 Parshat Va'eira 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... If the orbits of the Moon around the Earth and the Earth-Moon around the Sun were perfect circles, which they are not, then the speeds of the Moon and Earth would be uniform and the time from one Molad to the next would be constant. In fact, the time from one Molad to the next varies from month to month. Our Tradition is to announce the average Molad, and to use it in the calculations of Rosh HaShana and for Kiddush L'vana purposes. In the time of Sanhedrin, when witnesses will testify to the first sighting of the lunar crescent, it will be the actual (astronomical) Molad that will be used by the committee of Sanhedrin to determine whether the Moon will be visible on the night following the 29th of the Jewish month, or not. Shvat's average Molad is Sunday morning at 9:31. The astronomical Molad is a bit before 5:45pm later the same day. Almost a whole day later, shortly after sunset of Monday, the 18th, the Moon should be visible for a few minutes. If we had a Sanhedrin today, and witnesses saw the lunar crescent and testified properly in Sanhedrin, then Tuesday would be Rosh Chodesh. continued inside; look for MOON [The Va'eira Homepage] |