Aviv Search

Karaite Korner Newsletter #367

Upcoming Aviv Search

The annual Aviv Search will be carried out this year on March 26 and 27, the last two days of the Twelfth biblical month. I thought this year would be a no-brainer since the Twelfth biblical month ends so late in the solar cycle. However, Devorah Gordon and I carried out a preliminary examination of the barley this morning and found it to be in a very early stage of ripening. Most of the barley was in the vegetative stage or “cotton”/ flowering stage with a handful of stalks in the worm stage. This means we will need to carry out a thorough search at the end of March to determine whether or not the barley has reached the stage of Aviv. Of course, Aviv barley is a prerequisite for the beginning of the biblical year. If the barley is not Aviv at the end of March, then we will need to wait until the end of a 13th month to begin the new biblical year, making the Feast of Unleavened Bread in May.

For more information on the role of Aviv barley in the biblical calendar please see:

http://www.karaite-korner.org/abib.shtml

For the potential dates of this year’s biblical feasts visit:

http://www.karaite-korner.org/holiday_dates.shtml

We need your help to carry out the Aviv Search! Prices of fuel and transportation have gone through the roof. While American gasoline prices are back down to normal levels, Israelis are still paying $4.58 per gallon. Driving around Israel to examine the barley can be an expensive proposition! Airplane tickets are also astronomical, sometimes costing as much as double what they were only a year ago.

To support the Aviv Search, please send checks to:

Makor Hebrew Foundation,PO Box 769, Pineland, TX 75968.

Remember to include a note indicating that the donation is for “Aviv”.   Donations can also be made by credit card through PayPal.com by clicking on the link at:

http://www.karaite-korner.org/donate.shtml

Nehemia Gordon
Jerusalem, Israel