Author: Becca

The 7th biblical month must be close because oh me, oh my. I spy dates!

We eat dates three ways. One way is photographed here in the post. The dates are slightly sweet and crunchy. Kind of an apple-like crunch, but the dates here still have a little tannin so they are drying to your mouth, like a cup of tea is.

The second way is when they are fully ripe. They drop from the cluster and they ooze sticky honey. These must be frozen to preserve them. I like this but it’s not my favorite.

The third way is dried and this is the form you are probably most familiar with. This is my favorite way to eat dates.

The seventh month is coming at us fast now!!!!

The Sumerian word bar may be responsible for English and other Indo-European languages for “barley” and “barn” as a place to hold it.) Henshaw was struck by the three large signs at the end of the tablet, at the bottom of the drawing. Reading from right to left we see a sun rising with the number “one” above it; a vessel containing (likely) beer; and a bowl. The bowl became a standard measure—the first money—for a ration of barley, the mean ingredient in beer and bread.

The word ‘bar’ also appears in scripture:

Gen 42:3  And Joseph’sH3130 tenH6235 brethrenH251 went downH3381 to buyH7666 cornH1250 in Egypt. H4480 H4714

H1250
בַּר    בָּר
bâr    bar
bawr, bar
From H1305 (in the sense of winnowing); grain of any kind (even while standing in the field); by extension the open country: – corn, wheat.

https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=sunybeb&fbclid=IwAR3uuX24Q3aDuDIuJDWZyRDuN-oiWXxZAXXhmCwwG9ims5vN4vheWQlgRYg

Declaring the Firstfruits

How does one set aside bikkurim? A man goes down into his field, he sees a fig that ripened, or a cluster of grapes that ripened, or a pomegranate that ripened, he ties a reed-rope around it and says: “Let these be bikkurim.” Rabbi Shimon says: even so, he must again designate them as bikkurim after they have been plucked from the soil.

Exo 23:19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Bikkurim.3.3-8

Knowing that each of the seven species would have an early quantity of fruit a tradition was created of marking the earliest ripe produce to make sure it was what was offered as the firstfruits…..

The new moon was seen by the unaided eye on July 11, 2021, at 19:59 by myself and the Matityahu family of four called and reported seeing the moon tonight from Jerusalem as well.  

It was a very easy sighting on a super warm night!  Not much to mention it was a 30 day month.  According to the Biblical Calendar based on the seven firstfruits offerings we have entered the 6th month.  How appropriate the grapes and figs are coming on strong!  In a month the first of the rimon aka pomegranates will be showing up for Yom Teruah.  

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My friend away up north in the Golan near Lebanon writes: fig season is here…..and so it is

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From Tel Aviv and here in the north.

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The new moon was seen on June 11, 2021, at 20:18 naked-eye sighting.

It was a very easy sighting.  There was a lot of wind that made it unconducive to the close-up photos of the moon.  All of those came out too blurry to send out

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A 29 day month is predicted.  Of course, depending on your location in the world you would need to add or subtract a few degrees of illumination and sky position.

Without any atmospheric interference, the new moon should be seen on June 11.