The Lunar calendar

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R Gordon-calibratin te lunar monts of the year
Rosh Chodesh

1. 19 year cycle of the lunar calendar
2. Finalized today no more need ofwitnesses
3. fnalized by Hillel Ha Zaken
4. set by bet din in the time of the temple
5. appx 29 1/2 day months 6  @ 29  6@ 30 days = 254 days in lunar year ea moth either 29 o 30 days
6. moon will aPPear in 29th or 30th day -when seen witnesses run to Jerusalem and moon's ciing is certified by the Sanhedrin    Rosh chodesh either one or 2 days
7. witnesses 'we saw the new moon"-not visible everywhere
8. courts knew where te locatiion of the new moon was

         a. they calibrated its location astronomically
   9.  Moshe in prophecy shown the new moon as to its appearance-sanctiied by bet din
  10. Pesach in the spring
  11. Lunar months in a solar year
  12, 11 days missing in the solar year    33 days/3 years
  13. 7X leao years in a19 year cycle
  14. Adar=1 mo. added as the "leap month"
  15. small crescent of the new moon seen in the west
  16. alignment or conjunction of the moon and sun--moon not seen
  17. court mb meticulous in astronomical calcs

http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/letters/default_cdo/aid/1919703/jewish/Beginning-of-the-Year-or-Head-of-the-Year.htm


Beginning of the Year or Head of the Year?





Correspondence by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe

By the Grace of G‑d

8th of Kislev, 5718 [December 1, 1957]

Brooklyn, N.Y.



Mr. I. Groob

44 Marvel Road, New Haven, Conn.



Greeting and Blessing:



I was pleased to be informed by Rabbi V. Schildkraut about the Melave Malka which was held in your home, which also served as an occasion of Chanukas Habayis.



Inasmuch as this occasion also coincided with Rosh Chodesh Kislev, the significance of it is all the greater. For, as you know, "Rosh" means head, and it is used in connection with the New Year and New Moon, instead of an identical term in Hebrew. This indicates that as the head is the center of the nervous system and vitality of the organism, and if the head is all right, the whole organism functions well, so it is with an initial period of time, when one makes a head-start.



May G‑d help that this occasion be a good beginning for further stimulating activities in the cause of Torah and Mitzvoth in everyday life, and, as our Sages say, that the essential thing is not the theory but the practice, and there is always room for improvement.



I take this opportunity to extend to you and yours my prayerful wishes that your change of address be a change for the better, both materially and spiritually.



With blessing,


http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/letters/default_cdo/aid/1889086/jewish/Going-from-Strength-to-Strength.htm
Going from Strength to Strength






Correspondence by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe

By the Grace of G-d

21st of Sivan, 5727

Brooklyn, N.Y.

[June 29, 1967]



Greeting and Blessing:



I have just received your letter. I was already getting anxious why I have not heard from you.



Thank you very much for the fulfillment of my request to convey regards from me, and also for the good news which your letter contained.



Inasmuch as it is written, “They will go from strength to strength,” now that you have already rested up from Shovuos, it is time to begin making preparations for the 12th of Tammuz, especially as we are going to Bench Rosh Chodesh Tammuz this coming Shabbos. Moreover, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the liberation of my father-in-law of saintly memory, and 40 years is a notable period culminating in a special measure of wisdom and knowledge to understand a matter in its full depth, as Rashi comments on the Posuk in Dvorim, 29:6.


With blessing,



M. Schneerson

http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/letters/default_cdo/aid/1918292/jewish/Two-Adars-Doubly-Auspicious.htm

Two Adars, Doubly Auspicious






Correspondence by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe

By the Grace of G‑d

1st Day of Rosh Chodesh Adar 1, 5746 [February 10, 1986]

Brooklyn, N.Y.



Mr. Reuven Dovid Kimball

Springfield, Ma. 01103



Greeting and Blessing:



I duly received your letter of the 21st of Shevat, with enclosure. As requested, I will remember you in prayer for the fulfillment of your heart's desires for good in the matter about which you wrote.



You should have complete confidence in the assurance of Torah that no one gets hurt by doing a Mitzvah, especially doing it beyond the call of duty.



Moreover, we are getting into the auspicious month of Adar, which is doubly auspicious this year, being a Leap Year, with two months of Adar. It is particularly auspicious for Jews in connection with matters of Yiddishkeit. May it be so with you and yours, and may you have good news to report.


With blessing,

M. Schneerson



P.S. Enclosed is a copy of my message to the recent Convention of Neshei u'Bnos Chabad, and it is meant not only for the women, but also for the men.


A Shavuot Message (4)






Correspondence by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe

Excerpts from a letter





By the Grace of G-d

Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 5724 [1964]

Brooklyn, NY









...It is worthy of note that the festival of Shavuoth has no independent date of its own, like any other festival, since no month or day is specified in the Torah as the time of its celebration, but only that it is the "Fiftieth Day" of the counting of the Omer; the counting which we begin on the second day of Pesach, on the day after the liberation from Egyptian bondage.



In this way the Torah emphasizes that the festival of Shavuoth is the goal of the festival of Pesach; that the Season of the Giving of Our Torah is the culmination of the Season of Our Freedom -- that the true and complete freedom, both for the individual as well as for the community, and both materially and spiritually, can be attained only through the acceptance of the Torah.



We live in a time and in a country where, notwithstanding external "freedom", the society in general, and the young generation in particular, are still largely "enslaved," and at a loss how to free themselves from the shackles of spiritual and mental confusion. The only hope that Jewish children should not be swept with this stream lies in a Torah education, where the golden chain of the Torah from Sinai is maintained; the Torah in all its sanctity, the Torah of Truth which must always remain intact, and cannot be subject to compromise or concession&

http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/letters/default_cdo/aid/1889582/jewish/King-in-the-Field.htm

King in the Field






Correspondence by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, The Lubavitcher Rebbe

By the Grace of G-d

Rosh Chodesh Elul, 5732

Brooklyn, N.Y.

[August 11, 1972]



Greeting and Blessing:



I am in receipt of your letter of the 27th of Av and the preceding correspondence.



May G-d grant that you should have good news to report in all the matters about which you write.



Now that we have entered the auspicious month of Elul, you surely know the explanation of the Alter Rebbe about the auspiciousness of this month, by means of the parable of the King in the Field. Before entering the city, the king’s loyal subjects go out to welcome the king in the field, when everyone has an opportunity to greet the king, and the king, on his part, welcomes everyone graciously and with a smiling face, and grants their petitions (Likutei Torah, Re'eh 32). Similarly, the month of Elul is the time when the King of Kings is in the field, as it were, and offers an extraordinary opportunity to everyone to get closer to Him, and thus ensure that the New Year will be a better and happier one materially and spiritually.



Wishing you and all yours a Kesivo v'Chasimo Tovo,



With blessing,



M. Schneerson