The beginning of a new month, Rosh Chodesh in Hebrew, was determined in ancient times by observation. The beginning of a new month was marked by the appearance of the new moon or crescent moon. Observers would report their sighting to the Sanhedrin, and after verifying this with two witnesses, the Sanhedrin would proclaim the beginning of the new month. This was very important, as it served as the basis for celebrating the other festivals of the Hebrew calendar. The Sanhedrin would send messengers to announce when the month had begun. The appearance of the moon was announced the next day with the sound of the shofar and was celebrated with family feasts.

It is written in Exodus 12:1-2: “And God spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ‘This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it shall be the first month of the year for you.’” This verse indicates, for the first time, that the year is divided into months. And Numbers 10:10 says, “On the great occasions, at the festivals and on the days of the new moon, you shall blow the trumpet over your offerings and your fellowship sacrifices; and this shall be for you as a reminder before your God.” Aside from the blowing of the trumpets and the sacrifice, the Torah does not establish any other rituals or commandments for celebrating Rosh Chodesh, which was the Jewish response to the pagan festival of the moon god, a very common celebration in that ancient time.

Today, “Birkat HaChodesh,” “the blessing of the new moon,” is a ritual widely observed in synagogues around the world. On the last Shabbat of the Hebrew month, the cantor raises the Torah scroll and announces the day of the week on which the new moon, Rosh Chodesh, will fall. Another ritual, «Birkat Halevanah,» involves going outdoors, contemplating the crescent moon at the beginning of the month, and blessing and praising God for the new moon (Sanhedrin 41b).

In the Talmud (Hagigah 18a), Rosh Chodesh is mentioned as a holiday on which work is permitted, unlike other holidays, such as Shabbat. However, elsewhere in the Talmud (Megilah 22b), they comment that Rosh Chodesh is a holiday on which people do not work and that they could therefore remain in the synagogue longer. This contradiction was resolved by medieval Talmudic commentators, such as Rashi and the Tosafot, explaining that men could work, but women could not. The Shulchan Aruch, in its laws of Rosh Chodesh, section 1, states that work is permitted, but that it is a «good» custom for women not to work. There is a legend that tells that when the Israelites were about to create the golden calf, the men asked the women for all their jewelry and gold to melt it down. The women refused to give them their jewelry, and God rewarded them with a special holiday: Rosh Chodesh.

Today, women who do not work on Rosh Chodesh form groups that gather to celebrate the holiday through prayer, ritual, study, song, and discussion of topics relevant to women. It’s like a Shabbat exclusively for women.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Material from the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, Women of the Wall, and other sources.