Rosh Chodesh and Chodesh Tamuz

Rav M. Elon

We will dedicate this shi'ur to the topic of Rosh Chodesh (literally "Head of Month," i.e. the beginning of each month) in general, and Rosh Chodesh Tamuz in particular.

This shi'ur will be a small intermission in our greater endeavors of studying each tribe, its specific attributes, and the relationship between the tribe, its characteristics, the precious stone that represents it in the Choshen (the Kohen Gadol's breastplate,) the color of its flag in the desert, and the form that appears on the flag.

And now to the topic of today's shi'ur: The Shulchan Aruch begins the laws of Rosh Chodesh with a halacha that we will soon see defines the spiritual character of Rosh Chodesh.

"On Rosh Chodesh it is permitted to perform m'lacha, (those 'work' activities forbidden on Shabbat.)"

(Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, 417:1)

The Shulchan Aruch's terminology indicates that there may have been room to think that it is forbidden to perform m'lacha on Rosh Chodesh. Therefore the Shulchan Aruch emphasizes that "On Rosh Chodesh it is permitted to perform m'lacha."

The Shulchan Aruch then adds:

"And those women who are accustomed not to do any m'lacha (theirs) is a good practice ("minhag.")"

(ibid.)

This addendum to the first halacha caused great difficulty to many of the Commentators, leading to very diverse results.

There were those who understood that women may not do any m'lacha on Rosh Chodesh, and the terminology of the Shulchan Aruch "And those women who" does not indicate an intention to alleviate the severity of the prohibition of performing m'lacha, but rather indicates that this prohibition is based in minhag (custom) and not in halacha (law.)

There were others (the Bach among them) who understood that there is no prohibition whatsoever to perform m'lacha on Rosh Chodesh. The Shulchan Aruch simply wishes to inform us that there is a good minhag (custom, practice) of refraining from the performance of m'lacha, and therefore one may not compel a woman to do m'lacha, for she may claim that it is her minhag not to perform m'lacha on Rosh Chodesh.

The Mishnah B'rura deals with this issue at length in his "Be'ur Halacha" commentary to the Shulchan Aruch. His conclusion is:

"Indeed from all the Poskim (Halachic authorities) that I have mentioned above it does not seem (to be correct) in accordance with his words, but rather there is a mitzva for women to refrain from m'lacha performance on Rosh Chodesh."

(Be'ur Halacha, s.v. Minhag tov, ibid.)

This the Mishnah B'rura understands that there is a mitzva for women to refrain from m'lacha on Rosh Chodesh. As we have seen many times previously, the world of the Halacha serves as a the orchestra through which the chords and melodies of the world of the Aggada (Homiletics) are heard in the open. Thus the world of Halacha and the halachic manifestations hold within them the deeper internal content of the issues. And thus it is through this topic, which seems to be purely technical and no more, that we will begin our study of Rosh Chodesh.

What, then, is the status of Rosh Chodesh? Is it a festival, a Yom Tov? We must recall that despite the fact that on Rosh Chodesh there is the additional Musaf prayer, as there is on Yom Tov, Rosh Chodesh is not one of the Shalosh R'galim (Three Pilgrimage Festivals,) for one is not required to visit the Temple on Rosh Chodesh.

Rosh Chodesh appears in the Torah in an additional context. The Torah instructs as to an obligation to sound the trumpets, which is to be done on two occasions:

"When you go to war against an enemy who attacks you in your land, you shall sound the trumpets..."

(Bamidbar 10:9)

In other words when a war takes place, or in the words of the Rambam "on the occasion of any calamity affecting the population," (Rambam, Laws of Ta'ani'ot 1:1,) we are required to turn to God and sound the trumpets.

Following this verse the Torah states:

"And on days of your rejoicing, on your festivals, and on your Rosh Chodesh celebrations, you shall sound the trumpets for your burnt offerings (olot) and your peace offerings (sh'lamim.) This will be a remembrance before your God. I am God your Lord."

(ibid. v. 10)

The Torah thus records three categories of occasions:

1. "Days of your rejoicing;"
2. "Your festivals" -- i.e. the Shalosh R'galim;
3. "Your Rosh Chodesh celebrations."

On these three occasions then, when the communal sacrifices are brought, (this is reference to "your burnt offerings,") at the specific time of the offering, in addition to the songs that the Levi'im would sing, they would also sound the trumpets.

