penned a couple of centuries or more later than the time the characters in the book lived.

They're reacting like it's some kind of heresy or something.

My response?

Calm the hell down, man.

Look, most of the books in the Bible were written a helluva long time after the events depicted in them occurred.

This doesn't reduce their credibility one iota.

In fact, the opposite is true.

Why?

Because it gave the Scripture writers a chance to dig deep into other source material in addition to working from all of the oral traditions that were handed down throughout the years.

Ya feel me here?

I've already discussed how the Book of Kings was put together by pulling from other records.

The books themselves attest to that and name three primary sources as follows

The Annals of Solomon (mentioned in 1 Kings 11).

The Annals of the Kings of Israel (mentioned actually 17 times in 1 Kings 14 and 2 Kings 15).

And the Annals of the Kings of Judah (mentioned 15 times in 1 Kings 14, 2 Kings 24, and other spots).

So again, stop popping a blood vessel every time you hear that the books of the Bible were compiled, written, and edited much later than the events depicted occurred.

The bottom line is that some of the best and most accurate history books were written in recent times.

As Tom Bradford mentioned in his awesome Torah class, modern publications about the American Civil War are perfect examples.

The authors were able to tap into a vast array of information, such as government documents and private memoirs of army generals, as well as letters written by soldiers to their families from a variety of locations in the US while the war was going on.

It’s only later, when someone gathers the info, that the full picture starts to emerge like a jigsaw puzzle that only makes sense after the pieces are gathered and put together.

Ya feel me here?

This leads to our takeaway for today.

The process I mentioned should strengthen our faith in the divine origin of the Scriptures, and not weaken it.

The Bible is unique because it was written:

Over about 1,500 years...

By 40+ different authors...

In different locations (Israel, Babylon, Egypt, Rome, etc.)...

In different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek)...

By people with very different backgrounds (kings, shepherds, prophets, fishermen)...

Yet, despite that, it tells one consistent story about one God, one moral standard, one problem (sin), and one plan of redemption, pointing to the coming of the Messiah.

If the Bible were a manmade book, it would be all over the freakin' place.

Different authors would contradict each other, and the message would shift over time.

But that ain't what we see.

From Exodus to Matthew, the message is consistent.

That's not random.

That's evidence pointing to a divine hand guiding the process.

Ya feel me?

Done.

CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

"All Scripture is God-breathed ​
​and is useful for teaching, rebuking, ​
​correcting and training in righteousness,^​
​so that the servant of God may be ​
​thoroughly equipped for every good work."​
-2 Timothy 3:16-17

P.S. Click HERE (https://messianic-revolution.com/) for more teachings like this.

…And He protects it (Israel) like the pupil of his eye…

ISRAEL IS GOD’S PRIZED POSSESSION, AND HE PROTECTS IT LIKE THE PUPIL OF HIS EYE. Think about that for a moment: OUR eyes are the reflection of our soul, and our hearts are where we are to write HIS Torah. The words we speak come from what is in our heart, so if we have His Torah written there (meaning, we study, learn and memorize His Divine Instructions in Righteousness), we will automatically do, think and speak HIS holiness.

Actively engaging in sin?

A THOUGHT TO PONDER for those who actively engage in anything God calls “Sin,” because they really don’t see anything wrong with their particular sin:

Please ask yourself this: As a Believer, can you also be a practicing/active murderer, thief, liar, idolator, adulterer or prostitute?

Truth is, sin is sin, and you cannot enter the new heavens and new earth if you refuse to repent and TURN FROM your sin, whatever it may be… (Acts 3:19; 2 Peter 3:8-9; Romans 1:18-3 ...)

Let’s take a look at some of the proof texts concerning sin:

Numbers 15: 30 "'But an individual who does something wrong intentionally, whether a citizen or a foreigner, is blaspheming ADONAI. That person will be cut off from his people. (CJB)

Hebrews 6: 4. But they who have once descended to immersion and have tasted the gift from heaven and have received the Ruach haKodesh 5. and have tasted the good Word of Elohim and the power of the world to come, 6. cannot again sin and a second time be renewed to repentance; or a second time execute him on a stake and insult the Son of Elohim. 7. For the earth that drinks the rain which comes often upon it and produces the herb that is of use to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from Elohim. 8. But if it should put forth thorns and briers, it would be discarded and be approaching closely to a curse, and its end would be a conflagration. (AENT)

Hebrews 10: 26 For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but only the terrifying prospect of Judgment, or raging fire that will consume the enemies. (CJB)

The above Scripture is not referring to those unclean bondages that dwell in our flesh but to the conscious choices believers make. It refers not to our unintentional sins but to those we pursue knowingly and willingly.

2 Peter 2:19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for a person is slave to whatever has defeated him. 20 Indeed, if they have once escaped the pollutions of the world through knowing our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah, and then have again become entangled and defeated by them, their latter condition has become worse than their former. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the Way of righteousness than, fully knowing, to turn from the holy command delivered to them. (CJB)

How many of today's believers behave in a way they know is sinful and yet they go ahead and do what they feel like doing, anyway? That's because they mistakenly think Divine grace covers intentional sin. That is a huge misconception! Divine grace has made wonderful provision for unintentional sin. But there is no provision for intentional sin. The Bible tells us so.

Deliberate, premeditated sin is willful disobedience and rebellion against ELOHIM. It results in severe punishment or even loss of our salvation.

Leviticus 26: 23 If, in spite of all this, you refuse my correction and still go against me; then I too will go against you; and I, yes I, will strike you seven times over for your sins. (CJB)

1 Corinthians 6: 9. Or don't you know, that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of Elohim?* Make no mistake! Neither sexual sinners, nor idol-worshippers, nor adulterers, nor the corrupt, nor men who lay down with other men, 10. Nor the oppressors, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, will inherit the Kingdom of Elohim. (AENT)

FOOTNOTE: Compare this to Matthew 5:17-20, where we are told that breaking the least commandment of Torah and teaching others to do the same makes a person "least in the kingdom" but they still get in. Y'shua implies that those with more serious sins won't make it in: "Depart from me, workers of iniquity, I never knew you"; but here, Rav Shaul gives a more specific list of what will keep them out.

The bottom line is that ongoing, deliberate sinning without any sign of repentance is NOT a good thing, for it WILL keep you from spending Eternity with the Holy One.

Just pondering God’s commanded festivals…

I’VE BEEN PONDERING GOD’S COMMANDED FESTIVALS LATELY, and – even though I’ve been a Messianic Believer since Passover of 1998, I never cease to be amazed over ADONAI’s timing.

It’s all mathematical, scientific and completely methodical. His seven commanded feast times are all based on timed events, with each one foreshadowing His Divine Messiah (who has so far fulfilled the first FOUR of the SEVEN – with the next one being the “catching up” (1 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17) on a future Fall Festival called Yom Teruah/Feast of Trumpets, which is when God will call His people together for the “marriage supper of Lamb” (the event that Christians are calling “the Rapture”).

Here’s just one of many examples of His Timing:

The Israelites were led out of Egypt and given physical liberation on 14 Nisan/Passover (Exodus 12:1-13) which foreshadowed Yeshua, the Passover Lamb whose death provided spiritual liberation [see Matthew, Mark, Luke and John].

(By the way, many of the European concentration camps were liberated on or around 14 Nisan, and Hitler committed suicide during this timeframe [April 30, 1945].)

Coincidence? NO! Yahweh ALWAYS does things in HIS TIMING!

Exodus 12: 40 The time the people of Isra'el lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years to the day, all the divisions of ADONAI left the land of Egypt. 42 This was a night when ADONAI kept vigil to bring them out of the land of Egypt, and this same night continues to be a night when ADONAI keeps vigil for all the people of Isra'el through all their generations. (CJB)

The above describes the first Pass-Over, which is one of His seven beautiful festivals for us to commemorate!

Does Hebrews 8 suggest Torah is no longer valid?

SOMEONE RECENTLY WROTE TO MY WEBSITE to inform me that Hebrews 8:13 supposedly proves that Torah is no longer valid, and he offered the following passage as proof:

Hebrews 8: 13 "In that he saith, A new "covenant", he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." (KJV)

MY RESPONSE:

Good Bible students recognize that Hebrews 8 refers back to Jeremiah 31:31-34, which says the following:

Jeremiah 31: 31 "Here, the days are coming," says ADONAI, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Isra'el and with the house of Y'hudah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by their hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband to them," says ADONAI.

