1. FEAST REMINDERS!
a. ULB 7 / Yom HaNafat HaOmer 2025
- ULB 7 (the last day of Chag HaMatzot / Unleavened Bread) begins at evening 19 April and continues through evening 20 April. Evening to evening is a day of no servile work.
- Yom HaNafat HaOmer is on 20 April
Please refer to section 2 for feast-specific studies.
Please refer to section 3 for full feast schedule and additional calendar studies
2. FEAST STUDIES
3. SABBATHS, NEW MOONS, AND CALENDAR EVENTS:
a. Yahweh’s feasts:
The new moon of the first Hebrew month was witnessed on the evening of 30 March 2025. Below is the confirmed schedule for Yahweh’s feasts of the first month. Please remember that feast dates for the seventh month remain pending until the new moon of the seventh Hebrew month is confirmed.
We encourage you to check out our calendar studies, which explain how to observe the calendar correctly, and avoid common errors. A full list of studies can be found in section 3d below for convenience.
Click here for Torah Calendar News
Click here for printable feast schedule
b. Next new moon (expected): 28 April 2025 (evening)
The new moon of the second Hebrew month is expected to be visible from Israel on 28 April 2025 with a 1.30% illumination. Confirmation will be made upon the sighting of the new moon (or the 30-day default count).
You can visit Torah Calendar News for news on new moons, barley in the Land, Rosh HaShanah, and feasts throughout the year.
c. Need to Begin the Year with the True FIRST Fruits 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: NI labels studies with calendar dates of 5785/2025 for publishing purposes only. It should be noted that neither the Hillel II Jewish calendar, nor the Roman-Greco calendar are Yahweh’s biblical calendar. Nazarene Israelites should be following the Torah calendar and keeping Rosh Hashanah accordingly.
d. 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.
