New Moon

I like to call us “lunar-tics” because we gauge time by the moon.

Once per month we witness and bless the new moon (called Rosh Hodesh).  This is when a tiny sliver of the moon becomes visible in the sky.  It is a big deal.  Here’s the background:

Observers would watch and anticipate when the new moon would come by gazing meticulously at the nighttime sky.  When they spied the familiar shape in the heavens they ran to the great body of seventy scholars sitting in Jerusalem – the Sanhedrin - and would testify about what they had witnessed.  The Sanhedrin would interrogate them to be sure they were accurate.  Even then, their testimony would not be accepted until another witness came to corroborate their word.  Even then, both witnesses had to have an unimpeachable reputation.  If untrustworthy, their description would be discarded.

To this day we announce the approach of Rosh Hodesh in synagogues by embracing the Torah, standing as a congregation, and declaring the date of its arrival.

Why such a big deal over the sighting of the new moon?  If they were wrong the whole calendar would be askew.  Holy days would be celebrated at the wrong time.  Yahrzeits would be remembered on the wrong date. 

Only when the Sanhedrin determined that it was a new month would it be declared.  The month we are in now is called Tevet.  On January 21 the new moon will appear.  This one is called Shvat.

Problems arise however when certain holidays are supposed to be celebrated seasonally.  For example, Sukkot must come in the fall and Pesach in the spring.  Since each Rosh Hodesh comes 29 1/2 days apart there is a difference between the solar and lunar years (A solar year – the time it takes the earth to go around the sun – is 365 1/4 days - long while a lunar year is 355 days long).  What this means is that eventually Sukkot would come in the summer and Hanukka would be observed in the spring!  That is why we have a leap year to keep the lunar year in sync with the seasons.  Seven times every twenty-one years we add an extra month to keep us seasonally adjusted.

Tradition states that Rosh Hodesh is a time for blessing.  When we announce the arrival of the new month in synagogue we ask G-d’s blessings for health, a good life, and prosperity. 

If you take the Hebrew words and make them into an anagram Rosh Hodesh becomes like rechem, womb.  The new moon is supposed to be a time of new beginning, or rebirth.  Some actually celebrate Rosh Hodesh each month by refraining from work and devoting themselves to sacred tasks, such as study.

The ancient mystic rabbis were also aware that the moon sheds no light of its own; it only reflects the sun on the other side of the earth.  In much the same way the Jewish people reflect the light of G-d.  When we act is accord with the Holy One’s wishes we become beacons of light, mirroring the Divine.