33 "For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra'el after those days," says ADONAI: "I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

34 No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, 'Know ADONAI'; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more." (CJB)

SO, RETURNING TO HEBREWS 8 (specifically, verse 8:10), an astute mind would begin to wonder why YHWH would write a "decaying and vanishing covenant on our hearts"... Right?

Therefore, when we knit it all together, we can see that Hebrews 8 couldn't possibly suggest that the Torah is obsolete! If you read all of Chapter 8 in context, you'll see the author was implying the LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD is what is being replaced by the Messiah...

In the realization of the above, let's take a closer look at Hebrews 8 via the Hebrew mindset:

Hebrews 8: 6. But now, Y'shua the Mashiyach has received a ministry which is better than that: as also the covenant of which he is made the Mediator is better, and is given with better promises than the former. 7. For, if the first (covenant) had been faultless, there would have been no place for this second (one).

8. For he rebukes them and says: Behold the days come, says Master YHWH, when I will complete with the family of the house of Israel and with the family of the house of Yehuda, a renewed covenant;[1] 9. not like the covenant which I gave to their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; (and) because they continued not in my covenant, I also rejected them, says Master YHWH.

10. But this is the covenant which I will give to the family of the house of Israel after those days, says Master YHWH: I will put my Torah in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts; and I will be to them a Elohim, and they will be to me a people. 11. And one will not teach his son of the city[2] nor his brother, nor say: You shall know your Master YHWH: because they will all know me, from the youngest of them to the oldest. 12. And I will forgive them their iniquity; and their sins will I remember no more. 13. In that he said a Renewed (Covenant), he made the first old; and that which is old and decaying, is near to disappearing. [3] (AENT)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Most seem to forget that without the first covenant, the second one is impossible! In very short order Rav Shaul (Paul) will quote Jeremiah 31:31-34, indicating that the Renewed Covenant is a contingency triggered by, and deriving authority from, the first covenant. YHWH declared that the Ancient Covenant He made with Israel was good; it was to bring life, but the people of Israel chose to willfully break this Covenant and treat it as a vain thing. See Deuteronomy 32:46, 47.

[2] The phrase in Aramaic is bar medintheh, which literally means "son of his city" but idiomatically carries the meaning of "fellow citizen, neighbor" and most definitely a metaphor Greek does not have. This fact puts Peshitta well before the end of the Second Century when the mistranslated Greek texts were done. It is also important to note that this is the last book of the Eastern canon. As a result, the entire collection must have circulated prior to this very early date.

[3] The context is Jeremiah 31:31-34, what is "near to disappearing" is the sinful nature of man that breaks Torah, not the standard of Torah. Remember that we broke Torah, not YHWH!

YHWH did not drop the standard of Torah because Israel chose disobedience; rather, He installed a Renewed Covenant to write Torah upon the heart through the work of the Ruach haKodesh, according to Mashiyach.

The fact of the matter is that in Mashiyach, YHWH raised the bar; He magnified Torah; see Isaiah 42:21. Because mankind broke Covenant, YHWH requires complete renovation on our part, not YHWH's part of the Covenant. This verse in its twisted form, became one of the "crown jewels" of Torahless Christianity which teaches that Torah is decaying and is near to disappearing, but nothing could be farther from the truth. See 2 Peter 3:16.

A note for those who don’t believe in keeping the Seventh Day Sabbath…

Folks, Scripture speaks for itself. Please take a look:

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. 2 On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce. (CJB)

NOTE in the above that He "BLESSED the Seventh Day and separated it as holy"... (The Seventh Day on our Gregorian calendars falls on Saturday.)

Exodus 31:16 The people of Isra'el are to keep the Shabbat, to observe Shabbat through all their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the people of Isra'el forever; for in six days ADONAI made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and rested.'" (CJB)

NOTE:  Since God’s people AND the “grafted-in” are “one in Messiah” ((Ephesians 2:15 and Galatians 3:28), this means ALL who accept the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are required to keep God’s Seventh Day Sabbath HOLY!

Ezekiel 20:11 I gave them my laws and showed them my rulings; if a person obeys them, he will have life through them. 12 I gave them my shabbats as a sign between me and them, so that they would know that I, ADONAI, am the one who makes them holy. (CJB)

Exodus 20:8 "Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. 9 You have six days to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Shabbat for ADONAI your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work -not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. 11 For in six days, ADONAI made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why ADONAI blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself. (CJB)

Isaiah 56: 2 Happy is the person who does this, anyone who grasps it firmly, who keeps Shabbat and does not profane it, and keeps himself from doing any evil. 3 A foreigner joining ADONAI should not say, "ADONAI will separate me from his people"; likewise the eunuch should not say, "I am only a dried-up tree." 4 For here is what ADONAI says: "As for the eunuchs who keep my Shabbats, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant: 5 in my house, within my walls, I will give them power and a name greater than sons and daughters; I will give him an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

6 "And the foreigners who join themselves to ADONAI to serve him, to love the name of ADONAI, and to be his workers, all who keep Shabbat and do not profane it, and hold fast to my covenant, 7 I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples." (CJB)

Isaiah 58: 13 If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, ADONAI'S holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them. 14 If you do, you will find delight in ADONAI - I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya'akov, for the mouth of ADONAI has spoken." (CJB)

Isaiah 66: 23 And it shall be that from one New Moon to another New Moon and from one Sabbath to another Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says the Lord. (CJB)

Jeremiah 17: 21 Here is what ADONAI says: "If you value your lives, don't carry anything on Shabbat or bring it in through the gates of Yerushalayim; 22 don't carry anything out of your houses on Shabbat; and don't do any work. Instead, make Shabbat a holy day. I ordered your ancestors to do this, 23 but they neither listened nor paid attention; rather, they stiffened their necks, so that they wouldn't have to hear or receive instruction. 24 However, if you will pay careful heed to me," says ADONAI "and carry nothing through the gates of this city on Shabbat, but instead make Shabbat a day which is holy and not for doing work; (CJB)

THERE ARE MORE PASSAGES, but hopefully the ones I posted here will suffice. Just please remember that, when ADONAI commands something, it should never be ignored.

It is unfortunate that most people don't seem to realize that some common sense is needed when reading Scriptures. For instance, we today, cannot possibly (nor are we expected to) keep all 613 original commands.

Why? Because they didn't all pertain to "everybody!" Most were meant for the Levite Priests, while some were meant only for men and others only for women...

However, we should definitely pay attention to those that we CAN keep ... the ones that have the word "forever" or "throughout your generations" attached to them. They were never meant "just for the Jews!" (Remember, there were 12 tribes in the desert with Moshe for 40 years - along with myriad foreigners" who had followed Israel out of Egypt ... and they were told to obey "exactly as" God's people did... See Numbers 15:13-16.)

The truth is, if you believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then you are "grafted in" and required to keep God's "forever" commands. (For proof, re-read all the above mentioned passages and Numbers 15: 13-16, and Deuteronomy 31:11-12.)

Did you know that the “cock” that crowed at “just the time” was NOT a rooster?

Did you know that the “cock”that crowed at the appointed time was NOT a rooster?

Matthew 26:34. Y’shua said to him, Truly I say to you, that in this night before the cock crows you will deny me three times. (AENT)

The Greek translations would have you believe that it would be a rooster crowing ... but the truth is this: the Aramaic word used was "gaver" which is a slang term for "cock" or "rooster" - referring to the town crier blowing his shofar (ram's horn). ”

The "gaver" was responsible for opening the temple before dawn and calling out loudly, two or three times to announce the early morning services. So, the reality is, "the cock crowed" simply referred to the town crier doing his job.

A mini-lesson on the importance of holiness in the Presence of ADONAI: never offer “strange fire”…

Leviticus 10:1-3 provides a tiny inkling of what transpired during the consecration of Aharon (Aaron) and his sons, who were killed on the spot for adding "unauthorized fire before ADONAI":

Leviticus 10: 1 But Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon, each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before ADONAI, something he had not ordered them to do. 2 At this, fire came forth from the presence of ADONAI and consumed them, so that they died in the presence of ADONAI. Moshe said to Aharon, "This is what ADONAI said: 'Through those who are near me I will be consecrated, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" Aharon kept silent. (CJB)

Before I continue, please note that Nadav and Avihu were certainly NOT guilty of worshiping other gods or being purposely disrespectful; they apparently thought Yahweh would be pleased if they added, or did something spontaneous, to honor Him.

But He wasn’t, and for that, they lost their lives.

Can you even begin to imagine how Aharon felt in that moment when he saw his sons lying dead on the floor?

