[Avodah] Pesach at equinox (formerly: YT Sheini Shell Golah and the Internet )

[Zev Sero]

D&E-H Bannett wrote:

> Pesach in Chodesh Ha'aviv is not a problem for the future but one that 
> already exists.  For example, in 2005 (year 8 of cycle), the first day 
> of Pesach was on April 24th. In 2016 (year 19), it will be on April 23.
> 
> In year 8, the worst case, Pesach has not been in Chodesh Ha'aviv for 
> well over 400 years  and has gradually begun to appear in the other leap 
> years as well.

I think you're making a basic mistake: "shamor et chodesh ha'aviv", in
its astronomical sense, means that Nissan must not come *before* the
equinox, not that it must come immediately after.  In fact we *know*
that it need not be the month immediately after the equinox, because
in addition to the astronomical date, which is easily determined, the
BD also took into account the state of the roads, the barley crops,
and the lambing season.  That can only mean that sometimes the BD would
add a month to the year *even though the equinox had already passed*,
but it had been too cold or wet.  Clearly, therefore, "shamor et
chodesh ha'aviv" cannot possibly mean what you seem to say it means.

Therefore the problem will not arise for a very long time, and by
then it will surely have become moot.  But if ch"v it doesn't, I
believe it would be covered by "atem afilu {shogegin, mut'in, anusin,
mezidin}".


-- 
Zev Sero                      The trouble with socialism is that you
zev at sero.name                 eventually run out of other people’s money
                                                     - Margaret Thatcher