<html><body>
<p>One of RYR's Qs essentially was "If 'B'Tishri nivra ha'olam,' why do we say Bircas haChamah in Nisan?" w/ his answer being (based on a Tos'fos in BT Rosh haShanah 27) that we hold like R'Eliezer (b'Tishri) in the world of machshavah and like R'Y'hoshua (b'Nisan) in the world of ma'aseh (i.e. that alah b'da'as hQbH to create the world before He actually [in what we call Nisan] created the world). My Q is: don't we calculate the average molad going back to Tishri rather than Nisan? Now, Googling a bit, I see that R'Micha had some comments a few years ago re the starting point for molad calculations (see <a href="http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol14/v14n071.shtml#19">http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol14/v14n071.shtml#19</a> ; for further Avodah posts on the topic of Molad Tohu, see <a href="http://www.google.com/m?mrestrict=xhtml&eosr=on&ct=fsh&q=site%3Aaishdas.org+molad+tohu">http://www.google.com/m?mrestrict=xhtml&eosr=on&ct=fsh&q=site%3Aaishdas.org+molad+tohu</a> ), but I would like to note another Webpage (<a href="http://www.hamodia.com/inthepaper.cfm?ArticleID=143">http://www.hamodia.com/inthepaper.cfm?ArticleID=143</a> ) as having an answer for my Q, and I quote: "Other commentaries offer different explanations for the fact that we reckon the astronomy-based halachos from Nisan but count years from Tishrei, with some explaining that although the sun and moon may have been created in Tishrei, the beginning of their cycles was actually the equinox before - but it was a 'theoretical' equinox. Similarly, the animals were created fully matured and the trees fully grown, and the sun and moon were also created in the middle of their cycles. So even though they may have been created in Tishrei, their cycle had theoretically started on the previous (theoretical) equinox, in Nisan. The Rishonim use this reasoning in regard to the first molad (phase) of the moon, taking into account the theoretical molad that 'happened' before the actual creation of the moon (see Tosafos Rosh Hashanah 8b litekufos)." That A sounds like it's saying, "Your Q, RMP, is not a Q, as we calculate the molad from Nisan, but it's worth noting that Molad Tohu is actually not a few days before Shnas Adam but more like six months before it!" Did I understand that Hamodia article correctly? Thanks. <br>
<br>
Gut Voch/Shavua Tov and all the best from<br>
--Michael Poppers via RIM pager</body></html>