We are told Aharon was too stunned to speak over the deaths of his sons. As a matter of fact, he and the others were so distraught, they couldn't even bring themselves to eat the goat of the sin offering as Moshe had ordered (Leviticus 16-20). How unimaginably tragic and shocking it must have been for Aharon yet, as high priest, he had no choice but to carry on with the holy activities!

What the incense or the “strange fire” actually was is really anybody’s guess; but the fact remains that the two new cohanim (priests) clearly did something that displeased Yahweh, something He had not commanded them to do while honoring Him. Therefore, we have no choice but to realize that they obviously disregarded God’s commands and treated the holy things casually, as if they could approach God on their own terms.

This reveals just how serious an offense it can be when we “add to” or “subtract from” what He commanded! We simply cannot decide to make up our own stuff, and expect ADONAI to bless it…

As hard as it is to hear, unlike most priests, pastors and rabbis who are often prone to "think carnally" and overlook "little indiscretions," YHWH our God shows over and over again that He is NOT tolerant of anything that adds to or subtracts from His Word! (This is why we at The Refiner's Fire constantly reiterate the importance of stopping the nonsense of "religiosity" which insists it's okay for believers to ignore the commanded Seventh Day Sabbath and the Biblical Feasts and to eat "unclean" foods. (Since we are “one in Messiah” it would be a smart idea to apply the “same God, same rules” concept whenever possible.)

In conclusion:

Experiencing our ancestors through human emotions helps us to see them (and history) in a completely different light, doesn’t it? If you haven’t already done so, in the future, try putting yourself into each Bible story, to really get to KNOW the people who lived centuries ago.

And remember to never take lightly your worship of our Living God who expects pure holiness…

Leviticus 11: 44 For I am ADONAI your God; therefore, consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy…. 45 For I am ADONAI, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Therefore you are to be holy, because I am holy. (CJB)

A deeper explanation of Passover…

The following was borrowed from “Yael’s Letters”…

Israel’s Firstborn, God’s Son, and the Beloved Son at the Cross

Counting of the Omer – Day 7

The story of Passover is not just about deliverance. It is about the firstborn, and that detail is not incidental.

From the very beginning of the Exodus narrative, God frames the entire confrontation with Pharaoh around identity, inheritance, and sonship.

Before the plagues intensify, before the sea opens, before freedom becomes visible, God defines Israel with a title that carries covenant weight.

“Israel is my firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22).

In the ancient world, the firstborn is not simply the first child in a family. The firstborn represents authority, inheritance, continuity, and the future of the father’s house.

What belongs to the father passes through the firstborn. The name, the blessing, and the responsibility all converge there.

So, when God calls Israel His firstborn, He is not speaking sentimentally. He is making a covenantal claim.

Pharaoh’s refusal to release Israel is therefore not just political resistance. It is a rejection of God’s declared sonship. And God’s response mirrors the offense with exact precision.

“If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son” (Exodus 4:23).

This is not arbitrary judgment. It is measured justice, answering defiance with a response that exposes the weight of what has been rejected.

When the final plague comes, it is not generalized destruction.

It is targeted, deliberate, and focused on the firstborn in every household, from Pharaoh’s throne to the lowest servant.

“Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die” (Exodus 11:5).

The strike is not random. It is aimed at inheritance itself, at the future of every house.

And yet, in the middle of that judgment, a distinction is made that cuts deeper than ethnicity, status, or lineage. The dividing line is not who you are, but what covers you.

A lamb is chosen, examined, and killed. Its blood is placed on the doorposts and lintel, marking the threshold of the home. When judgment passes through the land, it does not pause to evaluate identity or intention. It responds to the covering.

“When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13).

This establishes a pattern that is both simple and severe. The firstborn either dies or is covered. There is no third category.

That reality sharpens the tension in the story.

Israel is called God’s firstborn, yet Israel is also spared only through the blood of a lamb. The identity is real, but the protection still requires substitution. Even the firstborn of God must be covered.

This is not a contradiction. It is a revelation of how covenant operates.

From that point forward, the firstborn belongs to God in a unique and costly way.

“Consecrate to me all the firstborn” (Exodus 13:2).

The firstborn is claimed, set apart, and often redeemed through sacrifice. The principle becomes embedded in Israel’s understanding: the firstborn carries weight, the firstborn is costly, and the firstborn cannot be treated casually.

As the narrative unfolds, the language of sonship begins to deepen and narrow.

Israel is called God’s son, but within Israel there are firstborn, and within that structure a greater pattern is forming. By the time we reach the Psalms and the prophets, the idea of “the Son” begins to take on a more focused, forward-looking shape.

“You are my Son; today I have begotten you” (Psalm 2:7).

What began as a national identity is becoming personal, prophetic, and anticipatory.

When we arrive at the Gospels, that anticipation resolves into a declaration and at Yeshua’s baptism, a voice from heaven identifies Him unmistakably.

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

The language is intentional. The beloved Son stands in continuity with Israel, but also in fulfillment of what Israel was always meant to embody.

Matthew makes this connection explicit when he writes, “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Matthew 2:15).

Yeshua is not separate from Israel’s story. He is walking it out, carrying it, and bringing it to its intended completion. The identity of “firstborn” is no longer just corporate. It is concentrated in a person.

This is why the timing of the crucifixion matters. The final week does not unfold randomly. It aligns precisely with Passover. The Lamb is chosen, examined, and found without blemish. Everything about the moment echoes the instructions given in Exodus, but now the pattern is intensifying.

At the first Passover, the firstborn in Egypt dies, and the firstborn in Israel lives because a lamb dies in its place.

At the cross, that structure turns in a way that should stop us. The Son, the true Firstborn, the beloved Son, becomes the One who dies.

The direction has reversed.

No longer does the lamb die so the firstborn can live. Now the Firstborn Himself becomes the Lamb.

This is why Paul can say, “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). He is not borrowing imagery. He is identifying fulfillment.

The categories that once stood side by side have now merged into one person. The Lamb and the Firstborn are no longer separate roles. They are embodied together.

This changes the entire frame of the story. The question is no longer simply who holds the position of firstborn. The question becomes who stands under the covering that the Firstborn Himself has provided.

At the cross, the judgment that once moved through Egypt moves again, but this time it falls on the Son. Not because He deserves it, but because He stands in the place of those who are covered by His blood. The substitution that was patterned in Exodus reaches its full expression here.

The pattern is complete.

This is why Scripture calls Him “the firstborn of all creation” and “the firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:15, 18).

He is not only first in rank, but first through death and out the other side. He is the Firstborn who enters death and the Firstborn who rises beyond it, carrying others with Him.

And just as in Egypt, the dividing line remains unchanged. It is still the blood.

The story that began in Exodus finds its fulfillment at the cross. The themes of firstborn, lamb, judgment, and covering are not separate ideas. They converge into a single moment where the Son stands in the place of many, and the weight of substitution is no longer symbolic, but complete.

So, when we read Passover, we are not just reading history. We are reading a pattern that was always moving forward. And when we look at the cross, we are not simply witnessing an execution. We are seeing the Firstborn take the place of the firstborn.

And because He does, those who are covered live.

Does God really hate dogs?

SOMEONE ONCE SENT AN EMAIL TO MY WEBSITE TO INFORM ME THAT GOD HATES DOGS - and as "proof" he provided Matthew 7:6 and Revelation 22:15...

I was left speechless over that ridiculous train of thought, but it also made me realize how easily Scripture can be misunderstood, taken out of context and downright twisted (which explains why there are some 50,000 different Christian denominations, and myriad Hebrew Roots and Messianic sects, each believing themselves to have cornered the market on ADONAI's Truth.

And so, to help weed through the Greek and/or other "interpretations" of the Word, I decided to write this short explanation of the context of those two passages from the Hebrew viewpoint:

Matthew 7: 6. You should not hang earrings on dogs and you should not place your pearls before pigs that they should not trample them by their feet and they overtake and wound you. (AENT)

Revelation 22:15. Without (will be) dogs and sorcerers, and whoremongers and manslayers and idolaters, and everyone that loves and does falsehood. (AENT)

The word “tithlon” (hang) was misunderstood as “talon” (to give); “qudesha” (earrings) was misunderstood as qudsha (holy). The picture of hanging earrings on dogs dovetails with giving pearls to pigs, and the symbolism of the two animal groups could not be clearer, as dogs represent apostate Jews, and the pigs, apostate Gentiles who are ignorant of YHWH and His Torah.

