Aviv found!
Karaite Korner Newsletter #452
Aviv Found in Jordan Valley!
This morning (March 12, 2010) we found Aviv barley in the Jordan Valley in two fields just north of the Israeli army checkpoint. We took three samplings from these fields and they were 90-100% Aviv. I posted two videos of these fields on Youtube, taken with my new Flip MinoHD video camera:
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=MQFFrPPymS4
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=9lBSl2aEoHk
We also found Aviv barley further south in the Jordan Valley and smaller quantities near Ein Mabua.
Thanks to Devorah Gordon and Shoshanah Waterman for participating in this preliminary Aviv excursion. The main Aviv Search will still go ahead on March 16-17 but what we found so far is already enough to call it for this year. This means the new biblical year will begin on March 17, 2010 at sunset. For more details of the Gregorian dates see:
http://www.karaite- korner.org/ holiday_dates. shtml
Nehemia Gordon
Jerusalem, Israel
Of course, we cannot know for certain that the new moon will be observed on March 16th – if it is cloudy and the moon cannot be observed then March 17th will be Adar 30th and Rosh Chodesh, Nisan 1st, will begin at sundown Wednesday, March 17th and continue through Thursday, March 18th during the daylight hours.
Elohim has commanded Nisan 1st to be New Year’s Day – the beginning of the Year for Redemption on the prophetic calendar. The beginning of the Year for Judgement, of course, is still Tishri 1st, Yom Teruah, aka Rosh Hashanah. They have different purposes and different prophetic applications, obviously.
Nonetheless, it is appropriate to recite those portions of the daily prayers in your siddur that concern the “new year” because this, also, is a time of review when Elohim makes decisions for the upcoming time of Redemption. Each and every one of us are commanded to consider as if we ourselves have come out of Egypt – out of the House of Bondage.
The Exodus represents a glorified conversion process – taking the people out of pagan culture and teaching them Torah, until at least, after a period of learning, they come to the Jordan River, are circumcised, and pass into the covenant with Elohim in full. This is a typeology for us today.
Shalom!
