Barley Comments by Wayne Atchison

February 9, 2002

Several have expressed loyalty to, and are asking questions about, the Karaite Calendar. This paper is a brief criticism of the Karaite Calendar.

1. The Karaite Calendar is an observed calendar which differs from the Calendar of the Second Temple in the following aspects:

A. For most Karaites, observation of each month's new crescent must be observed from Jerusalem, or its surrounding area, in contrast to starting each month as the new crescent becomes visible in your own area.

B. Determination of the first month of the year is primarily based upon the condition of the barley harvest in or around Jerusalem, in contrast to using the astronomical vernal equinox, or, the observed equinox in Jerusalem.

2. The Karaite Calendar claims to be the authentic and original calendar of antiquity. Such a claim is not new. The Noah Calendar and the Calendar used by the Worldwide Church of God (prior to about 1990) also claim to be the authentic and original calendar of antiquity. But the question is: "Where is the objective historical evidence for this claim?" I will present some objective historical evidence which refutes this claim.

3. Maimonides, a famous Rabbi of circa 1150 to 1200 AD, argued hard against the Karaites. "The Teachings of Maimonides", by Jacob S. Minkin, copyright 1993 by Jason Aronson Inc. Northvale, New Jersey London, pages 36-37, quote: ". . . he was confronted with a community of Jews torn by strife . . . Because of the old family quarrel between the traditionalists and the Bible literalists (or, as they came to be known, the Rabbanites and the Karaites), . . . The Babylonian Talmud was not more than 200 years old when rumblings of dissatisfaction with its minute rules and regulations made themselves heard on the part of Jews . . . But it was not until about the middle of the eighth century that, through one Anan ben David, a learned Jew of high station in Babylonia, the tiny voice of dissent rose to a clamorous demand to get back to the basic truths of the 'old-time religion of the Bible' without the interpretation of the Rabbis. . . . a new sect, almost a new religion, calling itself Karaite, or the 'Religion of the Bible', came into existence with adherents in Palestine, Persia, Syria, Babylon, and Egypt. . . . The yoke of the Law was not made easier but harder to bear. Rejecting the old interpretation of the Rabbis, they were drinking their own legal brew instead. The Sabbath ceased to be an oneg, a joyful day, and became a gloomy and dismal day; no light was permitted on Friday night; no warm food on the Sabbath; prisoner-like, one had to keep himself indoors all day long. Stern and rigorous was the law of the Karaites; feast-days were reduced, the number of fast days was raised. Drastic changes were made in the synagogue ritual, in the calendar, in the marriage and divorce laws, etc. . . . When Moses Maimonides arrived at Fostat, the Rabbanites and Karaites were to all intents and purposes two separate and distinct communities. There was no religious accord between them, no social relations, not even trade or business dealings with each other. There was no intermarriage between members of the two groups; they would not circumcise each other's children, they would not eat at the same tables; . . . "

[Note that as far as the Rabbinates were concerned, the Karaites dramatically changed the calendar. However, the primary point is that the Karaite Calendar is the calendar of a religious group that began circa 800 AD. Most reading this criticism do not suggest that Christians should start living lifestyles like Karaite Jews, nor start to adhere to their other religious tenets regarding the Sabbath etc. So therefore, when discussing the Karaite Calendar we are singling out one and only one tenet of their religion.

This is not a minor point. As their Calendar is a single tenet of a religious movement having a known starting point 700 years (35 generations) after the Second Temple, it is mandatory that any claims made regarding their Calendar's antiquity must be substantiated by historical evidence written prior to 800 AD, and further, such evidence must assert that their Calendar was actually used by the priests of the Temple Era in determining the Holy Days for Israel. I am unaware of any such historical documentation.]

4. Evidence against the Karaite Calendar's antiquity claim: the reader needs to understand that it will not be possible to go to an ancient source and say: "Hear, read this, this directly says that they did not use the barley harvest as the primary basis for determining the first month. Why? Because if they actually never used any such criteria, then they would have no reason to write about it. Thus, the absence of finding any documentation is actually significant evidence against the antiquity claim of the barley harvest criteria.

5. "The Talmud the Steinsaltz Edition", Volume XIV Tractate Ta'anit Part II, Copyright 1995 by Israel Institute for Talmudic Publications and Milta Books, ISBN 0-679-44398-3, pages 68 – 71: The topic is "when to sound an alarm"; which tells people to begin to fast in order to avert a natural crisis; in this case the lack of rainfall which would result in a crisis of crop failure. Certainly the lack of rainfall would effect the barley harvest. In fact, in years of drought the barley harvest would fail entirely, certainly a crisis situation if the barley harvest were used as the primary criteria for determining the first month. However, read what is said. It is obvious that the crop failures did not effect the determination of the Holy Days.

