March Rosh HaShanah 5784-5 / 2024
The new moon of the 1st Hebrew month was seen from the land of Israel on the evening of 11 March 2024. Rosh HaShanah 5784-5 / 2024 (the head of the Hebrew year) begins on the evening of 11 March 2024. Rosh HaShanah sameach!
Feast Schedule 5784-5 / 2024
Below is the feast schedule for 5784-5 / 2024, as well as a visual image of the count.
As of the evening of 4 September 2024, the seventh month feast dates are officially confirmed.
Why this is Rosh HaShanah (and not a 13th or 14th month).
To make a Rosh HaShanah 2024 declaration, Nazarene Israel must be certain that an omer quantity of the firstfruits of barley (in Israel) will be ready (in its aviv stage) within the 15-21 day time frame after the new moon sighting (in time for Yom HaNafat HaOmer, or the Day of the Wave Sheaf Offering). In simple terms, to declare Rosh HaShanah on 11 March 2024, we need to have an omer’s worth of aviv barley firstfruits ready to offer for Yom HaNafat HaOmer (on 31 March 2024).
As we explain in our studies, declaring Rosh HaShanah too late (as the Karaites usually do) would cause Yahweh’s firstfruits to be lost. In contrast, when we declare Rosh HaShanah at the time when the firstfruits of aviv barley will be ready for Yom HaNafat HaOmer, 15-21 days after the new moon, everything aligns perfectly!
Barley inspector Becca Biderman’s report from 8 -10 March 2024 shows that there is sufficient aviv barley in the land of Israel to have an omer’s worth for Yom HaNafat HaOmer on 31 March 2024. This aviv barley firstfruits is already beginning to shatter (when thumbed with the hand). And these firstfruits will not last to Yom HaNafat HaOmer if Rosh HaShanah is declared in April.
With this report, Nazarene Israel has confirmed that we will have an omer’s worth of aviv barley firstfruits for Yom HaNafat HaOmer to take place on 31 March 2024.
(For the latest barley reports, please click here.)
For more on how the Biblical Hebrew new year is determined (and how it is not determined), please see the studies (in table below).
