Jewish Calendar Tutorial Worksheet 3 (2002)

YEAR BEING CALCULATED: 2002

PART III: CHECKING THE MOLAD AGAINST THE POSTPONEMENT RULES AND THEN DETERMINING THE KEY DATES FOR THE WHOLE YEAR IN ROMAN CALENDAR TERMS

1.
DATE AND TIME OF THE MOLAD: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 at H12 P982, this being 6:54:33 a.m.

2.
EVALUATING THIS AGAINST RULE #1: noon or later? NO!

3.
RESULT:RETAIN SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

4.
EVALUATING THE RESULT AGAINST RULE #2:
Is this a Sunday, Wednesday or Friday? NO!

5.
RESULT:RETAIN SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

6.
IF RULES #1 AND #2 DID NOT APPLY, EVALUATE THE MOLAD AGAINST RULE #3:
Is this a Tuesday after H9 P204? NO!

7.
RESULT:RETAIN SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

8.
IF RULES #1 AND #2 AND #3 DID NOT APPLY, EVALUATE THE MOLAD AGAINST RULE #4:
This molad date is not a Monday. So this rule also does not apply.

9.
RESULT:RETAIN SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

10.
ASSESSING THE RESULTS OF ALL 4 RULES AGAINST THIS MOLAD:
For the year 2002 none of the 4 postponement rules apply to the date of the molad.

11.
NOW DETERMINE THE DATE FOR TRUMPETS: DAY OF TRUMPETS IN 2002 = SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

12.
NOW EVALUATE TRUMPETS AGAINST THE REAL ASTRONOMICAL NEW MOON DATA:
The real new moon conjunction was on September 7 at 5:30 a.m. The molad was on the same day and no postponements were enacted. Thus Tishri 1 started at sunset on September 6, almost 12 hours BEFORE the actual new moon conjunction. And Tishri 1 concluded a full day BEFORE first visibility of the new crescent was possible. Compare this to the results for the year 2000.
WITH TISHRI 1 ESTABLISHED, WE NOW DETERMINE THE REST OF THE YEAR AS FOLLOWS:

STARTING WITH THE DATE FOR TRUMPETS, WE PUT TOGETHER ALL THE RELEVANT DATES FOR THIS PARTICULAR YEAR:

A. ATONEMENT = TISHRI 1 + 9 DAYS = SEPTEMBER 16

B. FIRST DAY OF TABERNACLES = TISHRI 1 + 14 DAYS = SEPTEMBER 21

C. LAST GREAT DAY = TISHRI 1 + 21 DAYS = SEPTEMBER 28

D. DATE FOR NISAN 1 = TISHRI 1 - 177 DAYS = MARCH 14

E. EVALUATING NISAN 1 AGAINST THE ASTRONOMICAL NEW MOON FOR THE FIRST MONTH: NEW MOON CONJUNCTION = MARCH 14, at 4:24 a.m.
Thus Nisan 1 was on the new moon conjunction day. Compare this to Tishri 1 also being on the new moon conjunction day.

F. PASSOVER DATE = NISAN 1 + 13 DAYS: MARCH 27 (Observed the previous evening after sunset)

G. FIRST DAY OF UNLEAVENED BREAD = NISAN 1 + 14 DAYS: MARCH 28

H. SEVENTH DAY OF UNLEAVENED BREAD = NISAN 1 + 20 DAYS: APRIL 3

I. PENTECOST = SUNDAY (in the period from Nisan 15 to 21) + 7 WEEKS: SUNDAY, MAY 19

THAT CONCLUDES ALL THE CALCULATIONS FOR THE JEWISH CALENDAR FOR THIS PARTICULAR YEAR. NOW LET'S EXAMINE THIS YEAR AS A WHOLE.

FINAL EVALUATION OF THE JEWISH CALENDAR FOR THIS PARTICULAR YEAR:

The calculation of the molad of Tishri resulted in a time just over 1 hour after the actual new moon conjunction in 2002. None of the postponement rules applied to this molad. This resulted in both, Tishri 1 and also Nisan 1, being on the actual days of the lunar conjunctions, and thus clearly on the days before first visibility of the new crescents would have been possible. Compare this to the results for the year 2000. This molad caused the whole year to start about one week before the end of winter at the time of the spring equinox, and even the Feast of Tabernacles was started before the end of summer. For an even earlier start to the year see the Tutorial for the year 2013.

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE NOW COMPLETED THE ENTIRE CALCULATIONS FOR THE JEWISH CALENDAR FOR THE YEAR 2002.

ARE YOU READY TO TRY CALCULATING THE JEWISH CALENDAR DATES FOR ANOTHER YEAR? IT IS REALLY QUITE SIMPLE, ISN'T IT?

Frank W. Nelte