[Avodah] sefirah perushim and zadukim

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 03:16:46PM -0400, T613K at aol.com wrote:
: In this case, I believe that they taught that you cut the first barley on  
: the first Motzai Shabbos of Pesach, whether Shabbos happened to be the first 
: day  of Pesach or the last day or whatever day of Pesach it fell, and they 
: celebrated  Shavuos seven weeks after that, always on a Sunday....

That's the way they teach it when they teach gemara, but WADR to my
rabbeim, I think they misunderstood. The standard way of explaining
the Tzeduqi position when teaching gemara is based on the assumption
that they held like the Qara'im later did.

If there is any relationship between the Tzeduqi calendar and that
described in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Tzeduqim made Pesach the same
day of the week every year. The Qumran sect had a year of an even
number of weeks -- 364 days. (The Xian Easter is similar, but assumes
a significance to Pesach beginning on Thursday, not Shabbos.) Seifer
haYovelim (a pseudepigraphic book often attributed to Alexander Yannai)
also assumes a 364 day year. And if the theory of authorship is correct,
that would certainly link it to the Tzeduqim.

What I find compelling about this (other than the existence of a number
of other positions attributed by the gemara to the Tzuqim found in the
DSS) is that it would explain why Rabban Gamliel was plagued by Tzeduqim
giving false testimony about seeing the new moon. They were doctoring
Sanhedrin's data to make their calendar happen.

But it would mean that they too would start counting the omer from the
2nd day of Pesach. What they differ on is whether that day must ALSO
be a Sunday.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 20th day, which is
micha at aishdas.org        2 weeks and 6 days in/toward the omer.
http://www.aishdas.org   Yesod sheb'Tifferes: What role does harmony
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