Beth Elohim Messianic Synagogue
Special Message for Shabbat after Simchat Torah and Sh’mini Atzeret
This Shabbat I am going to present a teaching on the Zadok calendar and why our congregation follows this calendar versus the current traditional Jewish calendar. This is a perfect time to teach on this subject as we end the observance of the designated festivals/times of G-d with Sh’mini Atzeret and prepare to start a new cycle of Torah study.
The congregation at Beth Elohim Messianic Synagogue follows the Essene or Zadok Calendar because of the growing body of knowledge that is proving it to be “spot-on” regarding calculating G-d’s designated times and seasons in a consistent manner. Careful research will show that the Zadok calendar is more accurate than the Lunisolar Hebrew calendar used by the majority of Jewish sects today. Furthermore, the Messianic Jewish calendar used today is not synchronized with the Zadok calendar of which Yahshua was aware and followed.
Indeed we must ask ourselves that if YHVH commanded his people to observe his designated times on the specific dates described in the Torah, he would need to provide a way for everyone, whether within or outside of Israel, whether or not the current priesthood was legitimate, or whether the new moon which is not actually the new moon as derived in traditional Judaism was present.
But we may ask why this is even important? The answer is because G-d’s people need to know when the first and seventh month occur, because all of YHVH’s feast days are in the first and seventh months. Knowing when the first and seventh months occur provides us with a baseline to calculate their occurrence and plan our lives/activities around them. We must start with the correct presupposition and all else will fall into line. Understanding that G-d is unchanging by default applies to his designated times and a prevision for correctly calculating their occurrence.
Genesis 1:14 states “And G-d said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.” Here we see that G-d established “time” for mankind. The Hebrew translation for “seasons” is Moedim, appointed times such as the feasts and other mandated public convocations.
The desire of true believers to follow YHVH/Yahshua/s Torah as closely as possible requires exploration and research into the various calendars used by Jews over the years. As it stands presently, there are so many variations that even many mature believers throw their hands up and say “Well, G-d knows my heart is in the right place. I pick this or that calendar.” The problem with this thinking is that HaSatan’s mission is to change the times and seasons of G-d among other things, all of his strategies and tactics based on deceiving mankind.
In my personal quest to find the most accurate Hebrew calendar, I began considering the Zadok calendar of which I had been aware existed earlier in my ministry, but had not seriously researched. The Ruach’s continued prompting, along with encouragement from a couple of my congregants, I decided to take another look, comparing some of the differences between the Lunisolar Hebrew Calendar, and the Zadok Calendar, and the description of the designated times of G-d in Leviticus 23. Below are some of the differences that clearly show an ambiguity factor in the Lunisolar Calendar whereas the Zadok Calendar is quite specific except the 12th month.
1. Start of the year: According to the Lunisolar Hebrew Calendar, it begins the day after the new moon is observed after the barley is ripe in Israel. This usually occurs around March or April.
According to the Zadock Priestly Calendar, the new year begins the first Wednesday after the Spring Equinox, usually March 20-21. I have found that there is generally a three-day variance.
2. Beginning of months: According to the Lunisolar Hebrew Calendar, a new month begins after the first sliver of each new moon is observed.
According to the Zadock Priestly Calendar, a new month begins every 30-32 days with the exception of the 12th month which may have more.
3. Months in a year: According to the Lunisolar Hebrew Calendar, there are 12 or 13 depending on the barley.
According to the Zadok Priestly Calendar there are 12 months consistently.
4. Days per year: According to the Lunisolar Hebrew Calendar, this varies between 353 and 385 depending on the barley.
According to the Zadok Priestly Calendar there are consistently 364.
5. How dates are determined: According to the Lunisolar Hebrew Calendar, the dates are designated by observing the ripening of the barley which can vary significantly and the new moon.
According to the Zadok Priestly Calendar, the dates are determined by calculating from the Spring equinox which requires no need to observe the appearance of the new moon or the ripening of the barley.
6. Marking the seasons: In the Lunisolar Hebrew Calendar, there is no reference addressing seasonal markers.
In the Zadok Priestly Calendar, seasonal markers are used to track the months and the festivals.
7. Feast Dates: according to the Lunisolar Hebrew Calendar, the dates of the festivals vary based on the barley and the moon. This way of calculating the dates to observe the festivals can be very confusing and is not consistent with G-d’s paradigm of order and consistency. An example is the celebration of Pesach on the 14th day of the first month can occur on any day of the week.
According to the Zadok Priestly Calendar, G-d’s designated feasts occur on the same dates every year. This is the only way those within Israel or afar could know without a doubt when to observe G-d’s Holy festivals. Passover using this calendar occurs on the 14th day of the first month ALWAYS on a Tuesday.
8. Names of the months: According to the Lunisolar Hebrew, there are several months that are named for Babylonian gods or other Babylonian words.
According to the Zadok Priestly Calendar, the months are “named” chronologically.
So why is the Tzadok Priestly Calendar not accepted by all sects of Judaism in favor of a confusing calendar that required for example, the authority of two witnesses and a high priest to declare the occurrence of a “new moon,” determined to be necessary by the Sanhedrin for accuracy? G-d’s designation of the authority for ministering to him and keeping his laws, statutes in all his appointed meetings (festivals of G-d) were given to the sons of Zadok seem to have been negated by the Sanhedrin.
In the days of Antiochus Epiphanes IV, a Greek Seleucid king, the Temple in Jerusalem became corrupted. In Daniel 7:25. Antiochus Epiphanes IV was prophesied to change “ties and seasons.” This refers to keeping the festivals of G-d according to the priesthood of the ‘sons of Zadok.’ Antiochus insisted that the Greek Seleucid calendar be used in the Temple based on the Babylonian calendar used by the Pharisees and Orthodox Judaism today.
