====Recognizing Nisan/Vaisakha the first of Spring and Asian heritage chief month ==== //summary// We [[spring-proclamation|Recognize the first month of Spring, Nisan, as an Asian heritage month]], and the chief month of the year in the [[wp>Hebrew calendar]], mentioned in Exodus 12, and the [[wp>Babylonian calendar]], and in many [[wp>Hindu calendar|Indian calendar]]s where it is called [[wp>Vaisakha]]. The moon of Nisan endures between 9th April to 8th May, 2024, and will reoccur next year 30th March to 25th April 2025, according to the [[wp>Metonic Cycle]]. This year's later occurence is due to a 13th intercalary month added prior, to make the previous a leap year, a postponement called [[wp>Nasi']] in the Quran in reference to the [[wp>pre-Islamic Arab calendar]], presumably after the Jewish Exilarch, or "Nasi" (lit. Prince, president) who would announce the upcoming year's holiday cycle. We Recognize the night of full moon, the Quartodeciman 14th of Nisan, April 22-23rd, [[wp>Passover]] night, to begin the Jewish [[wp>feast of unleavened]] bread. Recognizing it also as an ecumenical Asian and [[wp>Quartodeciman]] Christian heritage week, and Lunar spring break. Acknowledging the two great lights, the Sun which rules by day and Moon by night, are natural “signs, appointed times, days, and years”, as known through common sense to animals and plants, through natural philosophy to humankind, as also described in Genesis 1:14-19, and as relevant to other indigenous cultures around the globe, who also do not require the astronomical tables and mathematical calculations of the imperial Roman Gregorian calendar, derived by the court of Julius Caesar from the Egyptian solar calendar, in order to understand time and predict the seasons. Recognizing this as an equity issue, in that the Roman Gregorian calendar has been imposed on Asia and indigenous America, through imperialism and colonization. And it was imposed on the Near East through decision by the 313 CE Synod of Arles and 323 CE Council of Nicaea to excommunicate Quartodeciman christians who observed the feast of Matzah and thus would break the Lenten fast before Easter. Eating the unleavened bread was either in solidarity with Jews, as Paul taught them to be “wild olive shoots grafted in to the olive tree of Israel” (Romans 9-12) or else as a memorial of the last supper in which Joshua son of Mary said to his disciples “do this in remembrance of me”, or both. But the church instead chose the unbiblical supercessionism and replacement theology, based on hermeneutic perversions that deny the texts' plain meaning and are contrary to the apostolic teaching, and established an alternate gnostic ritual, the sunday “Eucharist”, and made it compulsory. This anti-Judaism and anti-Zionism of the imperial church, which (mis)appropriates Jewish texts, promises, and prophecies in order to abrogate the covenant and law, and flatter itself the “spiritual Israel” and the christian quarter as the “new Jerusalem”, became dogma and command: Jews were and still are expected to convert, assimilate and eat the Easter ham. The alternatives offered are that they serve as a “witness people” to the “wrath and severity of God upon unbelievers” by remaining miserable and powerless in Palestine and throughout the christian world, or else disappear from the stage of history. Failure to comply with this absurd expectation, resulted in frequent expulsions and violence against Jews and other heretics living in christian lands, for which the victims were blamed. Supercessionism was the antecedent of Islamic anti-Judaism, and of later antisemitism as justified on spurious scientific, political, or racial grounds after the supercessionism was translated into the dialectics of “critical reason” during the Enlightenment. We renounce our past complicity, and resolve to not participate any longer in this systemically violent fraudence. Nisan is known as [[wp>Vaisakha]] in India, and is the first month of the [[wp>Vikram Samvat calendar]], [[wp>Odia calendar]], [[wp>Maithili Calendar]], [[wp>Punjabi calendar]], [[wp>Assamese calendar]] (where it is called Bohag) and the [[wp>Bengali calendar]]. These are [[wp>luni-solar calendar]]s. It is the third month of the [[wp>Chinese calendar]], although it is often the second month, because of differences in the schedule for intercalation on leap years, in which years the Chinese mid-autumn festival in that 8th month corresponds to the Jewish feast of tabernacles and universal feast of harvest ingathering, in the seventh month. For further reading on the equity issue and history of antiJudaism as a constitutive idea and explanatory force in Christianity, Islam, and Enlightenment thinking, see the book by Nirenberg, David "[[wp>David_Nirenberg#Anti-Judaism|Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition]]" WW Norton (2013) ====Whereas (Draft)==== //We encourage deliberative assemblies to pro-actively solicit input from interested communities and compromise on final wording, and proclaim this recognition, encouraging schools, libraries, and DEI advisory boards, and other civic bodies and citizens' groups to do likewise// Whereas the two great lights, the Sun which rules by day and Moon by night, are natural “signs, appointed times, days, and years”, Whereas this is the first month of Spring and chief month of the year, known as [[wp>Nisan]] in the [[wp>Hebrew