There are two primary candidates in the running for the calendar choice of the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement.  The incumbent candidate is the rabbinic calendar, which is used by the majority of Judaism and the majority of the current Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement.  This calendar was created by Hillel II in Tiberias in the year 359 C.E.  Hillel’s calendar was based upon mathematical calculations of astronomical events and logarithms in order to keep Passover in the spring of the year.  It was a way for Jews in the Diaspora to celebrate the Feasts in unison while being scattered outside the land of Israel.  Most Jews have been living by this calendar all over the world for 1600 years.  The rabbinic calendar has surely been a unifying factor within Judaism. 

As the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement has sought to establish itself as a legitimate, though grafted in, branch of the tree of the nation of Israel, the calendar has played a significant role.  By keeping the Sabbath, celebrating the Feasts, following the weekly Torah portions, and observing the rabbinic calendar, the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement has displayed a sincere desire to reconcile itself with its brothers and sisters in Judaism.  From the start of the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement, there has been an underlying willingness to establish an identity and secure a place in the nation of Israel by adopting all things Jewish, including the rabbinic calendar. 

On the other side of the calendar debate is our second candidate, the biblical calendar.  Like the Messianic Movement itself, this calendar has its roots planted deep in antiquity, yet it too, for all intents and purposes, is new upon the scene.  Now that a part of the nation of Israel is back in the land of Israel, there is a desire to return to the proper biblical calendar.  This calendar is not based upon the mathematical calculations of the rabbis but upon the cycles of the moon and the sun, as well as the maturity of the barley.  This calendar is based upon the words of the Torah itself.  While the biblical calendar is clearly used by the minority both within Judaism and the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement, there is a growing desire for scriptural integrity within these groups that draws people to this new candidate for calendar of the movement.  

As many church members discover the pagan, man-made traditions that influenced the Christian church, causing it to forsake the Torah and its Hebraic roots, they seek to come out of “Babylon” to become fellow citizens in the commonwealth of Israel.  These new citizens have a zeal for studying the Torah and learning the truth.  Not wanting to be deceived again, these newly liberated brethren are seeking to live according to the commandments of the Almighty rather than the doctrines of men.  It is not long, however, before these new citizens realize that Judaism, like Christianity, is also shaped by “the traditions of the elders.”  Thus, what is practiced in Rabbinic Judaism is not necessarily any more consistent with the Torah than what was found and rejected in Christianity.  As the Ruach Hakodesh inscribes the Torah upon the hearts of these new believers, there is a growing desire to live according to the Word instead of man’s traditions.  For many, when the Torah states that the new year is to begin in the month when the barley is aviv, it makes sense to celebrate Rosh Hashanah in Nissan (the first month) rather than in Tishri (the seventh month).  It also makes sense to inspect the barley instead of religiously following the rabbis’ inaccurate mathematical calculations.  This is especially true when the calculations of the rabbis are clearly contradicted by the physical evidence of the barley and the new moon.  We are witnessing a growing group of supporters for the ancient biblical calendar that was still in use in Israel long after the second Temple was destroyed.  However, with the return to the Creator’s calendar, we are also experiencing the pains of a growing division within the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement. 

Before a choice for a calendar is made, there is another pertinent question at the heart of the controversy that must be addressed.  I believe that the calendar controversy presently confronting the movement is simply a symptom of a greater debate yet to be addressed.  The central and fundamental debate is over the issue of authority.  The true question being asked by the members of this infant movement is not which calendar is right but what authority we are to follow.  The authority behind the rabbinic calendar is clearly the rabbis.  The rabbis have established their authority through the writings of the Talmud, the oral Torah.  It is the Talmud that has established the rabbinic calendar as the calendar for all Israel, including those in the Diaspora.  On the other hand, the authority behind the biblical calendar is the written Torah.  The tension that is tearing at the unity of the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement is simply the tension that exists when the written Torah and the oral Torah do not agree.  The calendar is only one of many such issues.  The real question begging to be answered by the respected leaders of the movement is: “Which authority does the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement recognize as normative for the movement?”  Or, more plainly said, “What is the place of the oral Torah in the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement, and what authority does it have?” 

