The Beginning of the Year According to Torah
6th-day, Month 10, 12th
Friday, January 2nd, 2026
Greetings to the called-out assembly of believers who walk in the set-apart way of Father Yahuah through His Son Yahusha Ha’Mashiach. I pray that you all are living in the blessings, grace and mercy of Yahuah by obedience to His commandments.
Introduction
From the beginning of the creation Elohiym has put a system in place to keep track of time. This time keeping method was first done by His presence and His presence alone. We can see this in the opening of the scriptures:
Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 1:3-5 – “And Elohiym said, Let there be light: and there was light. And Elohiym saw the light, that it was good: and Elohiym divided the light from the darkness. And Elohiym called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
**This first day began when Elohiym said let there be light, no source is given for the light but it was made by the command of His Word, and the evening and the morning completed this first day. The light constituted day and the night was constituted by the dark time between the evening and the morning.
The second day started when the light appeared again and the next two days, days two and three, followed this same sequence of the light appearing – starting a new day – the light leaving causing the evening and transition to the night, then the morning transition back to light with the appearance of the light starting the new day.
The fourth day started this way but then for some reason, Elohiym created lights in the firmament of the heaven:
Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 1:14 – “And Elohiym said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:”
**The creation of these lights were to do the job of the original light which was created to only divide the day from the night plus these lights were created to do other jobs also, they were given for signs, for seasons and for years which is where we first see the use of the word year(s).
Definitions of a Year
The word used for years at the end of Bere’shiyth 1:14 is שָׁנִֽים (shaniym) which is SHW 8141 and it is from SHW 8138 (see SHW 8138 below). SHW 8141 is the dominant Hebrew word that year is translated from and is found ±875 times in the Tanakh.
SHW 8141 שָׁנֶה (shanah) is a year (as a revolving unit of time): year (797x), not translated (55x), yearly (3x).
Shanah means year (Bere’shiyth 1:14). 1. The year may based on the relationship between the seasons and the sun, the solar year or agricultural year (Shemoth 23:16; Devariym 16:9-12). 2. It can be based on a correlation of the seasons and the moon (lunar year) (Bemidbar 28:11-15). 3. These systems appear sided by side at least from the time of Mosheh. An exact picture of the Old Testament year is difficult to obtain.
**As you can see from #3b, the definition may be confusing and hard to understand without more study and therefore “an exact picture…is difficult to obtain”. Since it is difficult to obtain from this one definition, let’s take a quick look at the other Hebrew words that are sometimes translated as “year” and the first will be the primitive root SHW 8141 is from.
SHW 8138 שָׁנָה (shanah); a primitive root; to fold, i.e. duplicate (literally or figuratively); by implication to transmute (transitively or intransitively); – change (7x), second time (3x), again (3x), diverse (2x), alter (1x), disguise (1x), doubled (1x), pervert (1x), preferred (1x), repeateth (1x), misc. (1x) = disguise, return.
**This definition may not seem to provide much insight but if we look at the definition “to transmute” it may be easier to understand once we get to the actual commandment of when a year is to begin.
There are three other Hebrew words which are sometimes translated as year and they are SHW 3117, SHW 8027, and SHW 8140 (which corresponds to 8141).
SHW 3117 יוֹם (yom) is most often defined as the English word day but according to definition 4. When used in plural, the word may represent “year” : “Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year [yamiym]” (Shemoth 13:10). It is used to
SHW 8027 שָׁלַשׁ (shalash) is used in relation to something being three years old and is only found 3 times and they are all in the same verse Bere’shiyth 15:9.
From the above definitions a year is defined as a revolving unit that is used to measure time. The time period that it is used to measure may seem ambiguous, but we are given a few key terms that I believe will help us to understand the period of time that it is measuring.
Before we get into that, let’s look at the scriptures that tell us when the beginning of the year is supposed to be.
