I want to observe Resurrection Day on the correct day. I’m familiar with the Gregorian Calendar and how it differs from the Hebrew Calendar. Resurrection Day is supposed to be the first Sunday following Passover on the day of “Feast of First Fruits”. However, my Jewish Calendar does not give this day. It says that Pesach starts on April 3rd. I would assume that Ressurection Day would then follow on the first day of the week after the sabbath which is Sunday the 8th (which just happens to land on Easter Sunday). However, this year that day falls on Pesach VI or “5th day of the Omer”. I assume that the Feast of First Fruits can float around on these days? I’ve heard that there is a Desporia calendar and an Israel calendar. Which one should I use? What is the Hebrew term for Feast of First Fruits and can I find it on the Hebrew calendar?
Pesach begins the day after Passover and is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In 2007 Pesach is April 3-10. That means Passover is on April 2, a Monday. The Feast of First Fruits is the day after the Sabbath following Passover, or April 8. It’s also Easter Sunday this year. The differing amounts of time between passover and feast of first fruits from year to year is that Passover is always on the 14th of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar which can fall on any day of the week because of the 365.25 day year, while Feast of First fruits is always on the following Sunday.
You won’t see First Fruits on most calendars because even in Biblical times it was a work day. That’s why Mary and the other women could anoint the Lord’s body for burial that day and the priests could be in the fields collecting the first of the grain harvest for dedication.