Festivals, Sabbaths, ect.

[JPR]

I thought I would also ask, how do you guys keep track of the feasts, Sabbaths, festivals, ect?

I don't have a calendar that shows these things, I keep hearing about events but generally too late to plan for it.
Is there a calendar that can be referred too? Somewhere to learn more about all the events?

 

[Mark C]

Many 'messianic' fellowships with publish a calendar of Biblical feasts for the year. In general, the 'Big Issue' is 'when is the New Moon,' from which the count derives. You will find all kinds of variants, people trying to do their best to be obedient.

The 'traditional,' standard 'jewish' calendar (aka, the Hillel, the Diaspora, the Rabbinic calendar) was promulgated centuries ago to deal with the 'diaspora' or scattering, when people all around the world found the issue 'confusing,' to put it mildly. (How do you count 'days above the Arctic Circle, or in Alaska during the summer? - etc - just one issue.)

The options are to calculate it in advance (as the Hillel/et al does) based on the 'maximum dark' estimate for the 'new moon,' or do what the ancients almost certainly did: sight it, with "two or more witnesses," and then 'blow the shofar.' (They evidently had a system for lighting signal fires on moutain tops to propagate the message, too.)

 

[Mark C]

PS> There are also people 'in the land' that do 'new moon sighting' every month, and send out email announcements. I know of several, we get the notices that way.

 

[HomesteadWife]

We observe the The 'traditional,' standard 'jewish' calendar (aka, the Hillel). The calendar can be a very divisive thing among the Messianic fellowships around. For us, if someone observes a different calendar we can choose to disagree while still being friends and fellowshipping with them at times.

For us Yeshua followed the majority calendar that was promulgated by the leaders of the temple and Jewish community of his day. So we chose to do similarly.

 

[Mark C]

For us Yeshua followed the majority calendar that was promulgated by the leaders of the temple and Jewish community of his day. So we chose to do similarly.

Excellent point.

I have always figured that if they had gotten something horribly wrong* (like a Sabbath based on each new moon, rather that just "count to seven, rinse, repeat,") He'd have said so.)

---------------------------------
* Pesach/Passover may have been an obvious exception. There seems to have been a "one-day difference" between the Pharisees and Sadducees, et al, but that figured into His plan anyway.

 

[JPR]

So where do I get access to these calendars?