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... Last opportunity for Kiddush L'vana this month is all night, Monday, July 6th, the halachic NIGUD (full moon) being 3:36pm on Tuesday. Notice the reference to the halachic NIGUD. NIGUD in English, is opposition, the moment that the Sun and the Moon are on opposite sides of the Earth. That moment is the same as Full Moon. The halachic NIGUD is the midpoint between the previous MOLAD and the next one. Our announced MOLAD, which is used for Rosh Chodesh Benching and for calculating the time range for Kiddush L'vana, is based on the average time it takes the Moon to go through a cycle of phases - not the actual time, the average time. That is 29d 12h 44m 1p (3 and 1/3 seconds). The NIGUD is 14d 18h 22m after the MOLAD. Remember, this is average, not the real, astronomical timing, which varies month to month. Example for this month: The molad based on average was Monday, June 22nd, at 9:14pm Israel Summer Time. The real molad was at 10:35pm. Relatively close - the deviation can be many hours, plus or minus. The actual nigud is Tuesday (July 7) at 12:21pm. That's three hours earlier than the average nigud. Time from molad to nigud using the average is, as mentioned above, 14d 18h 22m. This month, the time from new moon to full moon (actual) is 14d 13h 46m, almost 5 hours below average. Now watch this. From nigud to the next molad is always the same 14d 18h 22m (give or take a fraction of a cheilek). Real time, this month? Next full moon is WED, July 22nd at 5:34am. The time from full to new (coming up) is 14d 17h 13m, just an hour below average. Remember, we're talking about this month only. Real molad was 1h 21m later than the average one. The next molad will be 4h 24m before the average one. Don't let the numbers scare you - the point is that the actual interval from molad to molad varies from the average and that the actual nigud is not the midpoint between moladot. [The Parshat Balak Homepage]
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