An international conference called: Living the Lunar Calendar: Time, Text and Tradition concluded Monday evening at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. Leading international scholars presented three days of lectures, sessions and events, including a fully-guided tour to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden for centuries.
Careful study and decipherment of an extremely important rare cuneiform tablet which is prominently displayed in the heart of the museum's Gallery of the Patriarchs has revealed text that sheds light on the roots of the Hebrew calendar, whose origins stem from Ancient Babylon. It contains a reference to holidays that take place in the month of Shvat, which scholars think may have relevance to the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shvat, which was celebrated on Shabbat.