"1 And YHWH spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying:
2 'This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.
17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore, shall ye observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever.
18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever.
25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which YHWH will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service".
Exodus 12
"Shume was summertime for the ancient Egyptians. Lasting from March to July, it was a dry time when the crops were harvested and was often one of the busiest times of the year."
Ancient Egyptian Calendar (Civic), Eric Potter
"The Spring Equinox occurs on March 20 or 21 each years as the sun enters Aries. The energies are very power at this time. You might want to meditate, ask for guidance in dream time before going to sleep, or visit a place with powerful energies that match your grid matrix for healing and balance.
People have recognized the spring or vernal equinox for thousands of years. There are no shortage of rituals, celebrations and traditions, personal and universal, surrounding the coming of spring, especially at power grid points and sacred sites around the planet.
Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth, a time of transition when the soul lets go of the old and plants symbolic new seeds, each year with increasing determination and renewed understanding of manifestation and changing reality. The soul awakens from the sleepy (depression) of winter and seeks nourishment on many levels. The warmth of the sun (god) awakens something within us, a new quest generally begins, as if by synchronicity. More hours of daylight propel most souls to move forward, to make needed changes. It is almost an internal drive. It's all about finding a way to exist in our reality while facing changing dynamics as another chapter begins.
Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it pointed directly toward the rising Sun on the day of the vernal equinox. Some view this transition as a victory of a god of light (or life, rebirth, resurrection) over the powers of darkness (death)."
http://www.crystalinks.com/springequinox.html
The Hebrew Israelites were in bondage in Egypt at the time of the great Exodus under the leadership of Moses. They had been there for several generations and therefore followed Egyptian customs and traditions. This included following the Egyptian calendar.
This scenario is how Exodus the 12th chapter quoted above begins; Moses and Aaron were given instructions to give to the Israelites in the land of Egypt. The Hebrew Israelites are told that the month they were currently in, according to the Egyptian calendar, was the beginning of months for them and the start of their year. The ancient Israelites gave this month the name Aviv, meaning spring. This would have been the time that corresponded with the Egyptian season of Shume, as indicated above. This season began in what we know today as the month of March.
This is the time of the Vernal Equinox, which, as shown above, the Egyptians acknowledged and had revered. The description of the power in the season known as spring clearly resonates with the condition the ancient Israelites were in; they were preparing to begin a fateful journey, to make a life-changing transformation from captive people to liberated nation. They needed the strength of that season to give them the spiritual impetus to achieve such lofty aspirations.
Thus, their God left nothing to chance, but set the forces of renewal and regeneration in motion on behalf of His chosen people. What more appropriate time of the year could there have been?
This is why, as we read further on in Exodus the 12th chapter, that He immortalizes this day and this season; the Hebrew Israelites are told that this day will be recognized throughout their generations. This is an eternal ordinance, even after they are in the land He has promised to their forefathers. This month would be perpetually the same.
"14 And God 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;
16 And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars."
Genesis 1
Since the cycles of the Sun, the greater light, have remained for all intents and purposes constant over millenniums, this cycle is the one within which the instruction to keep "this self-same day" can be kept with greater assurance of being correct. The method currently in use in Israel is based on a lunar cycle that causes the date to fluctuate by as much as a month, with the date of no two consecutive years being the same. The same holds true for basing the date on the observance of the barley harvest in the land, as some communities do; it, also, is too arbitrary.
The deliverance from Egypt was a grand event of such earth moving proportions that we were instructed to remember it throughout our generations, this specific event, and not our coming back into the land. The offering of the first-fruits of the harvest once we were in the land was to remind us that we receive this blessing from our relationship with our God, Yah YAHWAH, who brought about our liberation and guided us thru the wilderness. The offering takes place after Pessak because we would not be in the land if there had been no Pessak! The harvest offering is depended on Pessak, not the reverse.
I conclude from this that the date of Pessak should be 14 days after the Vernal Equinox, which this year was March 21. This means that the date this year was April 4th. Remember, the Pessak is offered the 14th day before sunset; after sunset we enter into the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
For all those who missed the 4th of April date, you can still celebrate the Pessak May 4th!
Anaviel Ben E;eazer HaCohen