I find the prayer of Kiddush Levana [the sanctification of the New Moon] so beautiful. It’s first discussed in Sanhedrin 42a.
וא"ר אחא בר חנינא א"ר אסי א"ר יוחנן כל המברך על החדש בזמנו כאילו מקבל פני שכינה
And Rabbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina says that Rabbi Asi says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: With regard to anyone who blesses the new month in its proper time, it is as if he greets the Face of the Divine Presence [Shekhina]
When we turn towards the moon and greet her, it’s like we are welcoming God. This is why we stand when we perform the ritual- it’s a sign of respect.
The text originates from the Gemara as well.
אלא כדרב יהודה דאמר רב יהודה ברוך [וכו'] אשר במאמרו ברא שחקים וברוח פיו כל צבאם חוק וזמן נתן להם שלא ישנו את תפקידם ששים ושמחים לעשות רצון קונם פועלי אמת שפעולתן אמת וללבנה אמר שתתחדש עטרת תפארת לעמוסי בטן שהן עתידין להתחדש כמותה ולפאר ליוצרם על שם כבוד מלכותו ברוך אתה ה' מחדש חדשים Rather, the full version of the blessing is the version of Rav Yehuda. As Rav Yehuda says: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who by His word created the heavens, and by the breath of his mouth all their hosts. He set for them a law and a time, that they should not deviate from their task. And they are joyous and glad to perform the will of their Owner; they are workers of truth whose work is truth. And to the moon He said that it should renew itself as a crown of beauty for those He carried from the womb, as they are destined to be renewed like it, and to praise their Creator for the name of His glorious kingdom. Blessed are You the Lord, Who renews the months.
There’s something gorgeous about this. The moon as a symbol of renewal, described as a “crown of beauty” and the hope that is offered to all of us. Each month the moon renews herself, a symbol to all of us that we too- as a nation and on a personal level- can be renewed, made more beautiful and made whole.
In Soferim 20: 1-2 we learn more about how to perform this ritual.
ואין מברכין על הירח אלא במוצאי שבת כשהוא מבושם ובכלים נאים ותולה עיניו כנגדה ומיישר את רגליו ומברך אשר במאמרו ברא שחקים וברוח פיו כל צבאם חוק וזמן נתן להם שלא ישנו את תפקידם פועלי אמת שפעולתו אמת וללבנה אמר שתתחדש באור יקר ועטרת תפארת לעמוסי בטן שהם עתידים להתחדש כמותה לפאר יוצרם על כבוד מלכותו בא"י מקדש ראשי חדשים:
The benediction over the moon must not be said except at the conclusion of the Sabbath when one is in an exhilarated mood 1After the happiness of the Sabbath day. and well dressed. [43a] He directs his eyes towards the moon, places his feet together and pronounces the benediction ‘Who 2Preceded, as all benedictions, by ‘Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe’. didst create the heavens by Thy word and all their hosts by the breath of Thy mouth. Thou didst set for them a fixed law and time that they should not change their ordained task. They are glad and rejoice to perform the will of their Possessor. They act loyally, for their action is truth. To the moon Thou didst say that it should renew itself with a precious light and a diadem of beauty for those who have been sustained from the womb [Israelites] who, like it, will be renewed in the future and glorify their Creator for the majesty of His kingdom. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Who hallowest the New Moons’.
ואומר ג"פ סימן טוב סימן טוב [תהיה] לכל ישראל ברוך יוצרך ברוך עושך ברוך קונך ברוך בוראך ורוקד ג׳ רקידות כנגדה ואומר ג"פ כשם שאני רוקד כנגדך ואיני נוגע ביך כך אם ירקדו אחרים כנגדי [להזיקני] לא יגעו בי תפול עליהם אימתה ופחד ולמפרע אמן אמן סלה הללויה ואומר לחבירו ג"פ שלום וילך לביתו בלב טוב והדא היא לכל מפסיקין לראשי חדשים:
Then one says three times, ‘An auspicious omen, an auspicious omen, shall it be for all Israel. Blessed be He Who formed thee, blessed be Thy Maker, blessed be thy Possessor, blessed be thy Creator’. Turning in the direction of the moon, he jumps three times and exclaims three times, ‘As I jump towards thee but do not touch thee, so if others should jump against me to hurt me may they not touch me. Let terror and dread fall upon them and may this be retrospective, Amen, Amen, Selah. Praise ye the Lord’. He then says ‘Peace’ three times to his fellow and goes home with a cheerful heart. That is [the conclusion of the regulations] concerning the interruptions for New Moons.