Either way, the lesson here is do not give what is precious to those who will not appreciate the value. It's got nothing, whatsoever, to do with God "hating dogs"....

THE MORAL OF THIS LITTLE ARTICLE IS:

Be very careful about whom you choose to believe, as there are many opinionated people "out there" making wild accusations on things about which they know absolutely nothing.

...And yes, they ARE ready, willing and able to take their "truth" and trample you to death with it, tearing you to pieces verbally ... all while believing themselves to be doing God's Work.

Some musings about “lost folks” on this overcast and cloudy day…

I’m so sad for all the lost people of this world, because they don’t realize they are lost (they don’t even know the meaning of that word!); and nothing you can say or do will change their minds. I can’t even imagine the pain Yahweh or His Divine Messiah experience from the constant rejection!

However, as you all know, the Bible warns us about what those types will do at the very mention of “God”:

Matthew 7:6“Don’t give to dogs what is holy, and don’t throw your pearls to the pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, then turn and attack you.” (CJB)

Truer words were never spoken! My Facebook post on April 6 about “gender issues” is proof of that, as most of the comments were downright vile and disgusting – made by those who troll around Facebook in hopes of finding people to verbally attack.

(Ironically, when checking out some of their profiles, you can see that they spend an enormous amount of time and energy discussing the very Entity they proclaim to hate! While their comments are meant to be derogatory, they don’t even seem to realize the irony of the fact that HE is always on their minds!)

Anyway, the attacks on my April 6 post were seemingly endless, and after a couple of days, instead of leaving it open for “Public,” I decided to make the post for “Friends Only” because, over the past couple of decades, I’ve learned that anything we can possibly say about God and the Bible is met with hostility, fights and arguments. It’s a total waste of time.

The only GOOD news in this is that the detractors – if nothing else – at least SAW the post, which means “seeds were sown!” So, there’s that…

Truth is, their “spirit” recognizes OUR Spirit, and it makes them angry, because they have absolutely NO clue what we’re talking about – yet, something inside of them spurs them into a blind rage and an unquenching desire fight and rant and viciously argue their respective viewpoints with anyone they can entice into a verbal duel.

Those people don’t (and can’t) realize that their actions illustrate the rude and crude behavior of this fallen world” (Genesis 3:17, Romans 8:22) in which we live; as "the world" - which is run by Satan (2 Cor 4:4; John 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11), has been busy trying to normalize things that are, in the Eyes of our Heavenly Father, totally abnormal, evil and even downright abominable.

As is obvious to anyone with “eyes to see and ears to hear,” EVIL is rampant, and myriads of lost souls are busy spewing forth hatred and force-feeding their garbage down the world’s collective throat, in hopes of getting us to accept evil as “good” and “normal.”  The “powers-that-be” INSIST we accept it, no matter how disgusting or ridiculous! 

It’s forced on us EVERYWHERE, not just on television or in the movies, but also in stores, restaurants, schools and other public places. (I mean, it’s pretty pathetic to discover, for instance, that bakeries that refuse to put a “same sex couple” on their cakes, can be put out of business!)

Unfortunately, this has been working (in part, because people like former President Obama insisted “wrong” was to be considered “right and acceptable,” and “right” was now a thing of the past…

We Believers have, for some decades now (pretty much since the advent of TV and movies and the behaviors of the elite – Hollywood’s “Rich and Famous)” been mentally raped into “acceptance” and “tolerance!”

But the bottom line is, “abnormal” is NOT normal, and never will be - no matter how much anyone wants to whitewash it!  The Bible – for good reason - tells us what constitutes “evil” and even outlines its “ripple effects.”  “Bad” is NEVER a “good” thing, period!

Anyway, this "forcing us to accept the abnormal" has been going on for the last few decades now - and in short, it's maddening. As far as I’m concerned, it reveals that God has removed His Mighty Hand from the world, and is allowing mankind to wallow in our own muck.

The Books of Daniel and Revelation are literally unfolding before our very eyes; and everything that is happening today, reveals that Satan is VERY busy and seems to be winning the race for now.  That’s why Believers must keep our minds stayed on the TRUTH that at least 300 Bible prophecies have already come pass … and we are quickly heading toward the ones that tell us how THE BOOK ends, where Yeshua returns to rule and reign for a thousand years; and at the end, Satan (and his followers) ARE GOING TO LAND in the Lake of Fire!

What many don’t realize is that Messiah Yeshua has so far fulfilled FOUR of the SEVEN Biblical Festivals (ADONAI’s Appointed Times) in perfect sequence, and the next one will be what Christians are calling “the Rapture.” (Please see my article .) Judging by everything that is happening in today’s crazy, war-ridden world, I personally don’t believe Yeshua will be tarrying much longer…

That is why Believers MUST stand firm for Yahweh's TRUTH! We don’t need to engage in fights and arguments; we just need to present HIS Truth! (Just make sure the Truth you present lines up with the Bible, instead of personal opinions.)  The Bible is REALITY; it speaks for itself. It promises that one day, EVERY KNEE WILL BOW! (Philippians 2:5-11)

In the meantime, we will simply have to keep watching events unfold, and putting up with the attacks of the “lost souls of this world” and all the things foretold in the Bible …  things like the ones outlined in just this one example:

Romans 1: 22 Claiming to be wise, they have become fools! 23 In fact, they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for mere images, like a mortal human being, or like birds, animals or reptiles! 24 This is why God has given them up to the vileness of their hearts' lusts, to the shameful misuse of each other's bodies. 25 They have exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, by worshiping and serving created things, rather than the Creator - praised be he for ever. Amen.

26 This is why God has given them up to degrading passions; so that their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural; 27 and likewise the men, giving up natural relations with the opposite sex, burn with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men and receiving in their own persons the penalty appropriate to their perversion.

28 In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things. 29 They are filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and vice; stuffed with jealousy, murder, quarreling, dishonesty and ill-will; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God; they are insolent, arrogant and boastful; they plan evil schemes; they disobey their parents; 31 they are brainless, faithless, heartless and ruthless.

32 They know well enough God's righteous decree that people who do such things deserve to die; yet not only do they keep doing them, but they applaud others who do the same. (CJB)

May our Heavenly Father richly bless you in your ceaseless efforts to thwart the darts of the Evil One who desires to take as many to Hell with him as possible, before he meets his fiery end!

The Feast of Unleavened Bread - (The Discipline of Removing What Spreads)

(I found this on Facebook, and unfortunately, don’t know who the author is, but it’s a wonderful article.)

The cross does not end the story. It moves us into the next appointed time, because Yeshua did not die randomly in history - He died on YHWH’s calendar.Right at Passover.

And as the sun set on the day of His crucifixion, something shifted. Not just in heaven. Not just in the Temple. But in the rhythm YHWH had already written into time itself.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread began.

Seven days. A commanded removal of leaven. A house-cleansing that was never just about bread. Redemption first, then cleansing. And even in the year that Yeshua was crucified, that same pattern is still holding.

Yeshua, our Passover Lamb, has just been slain (1 Corinthians 5:7), and His body is laid in the tomb.

And as Unleavened Bread begins and the tomb has been sealed, He is resting in the earth - three days and three nights - during the very feast that is all about the removal of corruption, the putting away of what puffs up, and the stripping down to what is pure.

This is not just symbolic, it is perfectly timed. It is not a separate story, it is a continuation moving from death, to cleansing, to life.

So, let’s look at the cleansing...

Right after the blood is applied on the doorposts in Egypt, and deliverance is secured, YHWH does something that unsettles our expectations - He turns His people inward and tells them to search their houses. Not to celebrate longer, not to linger in the miracle, but to begin removing what had quietly lived among them the entire time.

“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses…” (Exodus 12:15)

This is surgical language, and timing is everything. Redemption comes first, then exposure.

What is leaven, exactly?

In Scripture, leaven is a picture of something small that spreads and transforms everything it touches - and most often, it is used negatively.

Yeshua warns of the “leaven of the Pharisees,” which He defines as hypocrisy and corrupt teaching (Matthew 16:6, 12; Luke 12:1). Paul uses leaven to describe sin that, if left unchecked, spreads through the whole community (1 Corinthians 5:6–8; Galatians 5:9).

Biblically, leaven is not just one thing - it is a pattern. It is sin, false doctrine, hypocrisy, and corruption that begins small but permeates everything if not removed.

That’s why the command during Unleavened Bread is so strong - remove it completely - because what seems small and harmless never stays that way.

