WORD OF THE MONTH
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... 

Shabbat Parshat Matot-Masei, July 26
This Shabbat we bench Rosh Chodesh (Menachem) Av, which will be on Wed. July 30th. Some people felt that we should not announce the month of Av because of its mournful association. The prevailing thought is that if there is any month that needs a bracha, it is Av.

ROSH CHODESH MENACHEM AV YIHYEH B'YOM R'VII HABA ALEINU V'AL KOL YISRA'EL L'TOVA:
The Molad of Av will be on Tuesday, 2h 59m 3p, which translates to 3:38am Israel Summer Time.

HAMOLAD YIHYEH B'YOM SHLISHI BABOKER, CHAMISHIM V'TEISHA DAKOT USH'LOSHA CHALAKIM ACHAREI SHTAYIM
The Molad will be Tuesday morning 59 minutes and 3 parts after 2.
In Rambam notation: GIMMEL 8:1065
The actual (astronomical) Molad will be Tuesday, 9:53am, which mean that first visibility of the lunar crescent will be Wednesday evening. This wil have relevance in the time of Sanhedrin.

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