The idea that the sliver moon must be sighted because you cant know when the dark moon is in conjunction is ridiculous. The Hebrews were astronomers as miuch as the Chaldeans and Babylonians. The knew when a new moon would occur: 1 sam 20:as surely as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.

22 But if I say to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then you must go, for the LORD has sent you away.

23 And as for the matter you and I have discussed, the LORD is a witness between you and me forever.”

24 So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat.

There is no question of when will the new moon happen. They had it calculated ahead of time. The merchants that David condemned for waiting outside the city gates until the new moon was over were simply ignorant when they asked when the new moon would be over. They were drowning in their greed too much to heed the aatronomers of the day and simply did not care that they were not supposed to conduct business.

I have had a lot of superficial "evidence" for sighting the sliver moon shown to me recently. I am not moved. I may not be presenting my evidence well, or I may be speaking to those with set hearts. Either way, we must agree to disagree so we can enjoy discussions on other subjects as well.

Thank you all for engaging me in the conversation. I hope you all are having a blessed shabbat and resting from all your toils. Shalom.