It does not arrive loudly. It does not dominate immediately. It enters, settles, and then works - slowly, quietly, thoroughly - until everything is affected. Dough does not resist leaven; it absorbs it. It becomes something different because of it.

What spreads will define. And what defines will shape identity.

So, YHWH commands something that feels extreme unless you understand the nature of leaven - remove it entirely. Not because He is concerned about bread, or offering baking tips, but because He is teaching His people how to deal with what corrupts by infiltration rather than confrontation.

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” (1 Corinthians 5:6)

This is a strong warning. Let me repeat... it comes in by slow, quiet infiltration rather than in-your-face confrontation.

Why does YHWH command seven days?

The feast lasts seven days. That matters. It is a full cycle of interruption.

Seven is not arbitrary - it is the number of completion, the full cycle of time in Scripture. Creation itself is structured in seven days, and now, in redemption, YHWH overlays another complete cycle onto the lives of His people.

For seven days, normal patterns are interrupted. Eating is different. Preparation is different. Awareness is heightened. Watchfulness is heightened. You cannot forget what you are doing because every meal reminds you and every bite reinforces it.

Every absence of leaven becomes presence of intention.

This is not about a single act of removal; it is about sustained attention. Transformation is not secured in a moment of clarity - it is reinforced through repeated obedience.

We see this pattern begin in the first Exodus. When Israel leaves Egypt, there is no time for leaven.

“So the people took their dough before it was leavened…” (Exodus 12:34)

This is historical, but also instructional. Leaven requires time., to sit, to expand, to work its way through and infiltrate. But, redemption, and symbolism in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, interrupts that timeline. YHWH doesn’t wait for the leaven to work its way through and rise, He calls His people out immediately.

And this means the first taste of freedom is unleavened.

Flat.

Unexpanded.

Unfinished.

And that is intentional.

Because what begins in urgency must be followed by intentionality.

They leave quickly, but then the urgency turns to intentionality and slow cleansing and rebuilding of old patterns in their lives. They practice awareness and attention to every tiny crumb of leaven. And this is where the ritual moves into formation.

It is a physical act that trains a spiritual reflex. Every corner is examined. Every hidden place is checked. Nothing is assumed clean simply because it is not visible, because what you are doing externally is teaching you how to see internally.

Where does this spread in my life?

Where has this gone unnoticed?

What have I allowed to remain because it seemed small?

And here is the uncomfortable truth - the longer leaven sits, the harder it is to recognize. It becomes normal. It blends into the structure. It stops feeling foreign and starts feeling familiar.

So, YHWH interrupts familiarity, patterns and old pathways worn deep by leaven, on purpose.

Now, what replaces leaven is not nothing. It is unleavened bread.

Bread without inflation.

Bread without hidden expansion.

Bread that is exactly what it appears to be.

And Scripture later names this clearly.

“…the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:8)

Sincerity without anything else mixed in. Truth without any distortion.

This is what YHWH is forming – not a people who appear to be righteous, but people who are real. Leaven puffs and inflates but truth grounds and stabilizes.

And during this feast, YHWH is stripping away what creates illusion so that what remains is solid, honest, and aligned.

By the time we reach the Gospels, the symbolism is no longer abstract. It is embodied.

Yeshua enters Jerusalem during this exact season, and everything about His final days aligns with the pattern already established in Torah. He warns about leaven - not as bread, but as teaching, as hypocrisy, as influence that spreads under the surface (Matthew 16:6).

Then He Himself is examined. Tested. Questioned. And just like the Passover lamb, and found to be without fault.

But He is more than the lamb. He is unleavened. Yeshua is in the very heart of this Feast. He is the unleavened one.

He has no corruption, no hidden mixture, no internal contradiction. He is what the bread pointed to.

And when He is buried during Unleavened Bread, something profound is happening beneath the surface. The sinless one enters the earth like grain, without leaven, without decay of corruption, and the pattern continues toward Firstfruits.

This is not coincidence. It is fulfillment.

One of the most overlooked passages in the New Testament is Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians – we know the first part, but let’s pay special attention to the second part now.

“Cleanse out the old leaven… ...For Messiah, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the feast…” (1 Corinthians 5:7–8)

Let us keep the feast. Not remember it happened. Not replace it.

Keep it.

Because this feast sits in a sequence that reveals something critical about how YHWH works.

Passover - redemption.

Unleavened Bread - removal.

Firstfruits - new life.

Omer - transformation.

Shavuot - filling.

Removal always comes before filling, because what is already occupying space will determine what can enter. YHWH does not pour new wine into old wineskins. He does not fill houses still occupied by what spreads corruption.

He clears. Then He fills.

And if we try to skip this step, we end up asking YHWH to coexist with what He has already identified as needing to be removed.

This is about understanding divine pattern, because the same dynamics still exist.

Things still spread and small compromises still expand. Hidden patterns still shape visible outcomes, and we are still very good at managing or hiding what YHWH has called us to remove.

But the Feast of Unleavened Bread does not allow management or hiding. It demands clarity. It demands action. It demands honesty.

And in a world that thrives on image, inflation, and carefully curated appearance, the call to live unleavened is more countercultural than ever.

This is the part I don’t naturally lean toward. I like the decisive moments, like the clarity of Passover, the power of resurrection and the fire at Shavuot.

But this slow, intentional searching, and refusal to ignore what is small... ...this insistence that what spreads must be dealt with completely, requires a level of honesty I don’t always want to live in.

It is easier to manage leaven than to remove. It is easier to rename it than to confront it. It is easier to adjust than to surrender.

But the feast keeps asking the same question; not what has been forgiven, but what is still being tolerated.

How does this apply today? Because if we’re honest about it, what has infiltrated much of modern Christianity is not always loud rebellion - it’s mixture.

It’s truth blended with tradition until you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.

It’s a Messiah reshaped into something more palatable, more comfortable, less demanding than the One revealed in Scripture.

It’s doctrine that elevates feeling over obedience, culture over command, and convenience over covenant.

It’s the quiet replacement of “what did God say?” with “what works?” and “what feels right?”

And like leaven, it didn’t arrive all at once - it came in slowly, subtly, often with good intentions, until what was once clear has been softened, stretched, and in some places, completely redefined.

And that is where the real work begins.

Not in what He has already done for me - but in what He is asking me to do with what remains in me.

So, I challenge you, as I am challenging myself, to take a long, deep look at what leaven remains in our lives, hearts, homes and words...

...and to turn back to the unleavened bread – to the Unleavened One.

What should our unleavened bread look like? It's Him. His Word.

It looks like stripping things back to what Scripture actually says, not what has been layered on top of it over time.

It looks like Yeshua as He is revealed in the Word, not the softened, reshaped version built by tradition, culture, or preference.

It looks like truth that does not need inflation to feel powerful, and obedience that does not need to be redefined to feel comfortable.

Unleavened bread is not impressive. It does not rise. It does not expand. It does not pretend to be more than it is. It is simple, honest, and exactly what it appears to be - and that is the point.

This is what it means to live without mixture. No hidden compromise tucked into the corners. No selective obedience. No “almost truth” that sounds right but bends the Word just enough to make it easier to live with.

This is the Word without addition, without subtraction (Deuteronomy 4:2), the Messiah without distortion, and a life that aligns with both, even when it costs something.

Because this is where the feast expands from house to heart, from kitchen to character, from ritual to reality to trust and obedience.

Drawing water from the fountains of deliverance…

The following truth was borrowed from a Facebook friend, Jacques Guillard:

It is written:

“See, Ěl is my deliverance, I trust and am not afraid. For Yah, יהוה, is my strength and my song; and He has become my deliverance.” And you shall draw water with joy from the fountains of deliverance.” (Isaiah 12:2-3)

Blessed be YAHWEH (יהוה), the Elohim of Avraham, Yitz’chak, Ya‘akov, our Elohim, and Father, for delivering us and comforting us.

We have received His Gift of Eternal SALVATION through the Hebrew and Jewish Messiah Yeshua, who suffered a horrible death in our place, so that we might be restored to a right and proper relationship with YAHWEH (יהוה)!

He was slain on Passover as the perfect fulfillment of the lamb that saved the Israelites on the very first Passover.

In response to his death for our sins (sin is a violation of the Torah) on the Roman execution-stake, let us now strive to walk and live in a right relationship with YAHWEH (יהוה), the ONE and ONLY TRUE Elohim.

The Messiah, Yeshua, came to teach us the true meaning of the Torah, how to properly interpret it, and to live it with the help of the Set-apart Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh, so that we may live Set-apart lives as He did.

