Chag Somayach

The Festival of Weeks, Shavu'ot (Pentacost), is about to begin in Israel. Israelis normally celebrate the Festivals for one day (two days in the Diaspora), but with Shabbot coming the next day, Israelis will have a two-day holiday.

Shavu'ot comes on the evening of the 50th day from Passover, the date of which was traditionally established by the siting of the New Moon in the month of Nisan. Although Judaism uses a fixed calendar, there are some "lunatics" such as myself who go out to "witness" the first appearance of the New Moon after the conjunction--some people refight the Battle of Gettysburg, I go out to find the New Moon.

Last night, I was up north visiting a friend worried about the "dark" times ahead. So, we took a midnight walk across the fields of the Galilee to look at the stars just down the road from where Jonah build his booth. It's good to get some perspective.

Chag Somayach.