Quote: "Even if the first and second rainfalls have failed to arrive on time, it is not yet time to begin fasting, . . . But if the third rainfall fails to arrive, it is time to begin observing the series of fasts decreed in times of drought. . . . But if the crops have dried up completely, so that there is no longer any chance of saving them, there is no purpose in sounding the alarm, for any prayers offered in this case would be considered prayer said in vain. . . . [the topic turns to discussing droughts effecting trees] . . . For trees close to Pesah. If Pesah is approaching and the rain has not fallen in sufficient quantities for the trees, fasts are proclaimed and special prayers are recited until there is adequate rain. Similarly if Sukkot is approaching and the storage cisterns contain little water, fasts must be observed until there is adequate rainfall."

[Note that Pesah is approaching. For Passover to be approaching it's date must have already been established. Yet the situation is that of a drought. The lack of having a barley harvest had no effect in their determination of the first month and the date of Passover.

Inversely, the ancient writers obviously thought about and wrote about the absence of rainfall, which naturally effects the timing, quality, and existence of the barley harvest. If this harvest were a criteria for determining the calendar, they certainly had the opportunity to write something about its effect on the calendar, and / or, what to do when the barley harvest failed or was delayed. But, they did not write about the barley harvest's effect on the calendar. This demonstrates that the barley harvest's effect on the calendar was not an important topic to write about, further suggesting that the barley harvest had no effect on their calendar.]

6. Page 75 - 76, Quote: "On one occasion all Israel went up to Jerusalem for one of the Pilgrim Festivals, and there was not enough water in the city for everyone to drink. . . . The Roman official scoffed at Nakdimon, saying: 'All year long, rain has not fallen, and yet you still think that rain will fall now before the day is over?' . . . Nakdimon said to God: 'Master of the Universe! You know full well that I made the agreement with the Roman official, I did not act for my own personal honor, nor did I act for the honor of my father's house. Rather I acted for Your honor, O God, so that water would be available for all the pilgrims who arrived in Jerusalem for the Festival. Cause it to rain now, so that Your holy Name is not desecrated. Immediately the sky became filled with clouds, and rain fell heavily until the twelve wells were filled with water and overflowed."

[Certainly a year's drought would have effected the barley harvest and all other non-astronomical natural circumstances. If the barley harvest effects the calendar, then how could "all Israel" know when to pilgrimage to Jerusalem to keep the Festivals?

The ancient writers were concerned with droughts and crop conditions, but they write as if they always knew when the festivals were to be held. In years of drought, in years in which the barley harvest is adversely effected, if the barley harvest were a criteria for determining the calendar's postponements, then why are the ancient writers ignoring the much more important topic, writing only about rain and prayers, and not about the effected calendar and the effected dates for the Holy Days? The only possible answer is that the barley harvest was not a criteria for the calendar, therefore there was nothing to write about.]

7. Noah, while afloat in his ark could not observe any barley harvest. Yet it is manifest that Noah was still able to accurately record months and days throughout the year, even though he had no witness of barley ripening in Jerusalem.

8. Other. Lessor, objections:

A. Moses and the Exodus calendar events were measured from Egypt, not Jerusalem. The barley harvest in Jerusalem was not a criteria for them.

B. Moses and Israel in the desert for 40 years: is it being claimed that they were using the wrong calendar because they could not observe the Jerusalem barley harvest or new crescents, and therefore could not know the true first month of the year and first days of the months?

C. Where in Genesis 1:14 is the Jerusalem barley harvest and new crescents decreed to be the criteria for determining the Mohadahs?

D. Prior to modern times, observers of YHWH's Mohadahs in lands outside of Jerusalem, like China, America, and Europe, were without hope of using the right calendar.

E. Not all Karaites use the barley harvest calendar. Other Karaites use the observed calendar with the astronomical equinox as the criteria for determining the seasons.

9. The preponderance of evidence converges upon the same conclusion: the use of the barley harvest as a criteria for the calendar is an invention. Of course there are logical reasons and Biblical scriptures which can be used to "make the case" for its use. But this logic is still human reasoning, when it is compared to the calendar that was actually used by the priests of the Second Temple as the one official calendar of Israel and the Temple's Holy Day ceremonies.

In Service To The Brethren,

Wayne L. Atchison,

An Elder in the Body of the Messiah