The Beginning of the Year in Torah
The beginning of the year is first mentioned in Torah when Yahuah gives Mosheh and Aharon the commandments on how to guard the Pesach:
Shemoth (Exodus) 12:1-3 – “And Yahuah spake unto Mosheh and Aharon in the land of Mitsrayim, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months:it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the assembly of Yashar’el, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:”
**This is Yahuah speaking directly to Mosheh and Aharon, commanding them that this month (SHW 2320) is to be the beginning (SHW 7218) of the months for the assembly of Yashar’el. Then to ensure that there is no confusion, Yahuah continues the command with it shall be the first (SHW 7223) month of the year (SHW 8141) to you.
This seems to make it crystal clear that the beginning of the year is tied to the Pesach and the month in which the Pesach occurs is the first month of the year. So if it is this simple, how do we know when this first month is?
Yahuah continues to give the commandments on how to guard the Pesach and the Feast of Matstsah and He tells what He is getting ready to do in Mitsrayim to Mosheh and Aharon who then command Yashar’el on what Yahuah has commanded them. The commandments from Yahuah are obeyed by Yashar’el and at midnight, on the selfsame day, Yahuah killed all the firstborn of the land of Mitsrayim causing Pharaoh to thrust the children of Yashar’el out of the land of Mitsrayim. After the children of Yashar’el were thrust out of Mitsrayim, Yahuah once again commands Mosheh and Aharon on the ordinance of the Pesach, that it is for Yashar’el and the stranger that sojourns among them, all who have been circumcised, and the children of Yashar’el did all that Yahuah had commanded Mosheh and Aharon. Therefore it came to pass on the fourteenth day of the first month of the year at midnight Yahuah brought the children of Yashar’el out of the land of Mitsrayim by their hosts.
This concludes the twelfth chapter of Shemoth leading us to the place where we can find the definition of this first month:
Shemoth (Exodus) 13:3-4 – “And Mosheh said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Mitsrayim, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Yahuah brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came ye out in the month Aviyv.”
**This first month in which the Pesach is to be guarded is given the name Aviyv. With the name given, we are still at a loss as to when this month of Aviyv is. In order to get a better understanding let’s go ahead and define the word Aviyv which is SHW 24.
SHW 24 אָבִיב (abiyb) is from an unused root (meaning to be tender); green, i.e. a young ear of grain; hence, the name of the month Aviyv: – Aviyv (6x), in the ear (1x), green ears of grain (1x).
** The word Aviyv is used six times out of eight with the word month directly beside of it or in close proximity. Shemoth 13:4, 23:8 & 34:18 (2x) ; and Devariym 16:1 (2x).
So we know that it is used with the word month six out of the eight times it is found but this doesn’t help to identify which month it is, so let’s look at the other two times it is used and the first one is:
Shemoth (Exodus) 9:31 – “And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.”
**The barley was in the ear means that the barley had developed heads (ears) but wasn’t fully mature, often being described as in the “dough” or “wax” stage, meaning it was green and still soft but developed enough to be smitten/damaged by the hail, signifying a critical time in the agricultural calendar. This gives us the critical piece of the puzzle that we were missing from definition number 1 of SHW 8141 above.
The second and last time SHW 24 is used that isn’t connected to the word month is:
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 2:14 – “And if thou offer an oblation of thy firstfruits unto Yahuah, thou shalt offer for the oblation of thy firstfruits green ears of grain dried by the fire, even grain beaten out of full ears.”
**The green ears of grain were used in the offerings of the first fruits to Yahuah and they had to be dried. It is implied that with the previous connection to the barley, that this first fruits offering was made with barley and had to be transmuted, by being dried by the fire and beaten out of full ears.
From the scriptures and definitions given above, we can see that the first month of the year is when the barley is in the aviyv or green ear stage. This also gives us the end of the previous year which has to be right before the new one starts. In next week’s blog, we will look at how the scriptures define a month and when it is to start.
