Frank W. Nelte
Jewish Calendar Tutorial Worksheet 3 (515BC Todays Sequence)
YEAR BEING CALCULATED: 515 B.C. TODAY'S SEQUENCE
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: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31 at H23 P535, this being 5:29:43 p.m.
2.
EVALUATING THIS AGAINST RULE #1: noon or later? YES!
3.
RESULT:POSTPONE TO THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
4.
EVALUATING THE RESULT AGAINST RULE #2:
Is this a Sunday, Wednesday or Friday? NO!
5.
RESULT:RETAIN THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
6.
IF RULES #1 AND #2 DID NOT APPLY, EVALUATE THE MOLAD AGAINST RULE #3:
Rule #1 did apply. Therefore rules #3 and #4 are excluded.
7.
RESULT:We have our final result for Tishri 1 in 515 B.C.
8.
IF RULES #1 AND #2 AND #3 DID NOT APPLY, EVALUATE THE MOLAD AGAINST RULE #4:
9.
RESULT:Not applicable for this year.
10.
ASSESSING THE RESULTS OF ALL 4 RULES AGAINST THIS MOLAD:
Rule #1 caused a 1-day postponement away from the day of the molad.
11.
NOW DETERMINE THE DATE FOR TRUMPETS:
DAY OF TRUMPETS IN 515 B.C. = THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
12.
NOW EVALUATE TRUMPETS AGAINST THE REAL ASTRONOMICAL NEW MOON DATA:
The real new moon conjunction was on August 31 at 2:52 a.m. Even though the molad was already over 14 hours AFTER the actual conjunction in 515 B.C., the start of the month (i.e. Tishri 1) was still postponed to the next day. However, in Gregorian calendar terms Tishri 1, as per the present sequence of leap years, would have been on August 26, a full 28 days before the end of summer.
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 10
B. FIRST DAY OF TABERNACLES = TISHRI 1 + 14 DAYS = SEPTEMBER 15
C. LAST GREAT DAY = TISHRI 1 + 21 DAYS = SEPTEMBER 22
D. DATE FOR NISAN 1 = TISHRI 1 - 177 DAYS = MARCH 8
E. EVALUATING NISAN 1 AGAINST THE ASTRONOMICAL NEW MOON FOR THE FIRST MONTH:
NEW MOON CONJUNCTION = MARCH 8, at 00:07 a.m.
Thus Nisan 1 was on the new moon conjunction day. So both, Nisan and Tishri would theoretically have started on the new moon conjunction days.
F. PASSOVER DATE = NISAN 1 + 13 DAYS :
MARCH 21 (Observed the previous evening after sunset)
G. FIRST DAY OF UNLEAVENED BREAD = NISAN 1 + 14 DAYS:
MARCH 22
H. SEVENTH DAY OF UNLEAVENED BREAD = NISAN 1 + 20 DAYS: MARCH 28
I.PENTECOST = SUNDAY (in the period from Nisan 15 to 21) + 7 WEEKS: SUNDAY, MAY 15
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 that was over 14 hours after the actual new moon conjunction in 515 B.C.. The main problem, however, is that this is definitely one new moon too early! In Gregorian calendar terms, this would have started the year on March 2, had the Passover on March 15, had the Feast of Unleavened Bread from March 16 - 22, had the Day of Trumpets on August 26, and had the Last Great Day on September 16, a full week before the end of summer! Even the most ardent defenders of the Jewish calendar can surely see that this is far too early for the Last Great Day?!
It is precisely because of problems like this with extrapolating the present sequence of leap years back into the B.C. centuries that most of the people who attempt to use the present Jewish calendar for dating events in B.C. centuries have modified the sequence of leap years within the 19-year cycles.
If you have not yet done the Tutorial for the year 515 B.C. with the Changed Sequence of leap years, why not also go through that Tutorial, so you can then see for yourself the differences achieved by a change in the sequence of leap years?
ARE YOU READY TO TRY CALCULATING THE JEWISH CALENDAR DATES FOR ANOTHER YEAR?
Frank W. Nelte