Authors: Susan Berrin
ISBN-13: 9781568214597, ISBN-10: 1568214596
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Inc
Date Published: July 1977
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Rosh Chodesh is the Jewish holiday marking each month's new moon. Celebrating the New Moon is an anthology conceived as a means to offer writings about Rosh Chodesh that are educational, inspirational, scholarly, programmatic, entertaining, and insightful; writings that teach tradition while inspiring innovation; writings from a variety of women and men, representing many writing styles, relationships to Judaism, and levels of observance. Rosh Chodesh observance has waned over the centuries despite the fact that the Torah provides several clues to the importance of this holiday and its observance. Rosh Chodesh was declared a festive day that included practices similar to those offered on other festivals. The joyous nature of Rosh Chodesh in biblical times was also marked by the blowing of the shofar. Today, the shofar is blown only on Rosh Chodesh Elul and onward through the month, to signal the process of preparation for the Holy Days. Modern Jews seem to have limited the festivities of Rosh Chodesh to the recitation of special prayers. It is no longer a holiday but simply a time to acknowledge the beginning of the new month. Perhaps the destruction of the Temple and the end of the sacrificial cult robbed Rosh Chodesh of its sacredness; perhaps it was the widespread adaptation of the solar/Christian calendar. Whatever the cause, only the late twentieth century has seen - indeed, is seeing - the resurgence of this minor holiday. Women in the search for ritual are connecting their search to the holiday of Rosh Chodesh - a day that has already enjoyed a special association with women in traditional lore, and one that is linked to women's unique cycle, the menses. This collection addresses each nuance of Rosh Chodesh, from the historical to the contemporary; from the traditional to the feminist. Rosh Chodesh is understood in a variety of ways: as a symbol of renewal, as a women's covenant, as a marking of time, and as a reminder of cyclical development and focus.
Foreword | ||
Acknowledgements | ||
Introduction | ||
1 | Examining Rosh Chodesh: An Analysis of the Holiday and Its Textual Sources | 3 |
2 | The History of Rosh Chodesh and Its Evolution as a Woman's Holiday | 13 |
3 | Rosh Chodesh: A Feminist Critique and Reconstruction | 23 |
4 | My Body, My Self and Rosh Chodesh | 33 |
5 | "Kiddush HaChodesh": Teachings of the B'nai Yissasschar on Rosh Chodesh | 40 |
6 | Tkhines for Rosh Chodesh: Women's Prayers of Devotion | 49 |
7 | Nashot HaKotel: Women in Jerusalem Celebrate Rosh Chodesh | 66 |
8 | Rosh Chodesh Observances among Older Sefardic Women | 78 |
9 | Hallel: Praises of God | 81 |
10 | Starting and Growing a Rosh Chodesh Group | 85 |
11 | Rosh Chodesh for Children: Learning about and Experiencing the Jewish Lunar Calendar | 96 |
12 | New Moon-First Moon Celebration: Welcoming Daughters into the Circle of Women | 102 |
13 | Echad B'Yachad: Private Acts of Faith | 107 |
14 | Reflections on Observing Rosh Chodesh with My Women's Tefillah Group | 111 |
15 | Bat Kol: Jewish Women in Brazil Observe Rosh Chodesh | 117 |
16 | The Dark Rays of the Moon: Yom Kippur Katan as Preparation for Rosh Chodesh | 125 |
17 | Anticipating the New Moon: Birkat HaChodesh | 130 |
18 | Kiddush HaLevana: Sanctifying the New Moon | 144 |
19 | The Origins of Rosh Chodesh: A Midrash | 153 |
20 | A Rosh Chodesh Bracha (Song) | 156 |
21 | New Moon of the Daughters: Rosh Chodesh Tevet | 157 |
22 | The Moon as Life's Cycle | 159 |
23 | The New Moon (Pinchas - Numbers 28:1, 11) | 161 |
24 | A Woman's Rosh Chodesh Amidah | 163 |
25 | Meditation and Kiddush for Rosh Chodesh | 167 |
26 | Pale Moon | 169 |
27 | Birkat HaChodesh (Song with Notation) | 170 |
28 | Rosh Chodesh Sh'vat | 172 |
29 | Rosh Chodesh Nisan | 174 |
30 | they did not build wings for them | 176 |
31 | Rosh Chodesh Nisan | 179 |
32 | The Lunar Probe | 181 |
33 | Meditation for the New Moon | 182 |
34 | Rosh Chodesh | 184 |
35 | Hymn to the Moon | 186 |
36 | Red Moon Magic (Song with Notation) | 187 |
37 | Rosh Chodesh Moon (Song with Notation) | 189 |
38 | Hallel | 191 |
39 | A New Moon/Full Moon Meditation | 193 |
40 | The New Moon Time: A Love Song for the Shechinah | 194 |
41 | Grandmother Moon (Song with Notation) | 196 |
42 | HaChodesh Hazeh: Rosh Chodesh Song (Song with Notation) | 197 |
43 | Mooning | 198 |
44 | Kiddush Levono: Sanctification of the Moon | 199 |
App. A A Visual Diagram of Rosh Chodesh Textual Sources | 203 | |
App. B A Rosh Chodesh Ceremony | 207 | |
App. C Focal Points for Each Month | 214 | |
App. D Specific Notes Regarding Rosh Chodesh | 236 | |
App. E Moon Musings | 258 | |
App. F Diagram of Conjunction: The Sun, the Moon, and the Earth at Rosh Chodesh | 260 | |
App. G The Days of the Hebrew Months | 262 | |
App. H Five-Year Calendar of Rosh Chodesh Observances | 265 | |
App. I Annotated Directory of Rosh Chodesh Groups | 267 | |
App. J Musical Notation | 293 | |
Glossary | 303 | |
Bibliography and Resources | 307 | |
Notes on the Contributors | 315 | |
Credits | 323 | |
Index | 327 |