The assurances YAHWEH (יהוה) has given us of His love, and the experiences we have had of the benefit and comfort of His grace, should greatly encourage our faith in Him and our expectations from Him!

He is the ultimate deliverer, rock, and refuge who saves His people from enemies, trials, and the penalty of sin, offering spiritual salvation through His one-of-a-kind Son, the descendant of His servant Dawid, the Hebrew and Jewish Messiah Yeshua.

May YAHWEH (יהוה) open our eyes to what Yeshua did, and open our hearts to His Word.

When we understand what Yeshua the Messiah did and obey His Word, we enter into His plan!

His deliverance comes to those who cry out for help, demonstrating His role as a protector in times of trouble.

YAHWEH (יהוה) is an Elohim of battle, who fights for His people!

He is our Rock, our fortress and deliverer, our Elohim (God), in whom we find shelter, our shield, the power that saves us, our stronghold.

Through our union with the Messiah Yeshua, we may cry out to YAHWEH (יהוה), and He will hear us and save us from all our troubles.

We may suffer many evils, but He is the ONE who will rescue us out of them all.

He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and redeemed us; no one who takes refuge in Him will be condemned.

He can even be trusted not to allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. On the contrary, He will provide the way out, so that we will be able to endure.

YAHWEH (יהוה), our Elohim, is an Elohim who SAVES!

So, let us stop being fearful! Remain steady, and you will see how YAHWEH (יהוה) is going to save you!

Cry aloud to Him! On the day of your distress, seek Him, lift up your hands!

He has redeemed us; we are His, He calls us by our name, we have nothing to fear!

What I can testify to you is that YAHWEH (יהוה) uses our trials to talk to us and teach us to depend even more on Him in truly ALL THINGS as well as to deepen our communion with Him.

YAHWEH (יהוה) is our Elohim and Father; let us TRUST Him and OBEY Him for what He has prepared for us and preserve us for it.

“SHALOM ALEIKHEM!” Peace to you, from Vancouver, Canada, to ALL the Yisra’ĕl Family, Beloved of Elohim, Called, Set-apart ones: Hazak, Hazak, V’nit’chazek! Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!

Blessed be YAHWEH (יהוה), the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, the KING of the Universe, our Elohim, and our Father, for refining our Faith through His Torah and teaching us to OBEY what He tells us to do.

An Omer Count Schedule for you to copy and run off!

OMER COUNT SCHEDULE

Begin each night’s count with the blessing:

Hebrew: "Baruch atah YAHWEH Eloheinu Melekh Ha-olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al S'firat Ha-omer."

(English: Blessed are You, YAHWEH our Elohim, King of the Universe who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to count the Omer.)

After reading the Scripture, "announce" the day count in English or in Hebrew. (Hebrew transliteration is provided.)

Note: These Psalm readings are only suggestions. It is traditional to begin with Psalm 119, read over several days. Psalms are all about praise and recognizing our joy in Torah, but you can readothers if you like.

(Remember – the count is after sunset each night. You can keep this document on file and run it off each year as a handy reference to keep track of the Omer Count.)

1st Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 67 and Psalm 119:1-8

Say out loud: “Today is the 1st day of the Omer.”

היום יום אחד לעומר:

(Ha-yom yom e-chad la-omer)

2nd Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:9-16

Say out loud: “Today is the second day of the Omer.”

היום שני ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom sh’nay yamim la-omer)

3rd Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:17-24

Say out loud: “Today is the third day of the Omer.”

היום שלשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom sh’losha yamim la-omer)

4th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:25-32

Say out loud: “Today is the fourth day of the Omer.”

היום ארבעה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom arba-a yamim la-omer)

5th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:33-40

Say out loud: “Today is the fifth day of the Omer.”

היום חמשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom chami-sha yamim la-omer)

6th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:41-48

Say out loud: “Today is the sixth day of the Omer.”

היום ששה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shi-sha yamim la-omer)

7th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:49-56

Say out loud: “Today is the seventh day of the Omer.”

היום שבעה ימים שהם שבוע אחד לעומר:

(Ha-yom shiv-a yamim, shehaym shavu-a e-chad la-omer)

8th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:57-64

Say out loud: “Today is the eighth day of the Omer.”

היום שמונה ימים שהם שבוע אחד ויום אחד לעומר:

(Ha-yom sh’mona yamim, shehaym shavu-a e-chad v’yom e-chad la-omer)

9th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:65-72

Say out loud: “Today is the ninth day of the Omer.”

היום תשעה ימים שהם שבוע אחד ושני ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom tish-a yamim, shehaym shavu-a e-chad ushnay yamim la-omer)

10th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:73-80

Say out loud: “Today is the tenth day of the Omer.”

היום עשרה ימים שהם שבוע אחד ושלשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom asara yamim, shehaym shavu-a echad ushlosha yamim la-omer)

11th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:81-88

Say out loud: “Today is the 11^th day of the Omer.”

היום אחד עשר יום שהם שבוע אחד וארבעה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom achad asar yom, shehaym shavu-a echad v’arba-a yamim la-omer)

12th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:89-96

Say out loud: “Today is the 12th day of the Omer.”

היום שנים עשר יום שהם שבוע אחד וחמשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom sh’naym asar yom, shehaym shavu-a echad vachami-sha yamim la-omer)

13th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:97-104

Say out loud: “Today is the 13th day of the Omer.”

היום שלשה עשר יום שהם שבוע אחד וששה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom sh’losha asar yom, shehaym shavu-a echad v’shisha yamim la-omer)

14th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:105-112

Say out loud: “Today is the14t day of the Omer.”

היום ארבעה עשר יום שהם שני שבועות לעומר:

(Ha-yom arba-a asar yom, shehaym sh’nay shavuot la-omer)

15th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:113-120

Say out loud: “Today is the 15th day of the Omer.”

היום חמשה עשר יום שהם שני שבועות ויום אחד לעומר:

(Ha-yom chami-sha asar yom, shehaym sh’nay shavuot v’yom echad la-omer)

16th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:121-128

Say out loud: “Today is the 16th day of the Omer.”

היום ששה עשר יום שהם שני שבועות ושני ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shi-sha asar yom, shehaym sh’nay shavuot ushnay yamim la-omer)

17th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:129-136

Say out loud: “Today is the 17th day of the Omer.”

היום שבעה עשר יום שהם שני שבועות ושלשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shiva asar yom, shehaym sh’nay shavuot ushlosha yamim la-omer)

18th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:137-144

Say out loud: “Today is the 18th day of the Omer.”

היום שמונה עשר יום שהם שני שבועות וארבעה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shemonah asar yom, shehaym sh’nay shavuot v’arba-a yamim la-omer)

19th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:145-152

Say out loud: “Today is the 19th day of the Omer.”

היום תשעה עשר יום שהם שנו שבןעות וחמשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom tisha asar yom, shehaym sh’nay shavuot va’chamisha yamim la-omer)

20th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:153-160

Say out loud: “Today is the 20th day of the Omer.”

היום עשרים יום שהם שני שבועות וששה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom esrim yom, shehaym sh’nay shavuot v’shi-sha yamim la-omer)

21st Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:161-168

Say out loud: “Today is the 21st day of the Omer.”

היום אחד ועשרים יום שהם שלשה שבועות לעומר:

(Ha-yom e-chad v’esrim yom, shehaym shlosha shavuot la-omer)

22nd Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 119:169-176

Say out loud: “Today is the 22^nd day of the Omer.”

היום שנים ועשרים יום שהם שלשה שבועות ויום אחד לעומר:

(Ha-yom sh’nayim v’esrim yom, shehaym shelosha shavuot v’yom echad la-omer)

23rd Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 1 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 23rd day of the Omer.”

היום שלשה ועשרים יום שהם שלשה שבועות ושני ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom sh’losha v’esrim yom, shehaym shelosha shavuot ushnay yamim la-omer)

24th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 11 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the24th day of the Omer.”

היום ארבעה ועשרים יום שהם שלשה שבועות ושלשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom arba-a v’esrim yom, shehaym shelosha shavuot u’shelosha yamim la-omer)

25th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 15 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 25th day of the Omer.”

היום חמשה ועשרם יום שהם שלשה שבועות וארבעה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom chami-sha v’esrim yom, shehaym shelosha shavuot v’arba-a yamim la-omer)

26th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 19:7-14

Say out loud: “Today is the 26th day of the Omer.”

היום ששה ועשרים יום שהם שלשה שבועות וחמישה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shi-sha v’esrim yom, shehaym shelosha shavuot va-chamisha yamim la-omer)

27th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 25:4-11

Say out loud: “Today is the 27^th day of the Omer.”

