18/10/2026
Dear Friends,
While the crescent is generally visible at the end of the 30th day, and has been sighted in the past under similar stats as this evening, at the time of this writing, we aren’t aware of the crescent being sighted by the naked eye from Israel on 12 October 2026.
On 12 October 2026, the moon had a high Illumination of 3.93%, and a Lag Time of 46 min. However, the moon’s altitude was very low at sunset, making it a very difficult observation, due to the horizon being very bright at sunset, and there always being a lot of atmospheric noise on the horizon.
Although the crescent wasn’t sighted, because the Biblical Month is based on the lunar cycle, and a lunation is never more than the 30 days, the 8th Biblical Month began on 12 October 2026 at sunset, by default. That being said, we do plan on letting on you know if any positive reports come in later, for that evening.
To remind you, the beginning of the Biblical Month is a celebratory day (Hosea 2:11), and was traditionally commemorated by blowing the shofar (Num 10:10; Psalm 81:4[3]), enjoying a festive meal (1 Samuel 20:5, 24), and worshiping at the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) (Isaiah 66:23; Ezekiel 46:1-3) with a special sacrifice (Num 28:11-15; 2Chronicles 2:3; Ezra 3:4-5, Ezekiel 45:17, Ezekiel 46:6).
And for those that asked, the beginning of the Biblical Month has nothing to do with the weekly sabbath. Rather, the day of weekly sabbath was established when the Creator rested on the seventh day after He began creating the world (Gen 2:2-3). That seventh day is referred to as “Saturday” in English, and variations of “Shabbat” in many languages, preserving the tradition that, that day is the weekly sabbath. Remember, the changes the Rabbinites made to the Biblical Calendar are detailed in their writings, and they didn’t change the day of Shabbat. Therefore, as days in the Biblical Calendar begin at sunset (i.e. the end of the agricultural day) (Gen 1:5,8,13,19,23,31), Shabbat begins every Friday at sunset and ends on Saturday at sunset.
On behalf of all of us who keep the Biblical Calendar, we want to thank everyone who looked for the crescent New Moon from Israel.
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Together we can restore the Biblical Calendar!
Devorah Gordon
Jerusalem, Israel
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Devorah's Date Tree (Judges 4:4-5) is committed to restoring the Biblical Calendar, by providing honest reporting and in-depth studies. This important effort is headed by Devorah Gordon, who has been living in Israel and working on restoring the Biblical Calendar, for over 30 years. We are honored that the information we share, is considered the most reliable source for keeping the Biblical Calendar, and a blessing to countless people around the world. Thank you for partnering with us to restore the Biblical Calendar.