Much of what currently shapes the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement is based in Rabbinic Judaism.  The movement clearly reflects a trend towards Jewish culture and practices.  Present-day Jewish practices are largely derived from the authority of the Talmudic writings and rabbis.   The problem with the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement’s blind acceptance of the authority of the Talmud and the rulings of the rabbis is the Talmud’s rejection of Yeshua as the Messiah.  If the rabbis and the Talmud are to become the authority of the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement, then we must come to terms with the rejection of Yeshua as Messiah, as well as other objectionable or contrary teachings.  

Let us look at how this debate directly impacts the movement’s choice of calendars.  Scripture teaches that Passover is on the 14th of Nissan, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th of Nissan, and the Firstfruits of the barley harvest are brought on the day after the weekly Sabbath (Lev. 23:9-11).  There is clearly no numerical date assigned to the day the Firstfruits of the harvest are brought to the Temple for a wave offering.  This is because, according to the biblical calendar, there are a varying number of days between the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the weekly Sabbath, which the Firstfruits offering follows.  Why is this pattern important for Messianic believers to understand?  It is because this pattern is a part of the evidence that declares Yeshua as the Messiah.  In the year 28 C.E., the year Yeshua was most likely crucified, there were exactly three days and three nights between Passover and the Firstfruits offering.  Thus, we see Yeshua fulfilling the prophetic shadow picture evident in the biblical calendar.  The rabbis have altered this shadow picture by assigning a fixed numerical date to the Firstfruits offering.  The rabbis have declared Firstfruits to be always on the 16th of Nissan.  This minor calendar change radically alters the picture of Messiah.  We should remember that the sign Messiah Yeshua gave to the Pharisees to authenticate his identity was the sign of Jonah, declaring that the Son of man would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40).  There has been a great deal of teaching in the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement directed towards Christians, encouraging them to see the importance of the shadow pictures of Messiah in the Feasts of the LORD while at the same time denouncing the erroneous traditional Christian teaching of Yeshua dying on Friday and rising on Sunday.  Thus, the same problem exists in both the Christian calendar and the rabbinic calendar.  Both of these calendars cloud the biblical teaching concerning the death and resurrection of the Messiah.  If the rabbinic and Christian calendars are correct in that Yeshua died on the 14th of Nissan, was buried on the 15th, and raised on the 16th, then we must concede that Yeshua did not fulfill his own prophetic statement of being in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.  Alternately, according to the biblical calendar, Yeshua would have died on the 14th and risen on the 17th, thus fulfilling this important sign.

As the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement grows and matures, it is beginning to establish its own identity.  Where once the movement was striving to simply be a part of Judaism, now it is standing on its own and beginning to recognize that like Christianity, Judaism also has some repenting to do before Israel and Judah can be reconciled.  Thus, at least part of the Messianic Movement is beginning to stand up to its big brother Judah and say, “We are not simply going to move from Christianity into Rabbinic Judaism.  We are not going to simply slip from one set of human traditions to another.”  This is especially so if these traditions deny Yeshua as Messiah or contradict the written Torah!  So it is with the issue of the calendar.  I believe that the calendar debate is just a sign of the movement growing up, maturing, and standing up on its own two feet, even over and against the influences of its older brother. 

