Thanks for your positive feedback on my calendar post the other day.  Lewis...do you have any references on the 240 year subtraction?  I tried googling it but came up empty.  It does seem like there's about that many years missing - maybe a few more or a few less - but that's pretty ballpark.  I'd be interested in seeing if there was a change in the count somewhere.
Jewish tradition does indeed increment the yearly count in the Fall, in the month of Tishri, as the Bible dictates.  The upcoming full moons do mark a Sabbatical year and Jubilee year to come.  And I suspect that when they come, we may hear of some sort of earth shattering news concerning the state of Israel.  Exactly what, I don't know.  But I expect it to be big.
 
Shalom, Joe