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...

The molad of Sh'vat was last Thursday morning. (The actual molad was 11:00pm on Wed.)

It was determined that the moon would have been visible on Friday
evening, but in fact, as reported by Dr. Roy Hoffman of the Israel New Moon Society (www.geocities.com/royh_il), no one actually saw the first visibility of the lunar crescent (as the L'VANA B'CHIDUSHA is sometimes called). With a Sanhedrin, Rosh Chodesh Sh'vat would have been on Sunday by default; without a Sanhedrin, we ignore the lack of sightings and use the calculation to set Rosh Chodesh Sh'vat on last Shabbat.

Sunday night was the first op for Kiddush L'vana (3-day minhag). Some people had a clear view of the moon; others did not. So it goes during the rainy season. You might want not to wait until Motza"Sh for K.L. and try for THU.

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