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Re: The lunar or the solar?
Dear David et al,
I personally like the idea of sins fouling up nature. If meterologly can
be influenced by human behavior, why not the regularity of other natural
phenomena as well? In fact, when I have had the occasion to teach the
DSS I have raised precisely the possibility you suggest, and I even
mentioned it on this discussion group many moons ago (the Yahad would not
like that expression!). The problem is, of course, proving it. but this
is less of a problem than demonstrating intercalation- something which
would go against the grain of the evidence.
An interesting sidenote. In the Jewish liturgy, blessings for holidays
end with the words "who sanctifies Israel and the appointed times (or in
earlier mss passover/ pentecost/ tebernacle- fill in the proper
holiday). On Sabbath the conclusion varies "who sanctifies the Sabbath,
Israel, and the appointed times". The implication of these two blessings
is that God does not determine when a holiday will actually occur because
the new moon and new month were declared by the court. The Sabbath on
the other hand was determined by the natural order from the time of
creation. The yahad would have gr e a tly disagreed with this approach,
having considered the holidays as well to have been fixed as to date in
the natural order and not dependent on the pronouncement of a temporal court.
Avigdor Hurowitz
On Tue, 17 Sep 1996, David W. Suter wrote:
> Curiously enough, the astronomical book in 1 Enoch comments on the
> problem of the times being altered (see chapter 80) and seems to suggest
> that the problem is that the ways of the sinners are affecting the cosmic
> order! The passage is difficult to explain (Fred and I have gone back
> and forth over it on one occasion), but one possible reading seems to be,
> hang reality when it conflicts with theory. While nothing is said about
> intercalation, perhaps the implication would be that intercalation
> becomes necessary only because the sinners muck up the order of the sun
> and moon. If it weren't for sin, the cosmos would follow the 364 solar
> calendar. However, I know of no way of demonstrating that this is how
> one should resolve the problem.
>
> David Suter
> Saint Martin's College
>
> On Tue, 17 Sep 1996, Martin Abegg wrote:
>
> > >Does this mean that among the Q 4thday would have slipped a day every 4
> > >years along with the vernal equinox and, therefore, Shabbat also changed?
> > >
> >
> > Intercalation is still a mystery with the Qumran calendar. As far as I can
> > tell it is never hinted at. So, if the calendar was actually used it
> > certainly would have drifted backwards by a day and a quarter every year.
> >
> > Marty
> >
> > Martin Abegg
> > Director, Dead Sea Scrolls Institute
> > Trinity Western University
> >
> >
> >
>