Contrast this with the daily blessing for the rising sun, usually recited indoors, which is filled with talk of the splendor of angels, the magnitude of creation, and the awe of God, but says little about beauty, joy, or happiness. We call God borei, koneh, poel, and yotser–four synonyms for “creator.” The celestial bodies are joyous and happy, the moon is beautiful, and God is proclaimed beautiful, glorious, and majestic. Halakhah seldom provides this kind of opportunity to praise God so explicitly for creation outdoors, in the presence of nature itself, and rarely do we find a prayer so overflowing with poetry, joy and beauty. Praised are you, O Lord, who renews new moons.” It is a beautiful crown for the people carried by God from birth (Israel), who will likewise be renewed in the future in order to proclaim the beauty of their creator ( yotsram) for his glorious majesty. He is the true creator ( po’el) who acts faithfully, and he has told the moon to renew itself. He gave them appointed times and roles, and they never miss their cues, doing their Creator’s ( konam) bidding with gladness and joy. “Praised are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who created ( bara’) the skies with his word, and all heaven’s host with the breath of his mouth. In fact, it is not the moon that is blessed or sanctified in birkat hachodesh or birkat halevanah, but God who is praised for renewing the moon, with the following blessing (Sanhedrin 42a): (This phrase is apparently a conflation of the term birkat halevanah with the talmudic term kiddush hachodesh, “the sanctification of the new moon,” which referred to yet a third concept, the proclamation of the New Moon by the authorities on the day of its sighting, an act by which Israel did in fact sanctify the dates of the holidays that are dependent upon the lunar month.) The Blessing The Shulhan Arukh (Orah Hayyim 426) and other post-Talmudic authorities refer to this ritual as birkat halevanah, “the blessing of the moon,” but today it is often designated by the misnomer kiddush levanah, “the sanctification of the moon,” a term that sounds almost pagan. This ritual, with which many Jews, even those who attend synagogue services regularly, are unfamiliar, is an actual rabbinic commandment, required by the Talmud. However, the very same term, “birkat hachodesh,” is used in the Talmud to designate a very different ritual–a blessing praising God for the new moon, recited outdoors while gazing at the waxing moon at the beginning of the month (Sanhedrin 41b). The announcement of the New Moon, far from signifying the importance of the Rosh Chodesh festival, in effect reflects a fear that the festival is not significant enough to be remembered and observed. Its purpose is to make sure that those members of the congregation who attended synagogue services on Shabbat only would know when this minor festival falls, so that they could add the appropriate supplements in their home prayers ( Shibbolei Haleket 170).Ī similar announcement is made in Sephardic synagogues on the Shabbat before a minor fast, out of concern that otherwise the congregants will not remember to. This ritual is a post-Talmudic custom with little halakhic significance. The announcement is preceded and followed by particularly melodious prayers for a blessed month. On the last Shabbat of the Hebrew month, the cantor stands with the Torah scroll in his arms, and announces the day of the coming week on which the New Moon, Rosh Chodesh, will fall. The ritual known today as birkat hachodesh, “the blessing of the new moon,” is widely observed in synagogues throughout the world.

Reprinted with permission of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies. My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help Donate

Blessed by the moon ireader