People ask, what if I find myself in a desert without contact with the outside world and technology? How will I know when is the Sabbath and the Feasts?

If you follow the Gregorian calendar and your Shabbath is on a Friday/Saturday or a Sunday, and you need to know the day of the week, I cannot help you.

But, if you follow the heavenly calendar, I can because it is visible in the sky, and you can see it anywhere in the world. Within a week, you will know within a day or two when Shabbath is and within four weeks (or less), you will know exactly. Of course, if it is overcast all that time and you cannot see the lights in the sky, mainly the Moon, then you will not know. But since you are in a desert, that should be fine; otherwise, it is scarce that it is overcast for such a long period. Eventually, you will see the Moon, and then you will know and start figuring out where in the month you are.

Also, using the internet and technology makes it considerably more accessible than without, but it is still possible if you know the calendar, how it works, and how the lights in the sky work. This article aims to teach you just that.

Let us go back to the starting scenario. You just woke up in a desert and have no idea what the time, date, or month is.

If the daylight hours are of concern to you, you can build a sundial, and the same with the nighttime, where the stars can give you an indication of time. That is beyond the scope of this article, and you can educate yourself on that.

So, you are on your first day in the desert. Now you look for the Moon. Remember, the Moon may be visible during the day as well. For now, you are interested in the shape. The shape will tell you whether you are in the first, second, third, or fourth week of the month. It will also tell you how close you are to the Sabbath. To know this, you apply your knowledge of the phases of the Moon.

Phases of the Moon:

During the first week of the month, you will observe the growth of the Moon towards the first quarter. The first quarter is when the Moon is precisely 50% illuminated, also described as a half moon. The first quarter is at the end of the first week.

During the second week of the month, the Moon grows more significantly than 50% illumination to a full moon. The full Moon is at the end of the second week.

During the third week of the month, the Moon grows smaller again, back towards a 50% illumination, called the last quarter, which is a half moon again. The last quarter is at the end of the third week.

During the fourth week of the month, the Moon grows yet smaller again, back towards a 0% illumination, called the dark Moon. The dark Moon is at the end of the fourth week.

So, we have 4 phases of the Moon.
First quarter
Full Moon
Last quarter
Dark Moon

These four phases give us an excellent indication of when the Shabbat is. The phase is typically the day before Sabbath, but it can also be on the Sabbath and rarely the day after.

New Moon:

The new Moon is the tiebreaker, and let us know precisely when the Sabbath is.

The new Moon starts after the dark Moon, with the conjunction of the Moon. The conjunction of the Moon is a second in time when the Moon is 100% without light. One moment the Moon is still growing smaller than it is devoided of light, and the next moment the Moon starts growing light again. This moment is called the conjunction of the Moon. You may need to learn how to calculate this, but it is also unnecessary.

The conjunction begins the new moon period when the Moon resets the month and starts over. This period can be one or two days, and we know this period is over when we observe the first visible crescent just after sunset.

With the first visible crescent observed, we can start counting our days with 100% certainty. The day we watched the first visible crescent (FVC) we count it as day one. So when we see it, the first day of the month is over. It works like a sign telling you what was and is to come. It means your New Moon Day (the new moon period) is over, and the next day is the first working day of the month and week. The new Moon started with conjunction and is over with the FVC.

Now we count our days to know precisely when the Sabbath is.

It follows that day 8, day 15, day 22, and day 29 are our Sabbath days. Work six days and rest the 7th day.
Day 30, if there is one, and day 1, is new moon days. New moon days are no work days, days of worship.

The next thing you will have to do is calculate when is the spring equinox. That is beyond the scope of this article, and I will do a follow-up article just on that. With the knowledge of when it is the spring equinox, we can determine which month is the first month of the year. Once we know this, we can also keep/follow the Feasts of Yahuah!

As a rule of thumb, the first month of the year starts with the new Moon closest to the spring equinox, and the full Moon is after the equinox. The first full Moon in spring is the start of Yahuah’s Feasts!