calendar]], and [[wp>Babylonian calendar]]. It is known as [[wp>Vaisakha]] in India, and is the first month of the [[wp>Vikram Samvat calendar]], [[wp>Odia calendar]], [[wp>Maithili Calendar]], [[wp>Punjabi calendar]], [[wp>Assamese calendar]] (where it is called Bohag) and the [[wp>Bengali calendar]]. These are [[wp>luni-solar calendar]]s. This first month begun on 9th April in 2024 and will again on 30th March 2025 according to the Metonic Cycle. It is the third month of the [[wp>Chinese calendar]], although it is often the second month, because of differencds in the schedule for intercalation on leap years, in which years the Chinese mid-autumn festival in that 8th month corresponds to the Jewish feast of tabernacles and universal feast of harvest ingathering, in the seventh month. Whereas lunar months are natural, and can be perceived by any man, woman or child, and even by non human animals and possibly even by some plants, without the need for calendars, just as the natural day can be perceived without a clock, Whereas Indigenous Oregonians observed lunar months, and it is safely assumed that like all other indigenous peoples who lived with the seasons, they added a 13th intercalary months on an ad hoc basis, as do all other non-human animals and plants, even though they cannot describe the experience in words like we can, Whereas among the creatures we alone, in many tongues and voices, are "speakers" homo sapiens, "wise" hominids, we have a moral obligation to ourselves and our Creator, blessed be he, our wisdom and our science to explain these principles of natural philosophy and if necessary, to correct the historical record, Whereas lunar months - being as they are naturally perceived through "common sense" shared even with brute animals - do not require astronomical observation tables, mathematical analyses, and numerical calculations, which are typically available only to the priesthood, the intelligentsia, the elites associated with imperial courts, such as the ISO, the Vatican, the christian kings of Europe and their parliaments, Caesar’s palace, and Pharaoh’s court, Whereas the Egyptians observed a purely solar year, which has been brought down to us through the institutions named above, although this has nothing to do with Multnomah County or Oregon except through the Anglo-American settlers who colonized the region, and brought with them their imperial religion and systems of social control, Whereas “Gypsies” are ancient, medieval, and modern persons who have for economic, personal, moral, or metaphysical reasons chosen to abandon their Egyptian/Graeco/Roman heritage of astral worship, bestial idolatry, imperialism, enslavement and hatred of Jews, and to instead dis-assimilate, unsettle themselves, and vacate from Egypt and its offspring empires, and many voluntarily accept the status of exile, internal displacement, or estrangement in order to atone for these and other inherited ancestral sins, Whereas many “Gypsies” who sojourn in Multnomah County have joined the “eruv rav”: the mixed multitude who followed Moses, Aaron, and the children of Israel, as they followed the pillar of smoke by day and the pillar of fire by night through the wilderness of Sinai, Whereas the 314 [[wp>Synod of Arles]] which excommunicated [[wp>Quartodeciman]] christians has no legally binding power in [Multnomah County], and neither does the 323 Council of Nicea or subsequent ecumenical councils which condemned Quartodecimans as heretics, Therefore, We the [Board of Commissioners of Multnomah County] do hereby ====We Proclaim Recognition of the first month of Spring, Nisan, as Asian Heritage chief month (Draft)==== We acknowledge the Chaldean name "Nisan" used in the Hebrew bible for the first namely the month of [[wp>Aviv]], the ripening of the barley, and also the time of the ancient Babylonian spring festival of "Akitu". In the Chinese agricultural calendar, Nisan is the third month of the current year, although due to differences in intercalation it often falls on the second month, in which case the Chinese mid-Autumn festival of at the full moon of the 8th month is co-incident with the Jewish feast of tabernacles, both being manifestations of the secular feast of harvest ingathering. but admit that many other names may be used, and will be listed in future years’ proclamation if and when responsa are received from interested communities around the world, especially indigenous communities who, like the Jewish, Indian, Asiatic communities do not exclusively rely on the imperial Egyptian/Roman solar calendar currently in use by the State, by the established Churches, and by most other International economic, academic, and military powers, We predict that the lunar month of Nisan will endure between 9th April through 8th May of the current year, and will reoccur in 2025 between 30th March through 28th April, We proclaim Spring to be defined with respect to the agricultural rather than the stellar phenomena, namely the month of [[wp>Aviv]], the ripening of the barley, rather than that of the Spring equinox or the astral house of the Sun, We Admit that the Spring Equinox is informative and should not be ignored, insofar as the Sun - like the moon - has more influence over terrestrial life than the stars, therefore We Acknowledge the Persian [[wp>Nowruz]] on 20th March, which in 2024 was 10th of Adar II, and in 2025 will be 20th