The beginning of the year on YAHWEH’s calendar begins in the Spring (Aviv) when things like flowers and trees are coming back to life as they began to bloom again, and it begins to warm up outside. The New Year does not occur in the fall as Judaism falsely claims on their civil calendar, which they call Rosh Hashanah when things are beginning to die and it gets cold outside. This year on the Zadok Priestly Calendar the FIRST Day of the FIRST month will be on March 22nd. And this day is important because it is a High-Shabbat, a Day of Remembrance, a Feast Day, and the beginning of the spring season.
Exodus 12:1
“And YAHWEH spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month is the BEGINNING OF MONTHS for you, it is the FIRST MONTH of the year for you.”
We are to blow the shofar at the beginning of every month; therefore, blowing the shofar would be included as a part of our observance for the First Day of the First Month.
Numbers 10:10
“And in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed times, and at the BEGINNING OF YOUR MONTHS you shall blow the trumpets over your ascending offerings and over your slaughtering’s of peace offerings. And they shall be a remembrance for you before your ELOHIM. I am יהוה (YAHWEH) your ELOHIM.””
Psalms 81:3
“Blow a shofar in the NEW MONTH, in the covering for the day of our festival.”
The First Day of the First month is the start of the spring season, so we are to blow the shofar, have a feast, and do no work because it is a HIGH-SHABBAT as it is recorded in the Temple Scroll that was found in the Dead Scrolls in cave #11.
Temple Scroll page 287-289 Column 14:9-11
“And on the FIRST DAY of the FIRST MONTH, THE FIRST OF THE MONTHS, which is the BEGINNING OF THE MONTHS of the year. Any laborious work you shall NOT DO-EXCEPT FOR WHAT IS TO BE EATEN by each person this only you may prepare for yourselves.”
This is the same directive we are given during the Feast of Unleavened Bread where our Father YAHWEH says we can cook on the first and seventh day of Feast of Unleavened Bread, because they are High-Shabbats, but we cannot work on those days, and the same applies to the first day of the first month.
Exodus 12:15-16 (Samaritan Torah)
“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the FIRST DAY (HIGH-SHABBAT) you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, and that soul shall be cut off from Yisra’el. And on the FIRST DAY( HIGH-SHABBAT) you shall have a set-apart reading, and a set-apart reading on the SEVENTH DAY (HIGH-SHABBAT). NO WORK at all shall be done on them, EXCEPT WHAT MUST BE EATEN by every soul, that alone may be PREPARED BY YOU.”
We can prepare food because it’s a feast day and it matches what we see being done in the following scriptures:
Jubilees 6:23-28
“And on the FIRST of the FIRST MONTH (Spring/March 22nd), and on the of the first of fourth month (summer), and on the first of the seventh month (fall), and on the first of the tenth month (winter) are the DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE, and the days of the seasons in the four divisions of the year. These are written and ordained as a testimony FOREVER. And Noah ordained them for himself as FEASTS for the generations FOREVER, so that they have become thereby a memorial unto him. And on the FIRST of the FIRST MONTH he was bidden to make for himself an ark, and on that (day) the earth became dry and he opened (the ark) and saw the earth. And on the first of the fourth month the mouths of the depths of the abyss beneath were closed. And on the first of the seventh month all the mouths of the abysses of the earth were opened, and the waters began to descend into them. And on the first of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen, and Noah was glad. And on this account he ordained them for himself as feasts for a memorial forever, and thus are they ordained.”
Jubilees 7:2-3
“And in the seventh week in the first year, in the this jubilee, Noah planted vines on the mountain on which the ark rested, named Lubar, one of the Mountains of Ararat, and they produced fruit in the fourth year. And he made wine from them and put it into a vessel, and kept it until the fifth year, until the FIRST DAY, on the FIRST OF THE FIRST MONTH. And he celebrated with joy the day of this FEAST, and he made a burnt sacrifice unto YAHWEH, one young ox and one ram, and seven sheep, each a year old, and a kid of the goats, that he might make atonement thereby for himself and his sons.”
Genesis Apocryphon 12:13-15 (Found in the Dead Sea Scrolls cave #1)
“And I (Noah), with all my sons, began to cultivate the earth. I planted a large vineyard on Mount Lubar, and in the fourth year it produced much wine for me, and I brought down all the wine. When the FIRST FEAST came, on the FIRST DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH, which is in the FIRST MONTH…of my vineyard. I opened the vessel and began to drink from it on the first day of the fifth year.”
