[Avodah] Where is the Molad announced for?

[Zev Sero]

On 27/12/20 10:17 am, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote:
> 
> But the *real* question on the table isn't whether or not *we* should 
> care which meridian the molad is based on. Rather, when Rosh Chodesh was 
> declared by the Beis Din after interrogating the witnesses, did that 
> Beis Din care about such things? It is obvious to me that they must have 
> cared, and known, and included these calculations in the verification of 
> the testimony of the witnesses. The logic is quite simple: Suppose the 
> molad is calculated to be at 7:00 PM, based on the Yerushalayim 
> meridian. If someone says he saw it in Yerushalayim at 7:05 local time, 
> he can be believed. But if he claims to have seen it in Bavel at 7:05 
> local time, he should not be believed, because the calculated molad had 
> not yet occurred.


This doesn't work, because the calculated "molad" is the conjunction of 
the *average* moon with the *average* sun, both of which are imaginary 
bodies.  When witnesses come they report having seen the *actual* moon, 
which may well have already had its conjunction, and be visible *before* 
the average moon's conjunction.


-- 
Zev Sero            Wishing everyone a *healthy* and happy 5781
zev at sero.name       "May this year and its curses end
                      May a new year and its blessings begin"