Correct time of Yum Kippur

[causalset]

I ran onto some messianics that claim that the correct timing of the holidays, as determined by sighting of the moon, is different from what we are actually told. This year the official Yum Kippur timing is Tuesday night till Wednesday night. But at the table presented on this site, therefinersfire.org/2018_Calendar.pdf , they said its Wednesday night through Thursday night. And, finally, at the "Light of " congregation in Rio Rancho, NM, they say its Thursday night through Friday night. So should I fast three days in the row to be on a safe side, or should I pick one of those days? What would you do if you were me?

[alon]

Sept 17, 2018 15:19:04 GMT -8 causalset said:

I ran onto some messianics that claim that the correct timing of the holidays, as determined by sighting of the moon, is different from what we are actually told. This year the official Yum Kippur timing is Tuesday night till Wednesday night. But at the table presented on this site, therefinersfire.org/2018_Calendar.pdf , they said its Wednesday night through Thursday night. And, finally, at the "Light of " congregation in Rio Rancho, NM, they say its Thursday night through Friday night. So should I fast three days in the row to be on a safe side, or should I pick one of those days? What would you do if you were me?

I believe most of Judaism follows the Hillel calendar, which sets Yom Kippur at sundown Tuesday, 18 Sep 2018. if maranguape reads this he may be able to shed more light on it than I can since he was raised Jewish.

But as you see, there is disagreement. Both the parent synagogue of this forum and my own synagogue follows the Hillel calendar, at least until the Temple is rebuilt. 

For those who wish to go by the sighting of the New Moon to order their feast days, that is complicated since the sighting must be in Jerusalem and must be verified by the cohen in the Temple.

Whatever calendar or group you choose to follow, you only must fast one day. As long as we are doing our best, there is grace if we get it wrong. But I suggest putting a fence around whatever day you think is right and make sure to fast the full 24 hrs (plus the fence). And for Yom Kippur, and hour before and after is not an unreasonable fence.

Dan C

 

[causalset]

The term "Hillel calendar" implies that Rabbi Hillel is the one who put it forth (and yes I know who he is: he was around shortly before Jesus came). Now, as Messianics, we both know that Rabinic Judaism is not the same as Old Testament since they add "traditions of men" to it. So the question is: when Rabbi Hillel propose his calendar, did he base it on the Old Testament or is it one of the examples of traditions of men?

What you said about the moon sighting needing to be done by the Cohen at the temple, it also sounds very much like traditions of men, unless you can find the biblical support for it. Now, I haven't actually read the Old Testament all the way through, so perhaps there is a verse there that talks about cohen needing to site the moon. But, if there is one, that would seem to create a problem since there is no temple as of now. So are you saying there are two sets of verses that help us determine yum kippur, as in a verse in case there is a temple and a verse in case there isn't one? Please let me know.

[alon]

Sept 17, 2018 18:50:19 GMT -8 causalset said:

The term "Hillel calendar" implies that Rabbi Hillel is the one who put it forth (and yes I know who he is: he was around shortly before Jesus came). Now, as Messianics, we both know that Rabinic Judaism is not the same as Old Testament since they add "traditions of men" to it. So the question is: when Rabbi Hillel propose his calendar, did he base it on the Old Testament or is it one of the examples of traditions of men?

What you said about the moon sighting needing to be done by the Cohen at the temple, it also sounds very much like traditions of men, unless you can find the biblical support for it. Now, I haven't actually read the Old Testament all the way through, so perhaps there is a verse there that talks about cohen needing to site the moon. But, if there is one, that would seem to create a problem since there is no temple as of now. So are you saying there are two sets of verses that help us determine yum kippur, as in a verse in case there is a temple and a verse in case there isn't one? Please let me know.

Different Hillel. This was Hillel II (330-365 CE), who oversaw the calculations necessary to determine when the new moon would appear in Jerusalem. Everything revolves around Jerusalem. When the Temple stood, it was to the cohen (priests) to insure observation of the new moon was accurate. But during the Roman Diaspora Jews were not even allowed to go back to Jerusalem. So a calendar was needed for all the Jews scattered abroad to use. And it was based on the TNK (OT) and astronomy/math. Thus we now have the Hillel calendar.

All traditions of men are not bad, as long as they serve a purpose and do not conflict with . Someone had to be in charge of setting the new moon, and later of calculating it on the Jewish calendar. Otherwise everything would be even more confusing than it is now.

As for everything revolving around Jerusalem, all biblical history has a focus in one way or another on Israel, and Jerusalem is the heart of Israel:

Isaiah 19:24  (YLT) In that day is Israel third, After Egypt, and after Asshur, A blessing in the heart of the earth.

Ezekiel 5:5 (NASB) “Thus says the Lord God, ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her at the center of the nations, with lands around her.

Dan C