When Jonathan became the first Maccabean high priest appointed by the Greek Seleucid king, Alexander Balas, the high priesthood of the Maccabean dynasty followed the Greek Seleucid/Babylonian calendar to celebrate G-d’s designated festivals. This was done because Alaxander needed military support from the Maccabees, of which Jonathon was the leader. But Jonathan was not a Zadok priest. So the faithful sons of Zadok fled to Qumran to preserve the Temple way of life, especially the priestly calendar that the Zadok priests followed sine the days of David and Solomon.
Another reason for the corruption of the calendar used for determining the observance of G-d’s designated times is described in the Book of Jubilees 1:13-14 where YHVH told Moshe about how the people would stray from G-d’s commands and turn towards strange gods and all of the pagan practices associated with apostacy. Verses 13-14 read: “And I will hide my face from them, and I will deliver them into the hand of the Gentiles for captivity, and for prey, and for devouring, and I will remove them from the midst of the land, and I will scatter them amongst the gentiles. And they will forget My Torah and all My commandments and all my judgments, and will go astray as to new months, and Shabbats, and festivals, and jubilees, and ordinances.”
I have been a rabbi for 22 years and was not made aware of the Zadok Priestly Calendar for several years into my ministry. Part of the reason for my delay in my personal discovery was that my mentor of blessed memory had not focused on this subject, instead using the Messianic Jewish calendar and teaching me likewise.
I submit another reason for delayed knowledge of the Zadok calendar even by those who would later adhere to it forsaking all other Jewish calendars was that it was not discovered until the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and deciphered from 1947-1956. The documents included calendars that were likely kept and followed by the Zadok priests. Interestingly, the scrolls were authenticated” by a leading Hebrew University archaeologist the very same day the United Nations voted to create a Jewish state in Mandatory (https://www.icej.org/blog/israels-national-rebirth-and-the-dead-sea-scrolls/)
The Zadok priests were a legitimate line from the time of David. The general belief is that the Essenes of Qumran were the remnant of the Zadok priestly line post Babylonian captivity. According to Ezekiel 44-5 the Tzadok priests were chosen by YHVH from all other Levitical options to serve in His temple.
Much of the information available concerning the calendars is consistent with the writings of Enoch addressing the antediluvian era and his understanding of the sun, moon, and seasons.
The First Book of Enoch (Chap. 72-82) provides valuable additional instruction on calculating the correct dates, but the information is not an unequivocally definitive guide. But when we compare and consider the and information in G-d’s Torah, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the First Book of Enoch, there is evidence and guidance fro calculating everything in the Zadok calendar.
Unfortunately, many who subscribe to a specific religion and the associated doctrine and “rules” of the particular religious institution develop a habit of “following the leader’ without researching, exploring, and verifying what is said and taught as G-d’s Word. Judaism is no different. For example, according to the Lunisolar Hebrew Calendar, there is no instruction or evidence for starting each month on a new moon, starting the new year when the barley is ripe, or adding a 13th month every 2-3 years. There just is not any support for these traditions/customs. Let me elaborate on the new moon for a moment.
There is no mention of a new moon in G-d’s Torah. The term “Rosh Kodesh” has been frequently translated as “new moon” in many English translations “Rosh” is rightly translated as “beginning” or “head,” but “Kodesh” means month, not the moon itself. The word for moon is “yereach.” It is used 27 times in G-d’s Torah but never associated with the G-d’s appointed times.
The Zadik calendar lines up perfectly with the sun, moon, stars, and the seasons just as Genesis 1:14-19 states. There is no difficulty correctly calculating the correct dates for celebrating G-d’s appointed times, especially when comparing the instructions in the Old Testament with the significance of the festivals from their inception to Yahshua’s return. Indeed if we continue to ask, seek, and knock as Yahshua teaches in Matthew 7:7-8, we will continue to learn more about the wonders of G-d and his Torah and experience the joy that wisdom from above and knowledge of our G-d brings.
The following are some examples of the consistency and simplicity of calculating Shabbats and other designated festivals of G-d that can only be observed using the Zadok calendar:
1. Specific Shabbat dates repeat every three months, which can only occur using a 364-day year.
2. New months always start on Wednesday, then Friday, then Sunday and repeat the pattern throughout the year, consistently.
3. The head of the year, month one, always starts on a Wednesday, the fourth day of the week. This occurs because the sun, moon, and stars were created on the fourth day of creation. This was the beginning of earthly time, and it has not changed.
4. The calendar is divided into 4 seasons with a new month beginning on the Wednesday within a week of each seasonal marker: Spring Equinox, Autumnal Equinox, Summer, and Winter Solstices.
5. Each new season has exactly 91 days, 13 weeks.
These repeating patterns make it possible for anyone to correctly follow G-d’s designated times when you know when the Spring Equinox occurs. This places the responsibility on everyone to keep G-d’s appointed times. There is no need for a priest, rabbi, preacher, Google or AI Assist, knowledge of the moon’s cycle, or when the barley is supposed to be ripe. In fact, with climate change, the ripening of the barley is highly speculative and variable. G-d would not hold us responsible for observing his designated times if we had no way to correctly calculate their occurrence.
I want to thank the author of the site https://www.messianicsabbath.com for her contribution to the knowledge of the Zadok calendar and the importance of following this calendar as a loving effort to draw closer to YHVH/Yahshua in obedience to his festivals, Shabbats, and other designated times.
Shalom,
Rabbi Tamah Davis-Hart
Beth Elohim Messianic Synagogue
International Teaching Ministry