I also believe that this current calendar controversy reveals subtle divisions within the vision or goals of the current Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement.   There seem to be at present four different visions driving the movement.  The first is what appears to be the original vision of proving that Jews can believe in Yeshua as Messiah and remain Jews.  This vision requires that Jewish believers in Yeshua continue all their Jewish practices as much as possible, even accepting the authority of the Talmud.  This original vision did not do much to encourage Gentile believers to keep the Torah.  For the most part, the Gentile believer is encouraged to remain in the Christian church.  The second vision within the Messianic Movement seems to have grown out of this first one.  This vision is that of Jews for Jesus, Apple of His Eye Ministry, and other such ministries that seek to “convert” the Jews to faith in Jesus Christ and bring them into the church.  For these groups, Hebraic culture and customs are simply a means to an end.  Christians who have embraced Jewish customs primarily as an evangelism tool largely drive this vision.   The third vision driving the Messianic Movement is the Two House teaching.  I believe that the Two House teaching is the major force behind most of the recent growth and enthusiasm within the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement.  The goal of this vision is to help believers recognize and reconcile the two divided houses of the nation of Israel – the House of Israel and the House of Judah.  This vision is the first to take into serious consideration the large number of Gentile believers in Yeshua coming out of the Christian Church to embrace the Torah-observant lifestyle.  This has led to the fourth vision within the movement, which is simply to encourage all believers in Yeshua to lead a Torah-observant life.  I want to be quite clear here; I am not suggesting that these visions are mutually exclusive.  However, each of these visions has its own goals, which, at times, may and do conflict with one other.  For those seeking to prove they are still Jewish or seeking to reconcile with those within Judaism, keeping the rabbinic calendar plays a very significant role.  But for those who are coming into the movement seeking to learn and observe the teachings of the written Torah, following the biblical calendar seems the most logical choice.

Are these issues divisive?  Yes, but not to the degree that it will prevent the movement from its continued growth.  Again, I believe that eventually we will all be keeping the biblical calendar – if not before, then when the Messiah comes.  Thus, those in the minority who have been studying, learning, teaching, and encouraging believers to watch the barley and look for the new moon, thereby compelling us to consider the conflict between the written Torah and the oral Torah, are not our enemies.  Instead, these brothers and sisters are the pioneers who are called of the Almighty to begin the final preparations for life in the Messianic kingdom.  Like any living body, change comes slowly and rarely uniformly.  Looking at the development of my own children (ages 7, 10, 13, 17, 20, 21, 22, and 23), their bodies morph and transform in very different ways and at varying times.  At some point in their development, baby teeth fall out, feet grow big, beards grow in, legs get gangly, adult teeth fill in, and bodies fill out.  At various points, various parts are growing, but not always in proportion to the rest of the body’s members.  So it is with the Messianic Movement.  We are young.  We are growing.  We are feeling the pains of growth.  No change in the body comes quickly or uniformly, so we should not be surprised to see some people holding tightly to the rabbinic calendar while at the same time others are embracing the biblical calendar.  This change does not mean the end of the movement or even an end to its forward momentum.

Is the current calendar controversy painful and confusing?  Yes.  Sorting out these kinds of issues is never easy.  There comes a time, however, when every believer must decide what the Ruach Hakodesh is calling him to.  Is the priority of reconciling with our brothers in Rabbinic Judaism so great that we are to compromise obedience to the Torah for the sake of unity with our brothers, or are we to faithfully keep the Torah and encourage our brothers in Rabbinic Judaism to come out of Babylon and unite with us in obedience to the Torah?  We must ask whether we are called to be “Jewish” or “Christian” or to observe the Torah.  If the Hebraic Roots/Messianic Movement is indeed a move of the Ruach Hakodesh, then we should expect to be led to faithfulness to the Torah as Moses received it and Yeshua taught it, without the additions or subtractions of the rabbis, popes, bishops, elders, preachers, or Messianic leaders. 

As the children of Israel, we have been called to be the manifest presence of the Creator and Redeemer of the universe.  As Messianic believers, we are called to be the body of Messiah in the world.  By keeping the Torah as Moses received it and as Yeshua taught it, we embody the attributes of the Holy One.  By keeping the traditions of men, whether from Christianity or Rabbinic Judaism, we embody the attributes of men and their religions. 

When we change the calendar to accommodate the customs of man, we distort the true image of YHWH and Messiah in the world.

If we truly desire to be counted among the covenant people of YHWH, we must faithfully follow the teachings of Messiah and the leading of the Ruach Hakodesh.  We must walk in rhythm with the Holy One of Israel.  The Creator’s calendar is the first step in walking with YHWH.  Keeping the Feasts at their proper appointed times will assure us that we will not only know what the Creator is going to do, but we will also be in the right place at the right time when YHWH fulfills His prophetic promises.

Glenn McWilliams
Torah Keepers