Adar II, in the Hebrew-Chaldean Calendar However we acknowledge the observable accuracy of the 18 year [[wp>Metonic cycle]], and its usefulness in anticipating the need for leap years, recognizing that the month of Spring appears later than average this year, because a 13th [[wp>intercalary month]] was added to last year, and we proclaim that the following two Luni-solar years will have 12 lunar months for a total of 354 days each, We RECOGNIZE the night of the full moon, the going out of 14th Nisan, and eve of the 15th, to be [[wp>Passover]] night, and the following week to be: **Lunar Spring Break**, to be observed on a voluntary basis with no obligation to vacate, desist from work or school, or specifically perform any religious or civic practice, or recite any creed, **Jewish, Gypsy, and Quartodeciman Christian heritage week**, and for the former, also the **“Feast of unleavened bread”**, as they are commanded by Moses, which we will not enforce, but as all known Jewish communities presently observe in varying degrees, and as is observed secularly as a State holiday in the State of Israel, And we GRATEFULLY THANK the diaspora Jewish communities, throughout their 1900+ exile from their native land of Israel, for preserving this holy tradition despite attempts made to [[wp>supercessionism|supercede and replace]] it, and to suppress, outlaw, and violently persecute the practice, made by the Orthodox catholic and Roman catholic churches, by imperial Islam, and by many subsequent religious and political movements thereafter, such as Marxism, We DECLARE the 314 Synod of Arles, the 323 [[wp>Council of Nicea]], and all subsequent ecumenical councils, to be VOID of any legally or morally binding power in this County, although established churches may continue their traditions, albeit without the financial or coercive power of State in support, We call on all our constituent cities to join us in REAFFIRMING the principle of PROTECTION for religious minorities, stated in the [[wp>1st Amendment|1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution]], and will consider this constitutional provision to be incorporated within our County Charter, to wit: * //“[The County] shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” // We SOLICIT communications from the local indigenous community, from the local Jewish community, from [[wp>Ebionites]] and Notzrim, and from conscientious objectors from the Churches, including those associated with the Ephesian, Antiochene, Syrian, and other Johannine and Asian christians who were excommunicated by decision made in the 314 C.E. Synod of Arles regarding the [[wp>Easter controversy|Paschal/Easter controversies]] and the Quartodeciman and [[wp>Jewish question]]s, to standardize Easter and excommunicate conscientious objectors. Upon passage, a copy of this resolution will be sent to the local public School Board, the teachers and university professors unions, the Federated Tribes of the Grande Ronde and those of Warm Springs, and to the local Jewish Federation, Indian-American, Persian-American, Arab-American groups, and to Interfaith leaders of Muslim and Christian religious communities, and to our constituent Cities, and State and Federal representatives. * All local nationals, hipsters and weirdos who wish to appropriate Gypsy or Jewish culture, are called upon to appropriate this or similar resolution and make good faith efforts to comply, or else cease and desist from said cultural appropriation, on penalty of a curse. The curse should be appropriate to the offensive ignorance and delivered at the discretion of the one offended. Aforementioned curse will have no legally binding power in this jurisdiction other than through public shame. The County should already be well acquainted with shame, but will be reminded if necessary. * All local schizophrenics, autists, demonized, heretics, or other estranged persons, are invited to join in this resolution to heal their minds, strengthen their bodies, and cultivate their virtues and supernatural powers of science and art, and moral reasoning, and natural philosophy, metaphysical analysis, and spiritual perception, * They are invited to help us liberate the local antifascists and teach them to resist the hegemony of ignorance, audio-visual pollution, bestial fetishes, idolatrous representations, artificial stupidity, and false solutions offered by psychopharmacology, the behavioral health system, and the addiction industries, certain movements in radical politics, and other materialistic fundamentalism that so often tends to deny reality, * The public school teachers union, the student unions, and other local "antifascists" besides us, are furthermore invited to drop the prejudicially ignorant anti-zionism and anti-Judaism, a legacy of christian imperialism, long enough join us in thanking the State of Israel for being the first and so far only modern nation-State to make this recognition official, which supports our collective liberation. In summary, consider the two great lights, the Sun which rules by day and Moon by night, as these are natural “signs, appointed times, days, and years”. Brush up on your "common sense". For further details, read Genesis 1:14-19 or spend some time outside, preferably in a location without light pollution. For the recognition of this principle by Moses, as part of the Exodus story, see chapter 12 of that book.