When it comes to keeping The Most High’s Biblical calendar, there are many opinions out there these days. Some start the year with a dark moon, some on the equinox, some follow fixed date calendars, some just follow the ways of their teachers & assemblies because they don’t understand it for themselves. Before we go any further, I’ll share my quick opinion—no matter where you stand, I’m glad to see the growing number of people who are trying to return to our Father’s calendar. Even if we miss the exact timing, it’s far better to seek and try to get on YAH’s time than to ignore it and live by the calendars of Rome, Babylon, Egypt, or the USA.
Alright, now, let’s get into this huge topic and I assure you, we won’t take up too much time🙃…But a couple of things might help you get closer to being right on time.
The Foundation: 7 Day Cycle That Never Changes
From the beginning, YAH set the pattern during creation week: six days of labor followed by rest on the seventh (Genesis 2:2–3). That seven-day cycle remains unbroken—it never shifts with the moon or sun. It simply repeats, week after week, testifying to YAH’s perfect rhythm. There is no Torah instruction to omit the counting of a day of any week, month, or year—so count each day and after the seventh day Sabbath (Shabbat), start the cycle over.
If this viewpoint feels controversial, take a moment to look for any Torah instruction or Biblical example showing a day being skipped—or the weekly Shabbat landing on a different day because of a new moon or new year. And yes, if you’re wondering about leap days and leap years, I’ll cover that in an addendum after the main blog.
New Months and New Years: Look Up
Unlike the steady rhythm of the 7-day week cycle, the start of months and years shifts—they aren’t tied to a specific day of the week, nor do they alter the weekly 7-day cycle. No matter when a new (renewed) month begins, the weekly Shabbat cycle remains exactly as YAH established it from the start.
Months begin once the first visible sliver of the renewed moon’s light is witnessed. As we see the moon wane towards the end of each month, we prepare for the renewal cycle to begin. When the new crescent appears, we rejoice—praising YAH for bringing us safely into another month. Our ancestors celebrated with the blowing of horns (trumpets/shofarot), and with New Moon feasts and offerings. And once again, many of us are now celebrating each new moon with thanksgiving to YAH!
And for an in-depth look at the topic of New Moon versus Full Moon, check out this word study from our achot Z, from The ARK:
Years begin in the month of Abib, when the grain heads are growing and ripening in the land (Exodus 9:31–32, 12:2, 13:4, 23:15, and 34:18); for much more on this, read this blog:
Seeing the growing abib/heads of grain is our primary signal, our foundational sign which we are commanded to observe by YAH, in His Torah instruction.
Also, the month of Abib usually falls just after the spring equinox, which serves as an additional complementary signal to the observed state of the growing crops. The sun, moon, and stars all work in harmony (Genesis 1:14) to help us know the appointed times of our Father. Without all of them, we cannot rightly keep YAH’s feasts.
This cartoon is helpful, and don’t get it twisted, it’s not just for children. And since it’s less than five minutes—watch it now, and come on back:
In addition to the video above, ensure that you visit The Hananiah Project, both the YouTube channel and the website https://www.hananiahproject.com for an incredible amount of resources for all ages.
Why Fixed Calendars Fall Short
Calendars that ignore the sun, moon, and stars working together, and instead keep static months or only consider the sun are not biblical. They can’t be followed naturally without heavy reliance on technology or detailed instruction. But YAH designed His calendar so simply that even a child can look up, see the new moon, and start counting the days of the month, as well as observe the sun and stars and know what season they are in.
What about the 13th month? Some reject it outright, but test it. Without it, your calendar will drift (like how the Roman calendar will drift without leap years)—without a 13th month, over time, you will end up celebrating the harvest feasts in winter. YAH’s feasts are directly tied to harvest seasons. A static year may look neat on paper, but again test it, check online, or with an AI if you choose, in 50 to 100 years, a static 354/360/364/365/384-day (or any other number of days) calendar won’t line up with Scripture or harvest seasons.
Resources to Help Get Your Time Right
Dr. Yoshiyahu, the Moreh (teacher) at The ARK and his staff, seek to make this journey as clear as possible. Check out our website, where we offer additional:
Lessons and series
Resource links to books, printouts, blogs, cartoons, and songs for your household
We recommend printing the calendar, adding the dates to your phone’s calendar, and writing the feast day dates on your wall calendar.
If you can’t see the new moon because of bad weather or location, don’t worry—there are people around the world who keep an eye out, watching for each month’s new moon crescent. You can follow along here: truthofyahweh.org/moon.htm.
Keep Looking Up
The biblical calendar isn’t just about dates. It’s about staying in rhythm with YAH’s creation, keeping His appointments on time, and training our eyes to look upward. His timepieces in the heavens remind us of His promises, and they also remind us that our redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28) — HalleluYAH!
Will any of those fixed-date calendars keep the seasons in the correct months without a year of correction or a “leap” year?
