Mishnah/Talmud Rules for Intercalating the year in the form of a flowchart

Mishnah/Talmud Rules for Intercalating theyear in the form of a flowchart Begin Is the Equinox on or Earlier than the 15th Day of the 12th Month? Yes Please click on the yes or no answers to follow the chart. You can restart to try different answers. No

Is there a famine (drought) Yes No

Add Addar II Click

End Click here for dicussion

No Adar II Click

Is it a Sabbath Year or the Spring after a Sabbath Year? Yes No

Below Average Temperature Or Snow? Yes No

Is it possible to inspect Judea, Galilee, and the Transjordan? Yes No

Is there Aviv Barley in 2/3 Territories? Yes No

Is there Aviv Barley in 1/3 territories Yes No

Fruit trees in 2/3 territories Sprouted? Yes No

The early equinox would be cited To overrule the lack of barley, or the famine or Too cold winter questions would be revised To "yes" if this outcome were anticipated. Click

The early equniox would be cited To overrule the lack of fruit buds, or The answer to the famine, or below Average temperature rules would be Revised if this outcome were anticipated Click

The reason for the Mishnaic rules on intercalation was to satisfy two parties. First, the calendar council by using the rules in the right order or revising their answers to previous questions could always manage to satisfy the strict astronomical rule that Aviv be as soon as possible such that the 15th of the month fall on the day of the equinox or after. The reason for the copious agricultural rules was not because the calendar council needed them to know when to intercalate, but to have ready reasons for the non-astronomically inclined Jews, or to satisfy by whatever means necessary Jews who denied the validity of the astronomical rules of Genesis 1:14. The calendar council, was in effect, trying to unify all the parties, even though they themselves had the secrets of calculation of the equinox and the new moon. After the dispersion from the land, the Rabbis quit using any agricultural reasoning to justify the calendar. At the same time, however, they quit making observations of when the equinox would occur, assuming that it did not change. They were wrong. The equinoxes precess due to the fact that the earth has a wobble (or the universe for geocentrists). As a result, by the 20th century, the Rabbinic intercalation is 7 days off, meaning that in ¼ of all years, they are a month late. Please see the presentation on Celestial Foundations to understand why the Karaite method of using barley is inconsistent. Also, one should see that from these rules, the calendar council could always say it was too cold, or too dry to overrule any apparent lack of barley in the rare case that it is not to be found before the equinox. On average the barley is ripe enough to eat roasted about a week before the equinox, though not ripe enough to be mass harvested.

Mishnah/Talmud Rules for Intercalating the year in the form of a flowchart