"On Monday night, a remarkable event took place, recreating the declaration of the new month as performed by the Sanhedrin in Temple times." FIRES ON THE MOUNTAIN "Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin, emphasized that reestablishing the Biblical system of witnessing the new moon is important to modern Israel." “Knowing exactly when the month begins has always been important in Jewish practice because the Torah schedules the Jewish festivals according to the days of the month,” Rabbi Weiss explained. “Since the creation of the world, every seven days has been Shabbat. But God gave us the authority, actually the responsibility, of establishing time by setting the months.” "Setting the new month by witnesses is considered by Rashi, a prominent commentator on the Bible, to be the first mitzvah (Biblical commandment) the Nation of Israel received after leaving Egypt."
"On Monday night, torches, referred to as masuot, were set up in a chain from the Mount of Olives, recreating the system that was used in the times of the Temple to announce the sighting of the new moon. The mausuot were lit at the time that it was possible to witness the new moon however no actual sighting was made or reported to the Sanhedrin. Three torches were displayed in approximately ten locations, spreading out from Jerusalem to places as distant as Amona and Mount Tabor."
