For Jews, time is holy. There is a particularity to time that is also unique to the Jewish year, an idea that certain days and seasons have special spiritual properties: Passover is known as “our time of our liberation,” Shavuot is “our time of revelation,” and Sukkot is “our time of joy.” But we can only be receptive to these special properties when we are mindful of them. Every Shabbat, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel famously articulated, is “a palace in time.” But if you don’t observe Shabbat, it’s just an ordinary Friday night or Saturday morning and afternoon.
The Jewish year works differently than our secular Gregorian calendar. The Hebrew calendar is both solar and lunar. Following the phases of the moon, each new month begins on the new moon. This is known as Rosh Chodesh, literally the "head of the month.”
While only a minor holiday, Rosh Chodesh carries a unique spiritual significance in Jewish life. Just like Rosh Hashanah, the “head of the year,” Rosh Chodesh is a day for introspection and renewal. In more modern times it has become a special celebration especially for Jewish women.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a nineteenth century German rabbi, wrote, “The waxing and waning of the moon remind the pious of Israel’s renewal. Even in its darkest wanderings, Israel, like the moon itself, is never lost; and Israel’s return into the light is assured, so long as its children loyally cling to the paths which God’s word has shown unto them.”
Rabbi Isaac Klein, a twentieth century Conservative rabbi, explained that the monthly reappearance of the moon is a “symbol of Israel’s redemption. Just as the moon emerges from its total eclipse [the new moon] into brightness, so will Israel be redeemed.”
On the Shabbat preceding Rosh Chodesh we stand with the Torah in our arms and recite the blessing for the month known as Birkat HaChodesh:
May it be Your will, Hashem our Gd and Gd of our ancestors, grant that this coming month bring us goodness and blessing, and bestow on us a long life, a life that is peaceful, a life that is good, a life that is blessed, a life with proper sustenance, a life with physical vitality, a life conscious of heaven’s demands and wary of sin, a life free of shame and reproach, a life of abundance and honor, a life of love of Torah, conscious of heaven’s demands, a life in which the worthy desires of our hearts are fulfilled. Amen.
May Gd who wrought miracles for our ancestors, redeeming them from slavery to freedom, redeem us soon and gather our dispersed from the four corners of the earth. May the entire people of Israel be united in friendship, and let us say: Amen.’
This Shabbat, Jews all over the world will hold the Torah in their arms and announce that the new month of Elul will begin this Sunday, or yom rishon. They will continue:
May the Holy One bless this new month for us and for the entire people, the house of Israel, with life and peace (Amen), joy and gladness (Amen), deliverance and consolation. And let us say: Amen.
This Rosh Chodesh is particularly special as it is Rosh Chodesh Elul, the final month of the year leading into the High Holy Days. I now share with you this special blessing written by Trisha Arlin which I shared last night with Kehilat HaNahar’s Board of Directors:
RETURN: A Prayer for Elul Rosh Chodesh written by Trisha Arlin
Return to Elul. The sky was dark, and the month began. A special time of starting over; A month of kindness and clarity; Of consciousness and knowledge; Of bravery and strength. It is said that the truly evil are already condemned And the truly good are already blessed. So for the rest of us There is Elul.
Return to ourselves. In Genesis the moon is called, “the lesser light.” And that’s how I feel tonight, Less than what I should be. What was I thinking? I was afraid, I was hurt, I was anxious… No excuses, I know what I did, Maybe it wasn’t so bad But maybe it was. How can I make it better? There is Elul.
Return to the people we wronged. Use the ritual, Create a context. It makes it easier to speak: I am so sorry. I was wrong. I lacked compassion in the moment But I see things clearly now. You don’t have to accept my apology, We can do teshuva together If you want. There is Elul.
Return to each other. In community we pray For the kindness to comfort and care; And the clarity to see what must be done; For the consciousness to accept the truth; And the knowledge to get help if needed; For the bravery to ask for forgiveness; And the strength to forgive. Most of all, we pray for all who are in pain or who cause pain. All this and more because There is Elul.
Bless the Gd of Justice, of Mercy and of Redemption that we may return every year, as new as the moon. Amen
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Janine Jankovitz
Kehilat HaNahar 85 West Mechanic St. New Hope, PA 18938