We currently don’t know exactly how the feasts were celebrated, but we can clearly see it was a feast day as recorded in Jubilees and Genesis Apocryphon, and a high-shabbat according to the Temple Scroll. Outside of the obvious of doing no work, I would suggest cooking good food on the grill or a good meal in general, remembering the events of the flood account by reading Genesis and Jubilees for the remembrance portion, recognizing it is the beginning of a new season, and blowing the shofar.
I and others strongly believe it was the First Day of the First month when Saul was having a feast and David was going to go, which would show that they were familiar with the Zadok Priestly Calendar. However, it’s not clear as to why Saul held a three-day feast.
1 Samuel 20:5
“And Daviḏ said to Jonathan, “See, tomorrow is the CHODESH NEW MONTH, and I ought to be DINING with the king.. But let me go, and I shall hide in the field until the THIRD DAY at evening.”
1 Samuel 20:18
“Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is CHODESH (NEW MONTH), and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.”
1 Samuel 20:24
“And Daviḏ hid in the field. And when the CHODESH (NEW MONTH) came, the sovereign sat down by the food to EAT.”
Again, there is strong reason to believe it was the First Day of the First Month because on the Zadok Priestly Calendar the First Day of the First Month always falls on a Wednesday the fourth day of the week. So, in 1 Samuel 20:5 we read that David said he would hide for THREE days, and three days from Wednesday would be the 7th Day Shabbat (Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night) just as it on the Zadok Priestly Calendar. The only reason David could not participate in the meal is because Saul intended to do David harm but was warned by Jonathan to flee. David was very familiar with the 364 Day Solar Calendar because he wrote a song for each day of the year. According to the book “The meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls” the solar calendar which is found in Enoch and Jubilees PREDATES the Qumran community and thus proving its ancient origin. In the “. Here is a description of the contents of the “Great Psalms Scroll” which found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Wikipedia states:
The 364 songs for the daily sacrifice and other items (fifty-two Sabbath songs, and thirty songs for monthly offerings and festivals) show that this Psalter was arranged in accordance with the year, weeks, and months of the 364-day solar calendar. Thus David is associated with the calendar evident in the books of 1 Enoch and Jubilees, and used by the Yahad Essenes at Qumran and elsewhere.
David’s Compositions (11QPsa, col. 27:1–11)
Now David, son of Jesse, was wise, and he shined like the light of the sun. And he was a scribe, and discerning, and blameless in all his ways before ELOHIM and humankind. YAHWEH gave him a discerning and shining spirit, so that he wrote:
· Psalms: 3,600.
· Songs to sing before the altar over the daily perpetual offering for all the days of the year: 364.
· For the Sabbath offerings: 52 songs.
· For the new month offerings, all the festival days, and the Day of Atonement: 30 songs.
· The total for all the songs that he composed was 446.
· Also, songs for making music over people afflicted by demons:
· And the sum total (Psalms and Songs) was 4,050.
· All of these he composed through prophecy, which was given to him by the Most High.
Other events on the First Day of the First Month:
Jubilees 28:14
“And again Jacob went in to Leah, and she conceived, and bare him a third son, and he called his name Levi, on the FIRST DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH in the sixth year of this week.”
Exodus 40:1-2 (Samaritan Torah)
“And YAHWEH spoke to Moses, saying, on the FIRST DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH you shall set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. And you shall put in it the Ark of the Testimony, and partition off the ark with the mercy seat. And you shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it, and you shall bring in the menorah and light its candles. And you shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put up the screen for the gate of the tabernacle. And you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the gate of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water therein. And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate.”
Exodus 40:17 (Samaritan Torah)
“And it came to pass in the FIRST MONTH in the second year since their exodus from Egypt, ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH, the tabernacle was raised.”
Animal sacrifices were required on the First Day of the First Month according to the Temple Scroll, so this was the start of them being able to do so now that the Tabernacle was being set up for the first time.
Temple Scroll page 287-289 Column 14:9-13
“And on the first day of the first month, the first of the months, which is the beginning of the months of the year. Any laborious work you shall NOT do-EXCEPT FOR WHAT IS TO BE EATEN by each person this only you may prepare for yourselves.” And you shall make a burnt-offering for YAHWEH: one male calf, one ram, seven yearling lambs, unblemished, and one goat for the purification offering besides the monthly burnt offering…”
The Tabernacle was set up in the BEGINNING OF THE NEW YEAR and makes me think of when YESHUA comes to reign on earth that it will be the BEGINNING OF NEW YEARS of Righteous rule from the Righteous King with Him reigning for 1,000 years in the Temple.
I pray that this helps you as we return to the ancient paths of worship and as always may YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!