Sources of Confusion About Yahuah’s Calendar
There are many sources of confusion about Yahuah’s calendar and we will take a brief look at the main ones that affect those who claim to be obedient to His commandments:
1. The Word Calendar
The word “calendar” nor any equivalent technical term for a calendrical system, is ever used in Scripture (Hebrew Scriptures or Brit Ha’Dashah). There are no Hebrew or Greek words in scripture that mean: calendar, timetable, chronological system or fixed date system that I have found from the original text. The word calendar was invented by man and not Yahuah.
Ding, ding, ding!! But the title of this series is Yahuah’s Calendar!! Glad you caught that and it was used to relate to something everyone understands according to the world but not according Yahuah’s word.
2. Fixed Time Periods for Yahuah’s Year
Humanity, especially the leaders of humanity, love to control things as much as possible by defining everything into things that create order for them. No where in the scriptures does it give a fixed amount of time, months or days, for how long Yahuah’s year is supposed to be. The length of a year defined by a set number of months or days is a man made construct used to add order to the world of man but Yahuah’s world is defined by obedience to His commandments which command us to watch and wait for Yahuah’s signs. This was clearly ordained in Bere’shiyth 1:14 on the fourth day and is why the lights in the firmament were created. Yahuah’s time is not our time, He does things according to His good will and not our need for fixed time periods.
3. Pride and Self Reliance
Throughout the history of mankind, calendars have came and gone, changed with whoever was ruling at the time. The only one that hasn’t changed is Yahuah’s because it is set by Him. Our pride and wanting to be self reliant causes us to want things to be when we want them to be or in a way that we can predict when they are, but we are reminded throughout the scriptures to not rely on our own understanding and the passage that sums this up is:
Mishlei (Proverbs) 3:5-6 – “Trust in Yahuah with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
We are not to trust in our system or any other system for guarding Yahuah’s Moediym, we are to trust in Him and He will direct us to where He wants each and every one of us to be.
Conclusion
Yahuah’s year continues to be a source of heated debate among the body of Mashiach Yahusha and those who claim to follow Yahuah. A table outlining how each of these groups observe their year can be found in the short blog “New Years Eve and New Years Day – Janus the Two Faced Demon“.
Following Yahuah’s commandments on His moediym can be a little challenging, especially in today’s society. Everyone is so busy and the need for things to be in a way that we can predict and plan around seems to be paramount, but is this what Father Yahuah wants for you and your walk with Him. Do you want the predictability of man’s systems or do you want the reliability of Elohiym’s provision and His plan for your life?
We all have this freedom of choice that Yahuah has given. Once again, I am not saying the way He is leading and showing me to guard His moediym is the way He wants you to guard them, that is between you and Him. What I do need to do here is provide you with what Ruach Elohiym has revealed to me through the Canonized Scriptures and then my responsibility is finished.
Many choose to use one system or another, just because one group or another uses a different one.
The uncomfortableness and humility of not knowing for certain the dates for Yahuah’s upcoming feast is something that I will have to deal with as we approach them. I am going to have to give two possible dates that I will need to have off in order to observe Matstsah (fist and last day – Vayiqra 23:6-8) because of Yahuah’s timing on the Aviyv in Yashar’el. This will be tricky as I start a new job, but by Elohiym’s will, I will do what He directs me to do according to His word found in scripture.
Next week we will look a what is defined as a month by the scriptures, followed by what a week is according to scriptures which defines when the Shabbath is, and then we will revisit The Biblical Definition of a Day which will give further insight, understanding and of course the scriptural references to support everything for each of the topics. The Feast Calendar for the upcoming start of Yahuah’s year (the year’s start, Pesach and the Feast of Matstsah) will have the possible dates for the two scenarios for each by next week’s blog as well.
Thank you for the questions and comments you send, they encourage and help me to research things that may not have been covered or I may have not even considered. Your input is highly valued and greatly appreciated!
I pray that you all have a blessed 6th-day and remember that Yahuah’s Shabbath Feast Day of Rest is tomorrow!
Shalom,
Minister Pat