היום שבעה ועשרים יום שהם שלשה שבועות וששה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shiva v’esrim yom, shehaym shelosha shavuot v’shi-sha yamim la-omer)

28th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 63:1-8 (2-9 some ver.)

Say out loud: “Today is the28th day of the Omer.”

היום שמונה ועשרים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות לעומר:

(Ha-yom shemonah v’esrim yom, shehaym arba-a shavuot la-omer)

29th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 67 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 29^th day of the Omer.”

היום תשעה ועשרים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות ויום אחד לעומר:

(Ha-yom tisha v’esrim yom, shehaym arba-a shavuot v’yom e-chad la-omer)

30th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 70 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 30^th day of the Omer.”

היום שלשים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות ושני ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shloshim yom, shehaym arba-a shavuot ushnay yamim la-omer)

31st Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 78:1-8

Say out loud: “Today is the 31st day of the Omer.”

היום אחר ושלשים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות ושלשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom e-chad u’sheloshim yom, shehaym arba-a shavuot u’shelosha yamim la-omer)

32nd Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 93 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 32nd day of the Omer.”

היום שנים ושלשים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות וארבעה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom sh’nayim u’sheloshim yom, shehaym arba-a shavuot v’arba-a yamim la-omer)

33rd Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 95:1-7

Say out loud: “Today is the 33rd day of the Omer.”

היום שלשים ושלשים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות וחמשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom sh’losha u’sheloshim yom, shehaym arba-a shavuot vachamisha yamim la-omer)

34th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 96 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 34th day of the Omer.”

היום ארבעה ושלשים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות וששה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom arba-a u’sheloshim yom, shehaym arba-a shavuot v’shi-sha yamim la-omer)

35th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 98 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 35th day of the Omer.”

היום חמשה ושלשים יום שהם חמשה שבועות לעומר:

(Ha-yom chami-sha u’sheloshim yom, shehaym chami-sha shavuot la-omer)

36th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 99 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 36^th day of the Omer.”

היום ששה ושלשים יום שהם חמשה שבועות ויום אחד לעומר:

(Ha-yom shi-sha u’sheloshim yom, shehaym chami-sha shavuot v’yom echad la-omer)

37th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 100 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the37th day of the Omer.”

היום שבעה ושלשים יום שהם חמשה שבועות ושני ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shiva u’sheloshim yom, shehaym chami-sha shavuot ushnay yamim la-omer)

38th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 101 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 38th day of the Omer.”

היום שמונה ושלשים יום שהם חמשה שבועות ושלשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shemonah u’sheloshim yom, shehaym chami-sha shavuot u’shelosha yamim la-omer)

39th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 103:1-12

Say out loud: “Today is the 39th day of the Omer.”

היום תשעה ושלשים יום שהם חמשה שבועות וארבעה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom tisha u’sheloshim yom, shehaym chami-sha shavuot va’arba-a yamim la-omer)

40th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 103:13-22

Say out loud: “Today is the 40^th day of the Omer.”

היום ארבעים יום שהם חמשה שבועות וחמשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom arba-im yom, shehaym chami-sha shavuot va’chamisha yamim la-omer)

41st Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 105:1-11

Say out loud: “Today is the 41st day of the Omer.”

היום אחד וארבעים יום שהם חמשה שבועות וששה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom e-chad v’arbaim yom, shehaym chami-sha shavuot v’shi-sha yamim la-omer)

42nd Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 106:1-5

Say out loud: “Today is the 42nd day of the Omer.”

היום שנים וארבעים יום שהם ששה שבועות לעומר:

(Ha-yom sh’nayim v’arbaim yom, shehaym shi-sha shavuot la-omer)

43rd Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 111 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 43rd day of the Omer.”

היום שלשה וארבעים יום שהם ששה שבועות ויום אחד לעומר:

(Ha-yom sh’losha v’arbaim yom, shehaym shi-sha shavuot v’yom e-chad la-omer)

44th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 112 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 44th day of the Omer.”

היום ארבעה וארבעים יום שהם ששה שבועות ושני ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom arba-a v’arbaim yom, shehaym shi-sha shavuot ushnay yamim la-omer)

45th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 121 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 45th day of the Omer.”

היום חמשה וארבעים יום שהם ששה שבועות ושלשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom chami-sha v’arbaim yom, shehaym shi-sha shavuot u’shelosha yamim la-omer)

46th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 130 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 46th day of the Omer.”

היום ששה וארבעים יום שהם ששה שבועות וארבעה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shi-sha v’arbaim yom, shehaym shi-sha shavuot v’arba-a yamim la-omer)

47th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 133 & 134 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 47th day of the Omer.”

היום שבעה וארבעים יום שהם ששה שבועות וחמשה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shiva v’arbaim yom, shehaym shi-sha shavuot va’chami-sha yamim la-omer)

48th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 146 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the48th day of the Omer.”

היום שמונה וארבעים יום שהם ששה שבועות וששה ימים לעומר:

(Ha-yom shemonah v’arbaim yom, shehaym shi-sha shavuot v’shi-sha yamim la-omer)

49th Day: Date: __________ Read: Psalm 148 (all)

Say out loud: “Today is the 49th day of the Omer.”

היום תשעה וארבעים יום שהם שבעה שבועות לעומר:

(Ha-yom tisha v’arbaim yom, shehaym shiv-a shavuot la-omer)

Halleluyah, it’s Shavuot! Read: Psalm 150 (all) and Ruth.

Attend services at your synagogue. If holding your own service, read the commandments given at Mt Sinai, Exodus 19:1-20:23 and the commandment to count the Omerand observe Shavuot, Leviticus 23:9-21. Meditate throughout the next day on what a blessing the Torah is for us! Shavuot is a High Holy day! (All day May 17th is Shavuot.)

Explanation of why these Dates

The Omer is counted after sunset on each date shown because at sunset it becomes the next Hebrew day. In essence, you are counting the Omer just as the new Hebrew day has begun. This may seem odd at first, as we are used to our “civil” day changing at midnight. In the Hebrew calendar, the day changes at sunset and soon it becomes “second nature” - at sunset, it is a “new day”.

The counting of the Omer is a commandment from Leviticus 23:15-16 “From the day after the day of rest-that is, from the day you bring the sheaf for waving-you are to count seven full weeks, until the day after the seventh week; you are to count fifty days; and then you are to present a new grain offering to YHWH.”

Each year, the argument rages: “Just which ‘day of rest’ is the ‘day after’ to begin the Omer count?” There are FOUR primary “camps” in this age-old battle for the understanding of the day of First Fruits. One camp says First Fruits is always Sunday because Leviticus 23:11 says that you “wave the sheaf on the day after the Shabbat”, and they posit the Shabbat can only be the weekly 7th day.

Another camp says First Fruits is always the 16th of Nisan, because the “Shabbat” in Lev 23:11 is the High Holy Shabbat of the 1st day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is always the 15th. Still another camp says the count begins AFTER the END of the week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the fourth says the 15th of Nisan is the day to begin the count because it is the "morrow of Passover"!

The “winner is”: The 16th of Nisan! This is determined by scripture alone. The proper day to begin the Omer count is in scripture if only you take the time to understand it. Leviticus

Chapter 23 is broken into 3, very clear sections. Many miss this fact. It really is divided into separate sections and the sections are important to the understanding. But our modern English translations completely lose this section division, though some versions insert “section headings”, not from the original text, to identify the feasts being described at that point in the text. But in the original Hebrew text, even without vowels, or punctuation, we absolutely know the intended sections of Leviticus 23 because the original manuscripts use a “marking” to identify the sections. The JPS Tanakh explains:

The Hebrew Bible has two types of breaks: within a line (setumot, “closed”), and starting a new line (petuhot, “open”) – the latter suggesting a greater shift in content. Like many Bible printers, we have used the letters samekh (for setumot) and peh (for petuhot) as markers to show paragraph breaks in the source manuscript.

These section markings, the samekh and peh, found in the original Hebrew are lost in modern English translations.

English translations simply do not reveal the separations of the sections!

What the sections mean

The original sections are very important. They absolutely define the importance of the Feasts and why the special Shabbats (High Holy Days) of the Feasts are not to be confused with the weekly Shabbat. The weekly Shabbat is, in fact, the 1st of the recurring appointments with YHWH, and is therefore not to be taken lightly.

