Shabbat shalom, Nazarene Israelites.

1. PRAISE REPORTS, PRAYER REQUESTS, UPDATES:
12 December 5786 (2025)

a. Do we have the type of zeal for Elohim’s Kingdom Yeshua had?

Tehillim (Psalms) 69:9 (60:10 JPS)
Because zeal for Thy house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproach Thee are fallen upon me.

Yochanan (John) 2:17
Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE HAS EATEN ME UP.”

2. STUDIES:

a. This week’s Parasha

“Parasha Pinchas: Showdown! Yahweh vs. Baal!“ explains how the parable of the three measures of meal represents idolatry (leaven) found in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It highlights the Orthodox Jewish daily death curse (Birkhat HaMinim) spoken against all Christians and non-Orthodox sects and the Original Faith Yeshua HaMashiach taught His followers to keep. And calls the Two Houses to end the historical Ramban cycle of Baal (‘Lord’) worship and for Judah and Ephraim to form the Genesis 35 Alliance upon the written Torah of Moshe.

c. End the War Against Joseph documentary series:

Chapter 1: Why is Yeshua (Jesus) Mashiach ben Yosef (Messiah, Son of Joseph)?
Chapter 2: The Two Types of Christians (currently in progress, thank you for your prayers!)

d. Beit Sefer Children’s Publications (Home Page):

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3. SABBATHS, NEW MOONS, AND CALENDAR EVENTS:

a. Feasts of Yahweh:

Please follow the Torah Calendar News page throughout the year for timely updates.

b. 10th Hebrew month

The new moon of the 10th Hebrew month is expected to be visible from the Land of Israel on the evening of 21 December 5786/2025. Confirmation will be made upon the new moon sighting (or the 30-day default).

c. Discipleship Meetings: 

New moon discipleship meeting- 22 December 2025 (expected)

All meetings are at 8 AM Colombian time (always UTC-5, but watch your Daylight Savings Time adjustments). The Discipleship Meeting is a discussion between disciples. It is generally 1-hour long but may run longer depending on how the Spirit leads. For more on NI’s description of discipleship, please see NI’s Discipleship program.

Note: If the monthly Discipleship Meeting coincides with the weekly Shabbat Meeting, the Shabbat Meeting will take precedence, and new moon discussion will be combined with the Shabbat meeting. However, in the case of a Feast Day Meeting coinciding with a Shabbat meeting, the Feast Day Meeting will take precedence.

d. Why the Firstfruits Torah Calendar?

We often receive inquiries about why NI observes the Hebrew months at different times from the other calendar groups (such as the Messianic, Karaites, and Rabbinical groups). There are several reasons, but the main reason is that we begin the calendar year with the (true) Firstfruits of barley. In contrast, other groups take a sheaf from the main harvest, and falsely CALL them the “first” fruits (when they are more like the MAIN fruits.) Because of this, most Messianic and the Karaite groups will usually be a month (or even two) late. Learn all about the Firstfruits Torah calendar, (and how the Jewish, Karaite, Messianic, and the equinox calendars violate Scripture) in our studies on the biblical calendar.

Note: Roman-Greco and rabbinic calendar dates are utilized for those who are learning, and for publishing purposes. It should be noted that neither the Hillel II Jewish calendar, nor the Roman-Greco calendar are Yahweh’s calendar described in Scripture. Nazarene Israelites should be following the Torah Calendar (the Firstfruits Calendar) and keeping Rosh Hashanah accordingly.

e. Aviv barley, wave sheaf, and witnesses:

Current witness qualification:
Currently, sister Becca Biderman of Ancient Path New Moon is the only barley inspector who seems to understand what a proper wave sheaf is (and why you should not let the true Firstfruits fall to the ground, so you can take your “first” fruits offering from the middle of the harvest, as other groups do).

Disclaimer: For reasons explained in our studies, NI does not support Messianic doctrine. For more on this topic, please see NI’s 2025 explanation in “Babylon Mystery Calendars“.) However, Becca documents her barley inspections, and her definitions of aviv barley seem accurate according to our understanding of Scripture.

Other barley groups:
There are several other (Amalekite) barley groups whose work we cannot recommend in any way. They ignore Deuteronomy 16:9, they define “Firstfruits” as a random sheaf from the middle of the harvest, and they add rules and definitions that Yahweh does not add. They are usually a month (or sometimes two months) late.

(If you have information about additional ‘barley groups’ in Israel reporting in accordance with the Scriptural definitions of ‘aviv barley’, as explained in NI studies, we welcome you to please send information (website, social media links, etc.) to contact@nazareneisrael.org so that we may review the groups’ work and make a qualified determination.)

New moon witnesses:
Several groups sight the first crescent sliver of the new moon well. NI uses various new moon witnesses who report on the new moon each month. Again, as far as we can tell, only sister Becca Biderman publishes accurate barley reports.

Declaring Rosh HaShanah at the correct time:
As we explain in our studies (see list below), there only needs to be enough aviv barley ready for the omer (wave sheaf) Firstfruits offering by either the 15th or the 21st day of the first month. As explained in these studies, it is a disaster if we declare Rosh HaShanah too late, because it would force farmers in the land of Israel who have the earliest ripening barley to do one of two things:

A) Either they must break Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:9 and begin harvesting their crop BEFORE the Firstfruits offering has been presented unto Yahweh for the nation. Or
B) Lose all or part of their barley crop, while they wait an extra month for the leaders to declare Rosh HaShanah!

By declaring the true Firstfruits unto Yahweh Elohim as He commands, and keeping His appointed days according to His perfect timing, the farmers do not need to lose their crops; neither are they encouraged to break any of Yahweh’s commandments.

4. NAZARENE ISRAEL REVELATION NEWS:

We encourage you to check the news each week, to follow the trends of the four horses. Also, if you have never gone through the permanent links, we urge you to read them. Click here to read the Nazarene Revelation News on the website. (You must be logged in to view.)