Let us explain these concepts.

"Your festivals," are the Shalosh R'galim, which would seem to have a higher status that that of Rosh Chodesh. Why, then, does the verse mention the Shalosh R'galim in the middle of its list of occasions when the trumpets are sounded? As we will soon see, the verse is in fact ordered in such a manner so as to move from the less severe, the less important, to the more important. If the Shalosh R'galim are of major importance -- then they should only have been mentioned after those minor occasions are mentioned, and then in an ordered sequence moving from the minor to the major, the Shalosh R'galim should have been mentioned at the conclusion of the list, after the mention of Rosh Chodesh, for the Shalosh R'galim are of greater import than Rosh Chodesh.

This is one issue we must consider.

What is "days of your rejoicing?" Indeed every day should be a day of rejoicing!

(Contrary to our modern approach as to what "simcha" -- "happiness" -- is.) The verse refers to the sounding of the trumpets which accompanies the offering of the "Tamid" sacrifices, (literally "consistent,") the morning Tamid and the afternoon Tamid.

Therefore, if the verse is ordered in a manner demonstrating the importance o each concept, it is unclear why the mention of the Shalosh R'galim precedes that of Rosh Chodesh, for the Shalosh R'galim surpass all the other occasions mentioned in the verse, and thus should have been placed last. And if the verse is ordered in accordance with the frequency of occurrence of each event, then Rosh Chodesh should have been mentioned prior to the Shalosh R'galim, for Rosh Chodesh and its sacrifice have a far greater frequency that the Shalosh R'galim and their sacrifices.

Thus we have no alternative but to explain that the verse is ordered in an ascending fashion. Firstly the Tamid sacrifices which are offered every day, then the Shalosh R'galim, and finally at the climax, above these two, we have Rosh Chodesh. We thus see that there is an aspect of Rosh Chodesh that places it above than the festivals. What this aspect -- the essence and defining character of Rosh Chodesh -- is, we have yet to clarify.

In Sefer Y'sha'yahu we find the final mention of Rosh Chodesh of all the Tanach.

"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says God, so shall your seed and your name endure. And it shall come to pass, that every Rosh Chodesh and every Shabbat all flesh will come to bow down before me, says God."

(Y'sha'yahu 66:22,23)

These verses describe the future reality at the end of days. The prophet Y'sha'yahu describes what will occur on Rosh Chodesh in the end of days: "all flesh will come to bow down before me," meaning that Rosh Chodesh will become what the Shalosh R'galim are today.

Yet there is something even deeper that is being emphasized here. It is with these verses that Y'sha'yahu concludes his vision of the end of days -- what is the prime characteristic of this conclusion? That in the future people will come to the Temple on Rosh Chodesh as on the R'galim.

Is this all that characterizes the ending of the prophecy?

Y'sha'yahu describes an idyllic reality of "new heavens and the new earth," of the eternity of Yisra'el, of "so shall your seed and your name endure," while this ideal is directly linked to the prophet's description of the pilgrimage to the Temple taking place on Rosh Chodesh as on the R'galim. This description leads us to appreciate that Rosh Chodesh contains an element of the future, of the end of days. An element which has not yet materialized in our contemporary world. However in the future, when there will be "new heavens and the new earth," then the true nature of Rosh Chodesh and its influence will be revealed in all their beauty.

In any event it appears that the pilgrimage on Rosh Chodesh is a defining characteristic that distinguishes between the two period. And this is an issue we must clarify -- what lies behind this distinction? Why is Rosh Chodesh today of such a minor and secondary nature, while in the future it becomes so central? What is that point that distinguishes between the two?

Let us note that the minhag which we opened with -- that women refrain from performing m'lacha on Rosh Chodesh, stems from the Tur:

"And this also appears in the Yerushalmi: 'Those women who do not do m'lacha on Rosh Chodesh -- it is a minhag.'"

Then the Tur adds:

"And in the forty-fifth chapter of Pirkei d'Rabi Eli'ezer it states: 'For the women did not want to give their husbands their nose-rings for the making of the (Golden) Calf, therefore God gave them their reward that they should observe Rosh Chodesh more than men do."

Thus the custom of the women to refrain from m'lacha on Rosh Chodesh is related to their minor role in the sin of the Golden Calf.

