[Homeschooling Torah] Different Calendars, Torah Portions, and Unity -- Oh my! 😆

Published: Wed, 03/20/24

Dear ,

Shalom! I wanted to write to you and let you know that I updated the Torah-portions schedule on the Homeschooling Torah website yesterday.

As stated in our Homeschooling Torah Doctrinal Statement, we follow the Aviv and Sighted-Moon Calendar to celebrate the biblical feasts:

"We teach a biblically-based calendar for determining the dates of the feasts. This means that we use the aviv barley and the crescent new moon (as seen in Jerusalem and reported online) to determine the start of the new year in the spring... and to determine the beginning of each new month (Rosh Chodesh) and the dates of the festivals. We will announce these dates as possible in our curriculum, on our websites, and in our online community." (Read More)

This means that for 2024, our family and local congregation will be celebrating Passover and Unleavened Bread beginning next week, March 25.

However, many of our larger Homeschooling Torah family will be celebrating the spring feasts a little later, many not until the end of April.

We feel our role is to support your family no matter what calendar YOU use! In our curriculum, we hope to supply Scripture and activities — but not to make decisions for you.

Torah Portions

I thought of a bit of a snag in our curriculum, however. We offer a Torah-portions schedule on our website. If we celebrate Passover in March, then we have fewer weeks in the entire year. This affects our Torah Portions reading schedule!

We decided to make TWO schedules and post them on our website, one for the March calendar-keepers, and a second for the April calendar-keepers.

You can download those here, as well as on our Homeschooling Torah Member Home page.

Torah Portion Schedule (March Passover)

Torah Portion Schedule (April Passover)

There is a second problem. We send out an email every Saturday night, where I share a little about the upcoming week's Torah portion and link to the Torah portion and a related Torah craft on our website.

This is where I have to come to a "fork in the road." 😊

I can't send out two emails each Saturday. I just think my time would be better spent on other priorities, and I'm sure you agree!

I am going to send out weekly emails for the March Passover calendar, the one that we state in our Doctrinal Statement that we follow at Homeschooling Torah.

Please don't see this as condemnation or stubbornness. I am just trying to be practical and realistic with my time and resources.

So what can you do if you follow the April Passover calendar?

Bookmark these pages on our website, so that you can always find the Torah curriculum and Torah crafts to fit your calendar.

Foundations of Torah Curriculum

Torah Crafts

Don't forget that you can get to your favorite content on our website fast — by simply marking it as a "favorite" when you click the little star on a lesson page. You can then get to all your favorites here. Try it here...

Finding Your Favorites at Homeschooling Torah

Unity

Some years will be like this — at least until our Messiah Yeshua returns!

It’s okay! Love each other — but humbly hold fast to Scripture and politely just continue to do what you believe Yah has shown to you.

It’s okay! Others have the same desire for truth as you do. I rejoice to see so many families searching the Scriptures daily, to see if what they believe is true.

I pray we can all allow the Spirit of God to work in each other's hearts, in His own timing — and keep our own hearts humble, lest they are right and maybe we were wrong after all.

In the meantime, let’s aim for the mark of being obedient disciples of Yeshua. Let’s go for humility and graciousness, with all purity and cleanness — and unity can take care of itself.

We love you all and look forward to a wonderful year with you!

Shalom,

~Kraig and Anne Elliott

P.S. You can find all kinds of resources for celebrating the Biblical Feasts on our websites. You'll find FIVE PAGES of resources — so keep clicking through until you find the Spring Feasts.

Biblical Feasts Resources at Homeschooling Torah

P.O. Box 191
Perry MI 48872
USA

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