The short answer is: No. None of the fixed-date calendars can keep the seasons properly aligned indefinitely without some form of correction. Here’s why:
The reality of creation
The Earth’s solar year = 365.2422 days (roughly).
The lunar month = 29.53 days (12 months = ~354 days).
Neither divides evenly into the other. That’s why every workable calendar must occasionally adjust (leap month or leap day).
Fixed-day systems
360-day calendar: Will drift about 5¼ days earlier each year. In 72 years, Passover would fall a whole season early.
364-day calendar (Enoch/Essene): Drifts about 1¼ days later each year. In 120 years, feasts shift a whole season.
365-day calendar (Egyptian, Gregorian without leap years): Drifts about ¼ day earlier each year. In 128 years, seasons slip a month.
360 + 5 days (Egyptian fix): Same as 365-day calendar above.
✅ The only system that stays in sync
The biblical lunar-solar calendar (354 days + leap month when needed) is the only one that continually corrects itself. The leap month keeps the feast days tied to the harvest seasons (Deuteronomy 16:1, Exodus 23:16).
So bottom line:
Solar-only or lunar-only calendars, or fixed 360, 364, 365-day calendars — always drift (seasons shift out of sync).
Biblical lunar-solar (and star watching) — self-correcting with the leap month (every 3 years), keeps the times and seasons right.
What About the Zadok (364-Day) Calendar?
Some brothers and sisters ask about the “Zadok calendar”, which is essentially the Enoch calendar, which counts 364 days every year. This calendar is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Jubilees, and 1 Enoch. The Qumran community (who called themselves “sons of Zadok”) might have kept this system because they believed the lunar calendar of the Temple priests was corrupt.
On the 364-day system:
The Zadok calendar year is always exactly 52 weeks (7 × 52 = 364). Every feast day falls on the same weekday each year (for example, Passover always on a Tuesday). It feels neat and orderly — but there’s a major issue.
The problem:
The real solar year is ~365.24 days. That means the Zadok calendar runs 1¼ days too short every year. After 30 years, feast days are a whole month late. After about 120 years, the feasts have drifted a whole season — imagine celebrating Sukkot in the middle of summer or winter.
Did they fix it?
Some suggest they may have added a leap week from time to time, but there’s no evidence. Others think they simply ignored the drift, keeping the feasts on their fixed weekdays even if the seasons didn’t line up anymore.
Why it matters:
They might have believed that following the 364-day calendar was a sign of covenant faithfulness. But without a correction system, it doesn’t stay in line with the “timepieces in the sky” (Genesis 1:14) — the sun, moon, and stars — which YAH gave to mark times and seasons.
So while the Zadok calendar is an interesting historical calendar, it doesn’t solve the problem we talked about above. Only the Biblical lunar-solar & star system, with its “leap month”, keeps YAH’s appointed times tied to the right harvest seasons year after year.
No Shabbat-Shifting
One last point. We don’t “Shabbat shift,” we don’t shift any of YAH’s days.
The Torah rhythm is simple:
Work 6 days. Rest on the 7th. Repeat.
See the New moon, celebrate making it to a New month. Repeat.
This cycle never changes. It doesn’t matter how Rome, Babylon, Egypt, or America name their days & months — the creation cycle stands.
Some groups (like the Ashkenazim) adjust their calendars for postponements or traditions. But YAH never told us to add, skip, or ignore days. His way is simple:
Days → counted by the sun.
Months → renewed by the new moon.
Seasons → known by the harvests, the sun’s path, and the stars.
Shabbat → the eternal 7th-day rest.
No shifting. No postponing. No exceptions.
As Genesis 1:14 says:
“And Elohim said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for appointed times, and for days and years.’”
The lights above us keep YAH’s calendar steady. We only need to look up — not to Rome, not to rabbinic rulings, not to modern inventions — but to YAH’s timepieces in the heavens.
I AM:
Hebrew—by blood
Israelite—by covenant
American—by way of birthright citizenship
Awakened—by The Word & Spirit of YAH
I blog about things that we often all see around us, things that we see in person, online, or on TV— and I offer functional & Scriptural perspectives on such matters. I believe that Scripture is key to understanding this thing we call life:
“ALL Scripture is breathed out by Elohim (God) and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work.”
Timotiyos Bĕt (2 Timothy) 3:16-17 TS2009 https://bible.com/bible/316/2ti.3.16-17.TS2009
And that everything we do in life will be judged by The Creator of life, so it's best to understand the conclusion of The Matter:
“Let us hear the CONCLUSION OF THE ENTIRE MATTER: FEAR ELOHIM AND GAURD (KEEP) HIS COMMANDS, for this applies to ALL mankind! For Elohim SHALL bring EVERY work into right-ruling (judgment), including ALL that is hidden, whether good or whether evil.”
Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) 12:13-14 TS2009 https://bible.com/bible/316/ecc.12.13-14.TS2009
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2 thoughts on “Counting Time YAH’s Way: Understanding the Biblical Calendar”