It’s Motzei Shabbat. Everyone is wearing their finery. Resplendent and happy, they turn to the moon, that symbol of renewal and hope. They bless her and the God that created her. They praise her majesty. And then they engage in a ritual- dancing towards her and saying, “Just as I dance towards you but cannot touch you, so if others dance towards me to to harm me, may they not be able to touch (harm) me.”
Traditionally women don’t say this blessing. That makes sense to me because women are the moon (or at least are represented by her). That’s why Rosh Chodesh is a holiday for women! Yes, there are less flattering reasons as to why women don’t say this, but I like my interpretation better.
I like the idea that connects the cycle of the moon to the cycle of a woman’s fertility.
ספר אור זרוע חלק א – הלכות נדה סימן שס
ואמר בפרקי דר”א [=דרבי אליעזר] גבי ההיא דמסיק שהקב”ה [=שהקדוש ברוך הוא] נותן להן לנשים שכר לשמור ראשי חדשים על שלא חטאו במעשה עגל. ולע”ל [=ולעתיד לבוא] הקדוש ברוך הוא מחדש אותן כעין ראשי חדשים שנא[מר] כי כאשר השמים החדשים והארץ החדשה [אשר אני עושה עומדים לפני] וגו’ (ישעיהו סו: כב) תתחדש כנשר נעורייכי (תהילים קג:ה) תדע לך שכל חודש וחודש האשה מתקדשת וטובלת וחוזרת לבעלה והיא חביבה עליו כיום החופה. כשם שהלבנה מתחדשת בכל ראש חודש והכל מתאוין לראותה כך האשה כשהיא מתחדשת בכל חודש בעלה מתאוה עליה וחביבה עליו כאשה חדשה.
Or Zarua I Laws of Nidda 360
It says in Pirkei De-rabbi Eliezer regarding his conclusion that the Holy Blessed One gave women the reward of keeping Rosh Chodesh because they did not sin at the deed of the calf. And in the future, the Holy Blessed One will renew them like Rosh Chodesh as is written, “for like the new heavens and the new earth [that I make stand before me]”(Yeshayahu 66:227) …”your youth will be renewed like a griffon vulture” (Tehillim 103:5). Know that every single month a woman sanctifies herself and immerses and returns to her husband, and she is dear to him as on the day of the chuppa. Just as the moon renews herself every Rosh Chodesh and everyone desires to see her, so too the woman when she is renewed every month, her husband desires her and she is dear to him as a new woman.
Mixing the different ideas about symbolism of the moon together, what I get is this- women are connected to the moon because we experience cycles, waxing and waning just as she does. To see and greet the moon is like seeing the face of God. Men dance towards the moon but cannot touch her, and hope that similarly their enemies cannot touch them. When it comes to us women, just like everyone longs to see the new moon, so too our lovers desire to see us when we emerge from the ritual bath and return to them.
I think Judaism is filled with so much magic- powerful rituals, celebrations of femininity, and appreciation of beauty- and we’ve tamped so much of it down. Mikvah for example is a clinical experience as opposed to the wild, wondrous thing it should have been, immersing in the night in a spring or a lake under the cover of the stars, or on a rooftop in a basin filled with rainwater. The dance toward the moon should be filled with so much power and appreciation for the moon’s beauty as well as seeing this as an encounter with the feminine aspect of God.
But have you ever heard a rabbi (from a yeshivish background, and even Modern Orthodox) wax poetic about the power and the beauty in these rituals? Have they seemed moved by them? They can talk about all the halakhot, sure- but can they feel?
I want them to feel.
There was a world once where we valued beauty and men who were artisans and could create wondrous things. This was the world of Betzalel, the artisan, architect and craftsman par excellence of the Mishkan [Tabernacle]. I personally believe that an artist cannot create beauty without feeling it. Betzalel is not just a man dryly creating everything to exact measurements; he is also someone who feels things, has an eye for color, for the way in which items should be put together, for how to best honor God through his unique calling. For some reason, nowadays, as men study their Talmud texts, this passion, this depth of feeling, this love of beauty, is less acceptable. If it exists at all, it must be hidden.
I have a son who inherited all my qualities; he is a little Betzalel. I want the world to be kind to him. He has the mind to understand and analyze texts but I hope his teachers also nurture his creativity, his passion, his sense of beauty. I hope they don’t label him or crush his spirit. I hope they don’t hurt his soul.
I love my son and I want the world with the magical Judaism back, because it’s the world where he will flourish.
Until then, I’ll just create it at home.
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