 Parshat Bo A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... The Molad of Shvat was this past Sunday morning (January 17th). 72 hours later was Wednesday morning. This means that first opportunity for Kiddush L'vana this month was Wednesday night, January 20th, the eve of 4 Shvat. 7-day people will first be able to say K.L. this coming Sunday night. People who follow the opinions that K.L. should be said on Motza'ei Shabbat have their best shot this Motza"Sh, January 23rd. With the rains upon us, the evening skies have been heavily cloudy. While this is good, it is a problem for the saying of K.L. People who take this mitzva seriously (as we all should) should make periodic checks later in thenight if they had cloudy skies earlier in the evening after Maariv. (Of course, it pays to know roughly when the Moon will be setting each eligible night for K.L. For example, this Motza'ei Shabbat, don't look for the Moon after midnight, because even if the sky is totally cloudless, it will also be totally moonless atthat time of the month at that time of the night. As to the attempts at sighting the Lunar Crescent this past Monday... BLNM. [The Bo Homepage] |