Leviticus 23 Sections:

1st section. Verses 1-3. Chapter 23 begins with “YHWH said to Moshe. ‘Tell the people of Isra'el: 'The designated times of YHWH which you are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated times.’ ” (vs 1-2). Then comes the definition of the weekly Shabbat: "'Work is to be done on six days; but the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest [Shabbat Shabbaton], a holy convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is a Shabbat for YHWH, even in your homes.” (v 3).

2nd section. Verses 4-32. It begins: “These are the designated times of YHWH, the holy convocations you are to proclaim at their designated times” (v 4). The remainder of the 2nd section describes all the special days, Scripture itself says this in the first verse of the section!

3rd section, starting in verse 33. A summary section beginning with the last of the major feasts - Sukkot. Then in verse 37-38 the summary concludes: “37 'These are the designated times of YHWH that you are to proclaim as holy convocations and bring an offering made by fire to YHWH -a burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, each on its own day - 38 besides [separated from or apart from] the Shabbats of YHWH, your gifts, all your vows and all your voluntary offerings that you give to YHWH” (vs 37-38). The remainder of the 3^rd section closes with some discussion on the importance of the Festival of Sukkot to the memory of the people about what YHWH did for them.

The importance of the 3 sections

Notice the italicized & bolded part above in verse 37-38 . The Holy Days described in these verses are here clearly identified as “each on its own day - besides [separated from or apart from] the Shabbats of YHWH”. This clearly shows that the “weekly Shabbat” is special on its own, and is defined first in verse 3. It is thus clear that “Shabbat” in verse 11 is not the “weekly Shabbat” as the special Shabbats of the Feasts are “each on its own day”.

The simple recognition that the weekly Shabbat is a Shabbat Shabbaton and is identified and set aside as a special day on its own, the “problem” of the word “Shabbat” in verse 11 is eliminated because the 1st and last day of the Feast of Unleavened bread which are "shabbats", are not a "shabbat shabbaton". The word “Shabbat” whether it means the “weekly, 7th-day Sabbath”, or a “count of 7-days”, or a “count of 7-years” (as it sometimes does – see Leviticus 25:8), or as simply a “special day of rest”, depends entirely on the context in the original Hebrew.

Therefore it is not enough to simply see the word “Shabbat” in verse 11 and assume it only means “the weekly 7^th day”. The English translation of the Hebrew always as the single word “Shabbat” is thus wrong, since the single word “Shabbat” in English fails to convey its context-meaning. This has led many astray because without this understanding, the word “Shabbat” in Leviticus 23:11 becomes easily mistaken as the “weekly 7th day” instead of what it actually means which is “the special Sabbath day” identified in verses 6-7, the 1st day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread – which is by definition and context “a” Shabbat.

I should end here but there will still be those who are not convinced. So let me offer the following additional evidence.

As indicated, the argument for First Fruits always being on a Sunday is 100% from the part of Leviticus 23:11 which says: “the cohen is to wave it on the day after the Shabbat.” And the rationale is that they insist the word “Shabbat” must mean “the weekly 7th day”. But I would ask them to go look at verse 27 to 32 of the same chapter, which is describing Yom Kippur.

This High Holy Day, Yom Kippur, is identified as the 10th of the month of Tishri, and verse 32 says (about it): “It will be for you a Shabbat of complete rest [Shabbat Shabbaton], and you are to deny yourselves; you are to rest on your Shabbat from evening the ninth day of the month until the following evening.” So here we have the same Hebrew phrase, “Shabbat shabbaton”, yet here it is clearly understood as describing Yom Kippur as "its own day" and NOT as the “7th day of the week”. So the premise that the word “Shabbat” in verse 11 must be the weekly Shabbat is already negated within the same Chapter of Leviticus.

It is simply wrong to insist that the use of “Shabbat” in verse 11 must be referring to the weekly 7th day. If “Shabbat” can only mean “weekly 7th day”, then Leviticus is saying Yom Kippur can only be on Saturday! But absolutely no one argues that. Thus the only conclusion must be that where the word “Shabbat” is used inLeviticus 23, in any verse after verse 3, must be understood in its context as “a special day of rest”, a High Holy Day, as the identified important day of the Feast, just as we see for Yom Kippur.

Recognizing this concept also completely eliminates the erred understanding of the counting of the Omer, found in Leviticus 23:15-16. While some argue the scripture says to “count Sabbaths”, we see that the scripture is actually saying to “count weeks”, that is, “periods of 7 days”. This follows, in part, from the fact that if First Fruits were intended to always fall the day after the weekly Shabbat, scripture would not have had to say “count 50 days”! Counting 50 days becomes completely unnecessary if you are “counting weeks by 7th-day Shabbats”.

Verse 16: “…until the day after the seventh week; you are to count fifty days; and then you are to present a new grain offering to ADONAI”, becomes completely unnecessary as it says to count until the day after the 7th week, which, if you were counting weeks by the weekly Sabbath, there is no need whatsoever to also count “50 days”.

While we see that verses 15-16 provide additional confirmation that we are counting 50 days, in 7-day periods, and not counting weeks from weekly Shabbats, some still refuse to give up the idea that First Fruits is NOT a Sunday. They insist that the “Messiah rose on First Fruits”, so they “require” First Fruits to be on Sunday. For those, I would ask that they look at just what “First Fruits” are. You will find that “First Fruits” don’t “rise” – they are instead “presented” at the beginning of the spring harvest after Pesach, Leviticus 23:10; at beginning of the summer harvest, Shavuot, Leviticus 23:16 & Numbers 28:26; at fall harvest Sukkot, Leviticus 23:39 & Deuteronomy 16:13. And this is the symbolism of the Messiah as First Fruits. The Messiah “was” First Fruits – simple as that. He was “presented” as first of the “crop” of those who believed and obeyed (Rev 12:17). Since First Fruits don’t “rise”, there is no reason to require the Messiah to “rise” on First Fruits. But that is an entirely separate topic.

And finally, if one goes through the book of Exodus, starting with Chapter 12, verse 29, we find that the first (original) Passover was the 15th of Abib (today called "Nisan"), i.e., the time after sunset of the 14th when then day changes), and the Exodus began well after midnght that very night. This means even if the mass of people began moving on the 15th, the “first day” of the exodus was the 16th of Abib, for on the 15th, they were all still in their homes in Egypt, packing-up and plundering the Egyptians. We keep reading Exodus till the Commandments are given in Exodus 20 verse 1 and we carefully count the days from when the Exodus began (Exodus 12 verse 29), and we find the Commandments were presented to Israel 50 days after the exodus began.

Indeed, this is the relationship to Shavuot, the 50th day after counting the Omer. Therefore, by simply counting the days of the Exodus, we find that the 50 day count began on 16 Abib that original year of the Exodus. Thus, each year this event is commemorated by also counting the Omer from the 16th of Abib.

Notice this year (2021) the Omer count began at sunset on March 28th, meaning the daytime of March 29th is the “1st day of Omer”. This is "in-sync" with the traditional calendar exept that the traditional calendar began the month of Nisan a day late due to the traditional calendar's use of the "average moon".

In the traditional Hebrew calendar which all of traditional Judaism of today follows, the first day of the month is calculated, and is not necessarily tied to the actual day of the New Moon. This, plus the fact that “postponements” are added to prevent Yom Kippur from falling on a Friday or a Sunday, AND a rigid (scheduled) intercalation of the leap month, means they don’t follow the true Lunar-Solar calendar, which dictates the 1st day of the Hebrew month begins the sunset after conjunction.

If one starts the Hebrew month on the correct sunset after lunar conjunction, the middle of the month will be greeted with a full moon rising at or very near sunset on the 14th or 15th. All too often though, in the traditional calendar, the night Pesach arrives, the moon is seen to rise clearly past full -often well after sunset - a very clear "sign" your calendar is off.

Sadly, calendar studies have shown how even the ancient Hebrews could know FOUR YEARS in advance just what (future) month would be the month of Abib, and hence what future full moon would be the Pesach moon!

Simply using all the available signs, the proper calendar could be kept years in advance without the use of a single modern computer!

A calendar by “sighting the crescent” is also wrong! By waiting to "sight" the new crescent, the month is automatically 1-3 days off! Thus, in the same way, sighting the crescent pretty much automatically means you will miss the actual middle of the lunar month and a beautiful significant sign of Pesach and Sukkot.

The good thing is that whichever Hebrew calendar you choose to follow, at least you are trying to follow the mitzvoth of our Creator and not some man-made observance which in no way honors the commanded moedim.

Blessings from The Refiner’s Fire!

( therefinersfire.org )