[Avodah] Yom Tov Sheni for Olim LeReget to the Beit Mikdash

[Simon Montagu]

On Sun, Nov 15, 2009 at 7:09 PM, <T613K at aol.com> wrote:

>
>  From: rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com
>
>
>  >> Also see above that the Aruch Laner that states "New moon is never
> visible in the morning" <<
>
> >>>>>
> Those of you with scientific knowledge -- is this true?
>

Yes.

As you quote below, "each day the moon rises and sets about fifty minutes
later than the previous day.  In the middle of the lunar month when the moon
is full, it rises at about sunset and sets at about sunrise." Around new
moon it rises at about sunrise and sets at about sunset.

So the moon can't be seen during the day around full moon, when it is only
in the sky during the night, and around new moon when it is too close to the
sun and its light is lost in the glare (except in the case of a solar
eclipse). A day or two before the molad it is rising a little before the
sun, and is close enough to the sun that it can only be seen after moonrise
and before sunrise; and a day or two after the molad it is setting a little
after the sun and close enough that it can only be seen after sunset and
before moonset -- which was the time when potential eidim looked out for it.



>
> Re Ber. 19:23, Sodom was destroyed as the sun rose.  Rashi says there it
> was the time when the sun and the moon are both in the sky (so that
> sun-worshippers and moon-worshippers would both see that their gods could
> not save them). A/S in a footnote says, "Each day the moon rises and sets
> about fifty minutes later than the previous day.  In the middle of the lunar
> month when the moon is full, it rises at about sunset and sets at about
> sunrise.  Thus, on the dawn of the sixteenth of Nisan, the day on which
> Sodom was destroyed, the sun and the moon are both visible at dawn."  This
> seems to indicate that only the full moon, but not the new moon, is visible
> at dawn.
>

Digression: one might ask why davka the 16th, since the moon is visible at
dawn throughout the second half of the lunar month. I believe this is
because AZ connected to the moon (and some modern superstitions) believed
that the power of the moon varies with its phases, so that they would have
expected it to be it at its most powerful at this time, thus making the
lesson most effective.


> However, see this picture that I found of the new moon apparently visible
> at dawn -- or perhaps this is just /before/ dawn and once the sun rises, the
> new moon will no longer be visible?
>
>
> http://thegreenbelt.blogspot.com/2009/05/sky-watch-new-moon-and-morning-star-2.html
>

That's not the new moon, it's the old moon. How do I know? Firstly because
the moon has a "D" shape in the first half of the month and a "C" shape in
the second half (mnemonic: it's the opposite of what you would expect: C for
Crescendus and D for Decrescendus), and secondly because the blogpost is
dated May 24 2009 and says the picture was taken "Tuesday morning", which
would put it on 25 Iyyar)
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