Parashat Matot-Mas'ei 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... This Shabbat we bench Rosh Chodesh Av. It will be on Wednesday, August 2nd. The Molad will be on Monday, 11h 49m 2p. That translates to 12:28pm Israel Summer time. The actual (astronomical) Molad is Monday at 5:25am. The Moon is not "old enough" to be seen on Monday night; its first visibility will beTuesday night. That means that if we had a Sanhedrin, Rosh Chodesh would be Wednesday, just as it is now. There were opinions that we should not announce the coming of the month of Av because of its tragic nature. The conclusion, obviously, is that we do. The feeling is that Av can use a bracha more than all the other months. And only the first third has the bad flavor; the rest of the month is MENACHEM. [The Matot-Mas'ei
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