The Tur continues:

"And I heard a reason for this from my brother, Rav Yehuda, that the Festivals were instituted corresponding to the forefathers: Pesach corresponds to Avraham, as the verse states: 'Knead and make cakes,' (B'reshit 18:6,) and it was Pesach. Shavu'ot corresponds to Yitzchak, for the sounding of the shofar of the Giving of the Torah was with the shofar of the ram of Yitzchak. Sukkot corresponds to Ya'akov, as the verse states: 'And he made sukkot for his livestock,' (B'reshit 23:17.)"

Then the Tur explains Rosh Chodesh:

"And the twelve Rosh Chodeshes of the year which are also termed 'mo'adim' ('festivals') correspond to the twelve tribes; and when they sinned with the sin of the Golden Calf they (the Rosh Chodeshes) were taken from them and given to their wives to commemorate that they were not involved in that sin."

Therefore the twelve Rosh Chodeshes of the year correspond to the twelve tribes of Yisra'el, and when the tribes sinned with the Golden Calf "they (the Rosh Chodeshes) were taken from them and given to their wives." The hidden connection between the Golden Calf and Rosh Chodesh will become clearer as we progress with our shi'ur.

Let us mention one more point before we analyze these issues in depth.

In the Musaf ('Additional') prayer of Rosh Chodesh we say as follows:

"Rosh Chodeshes have you given Your people, a time of atonement for all their offspring, when they would bring before You offerings for favor and goats of sin-offerings to atone on their behalf. They would serve as a remembrance for them all and a salvation for their soul from the hand of the enemy. May You establish a new altar in Zion, and may we bring up upon it the o'lah of Rosh Chodesh, and prepare he-goats with favor. In the service of the Holy Temple may we all rejoice, and in the songs of Your servant David that are heard in Your city, when they are recited before Your altar. May You bring them an eternal love, and may You recall the covenant of the forefathers upon the children."

(Musaf Amida of Rosh Chodesh, beginning of fourth b'racha.)

This section of the prayer service specifically for Rosh Chodesh is an enigma which immediately catches our attention, and deserves analysis and explanation.

Rosh Chodesh is "a time of atonement... when they would bring before You offerings for favor." On the R'galim were any sacrifices offered that were not "for favor?"

"And a salvation for their soul from the hand of the enemy" -- who, or what, is this "enemy?"

There are additional issues which are unclear: "May You establish a new altar in Zion, and may we bring up upon it the o'lah of Rosh Chodesh." Will this "new altar" be solely for the Rosh Chodesh sacrifices?

"And prepare he-goats with favor" -- once again it is unclear what exactly the term "with favor" is intended to convey.

The concluding phrases are enigmatic also:

"And in the songs of Your servant David that are heard in Your city" -- weren't songs sung every day before the altar?

"May You bring them an eternal love" -- what is this "eternal love?"

And finally, "And may You recall the covenant of the forefathers upon the children," what is unique about Rosh Chodesh in this regard?

After this long preface, let us begin the subject of Rosh Chodesh from the beginning.

Rosh Chodesh is connected to the sin of the Golden Calf, and the sin of the Golden Calf which affected all of Jewish history took place on the seventeenth of Tamuz. If we had merited it, the seventeenth of Tamuz would have been the day of the receiving of the Torah -- the day on which Moshe Rabbenu descended Mount Sinai with the Luchot ha'Brit (Tablets of the Covenant.) This day is destined to become a day of happiness and rejoicing at the end of days, when the characteristics of the mourning are reversed.

Now on to the central issues: It would seem that the major distinction between Rosh Chodesh and the other R'galim is that each of the Shaloch R'galim commemorates a specific event which occurred on that day, and we observe this through specific activities. On Pesach -- we were redeemed from Egypt, for example, and so too with the other festivals. And even those days which ae not characterized by an historical event, like Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, these are days when God sits in judgment and "the books of the living and the dead are open before Him," and we demonstrate this in our behavior on these days.

Rosh Chodesh is completely different in that it is not characterized by any historical event. This is the secret of its strength, for an historical event will one day no longer be recalled and commemorated. The greater the event, the greater the impact and the disparity between the period when we commemorate the event and when we cease to do so. Yet a day which is observed without any link to an event which occurred in a specific era or time period has a constant manifestation.

The significance of this is as follows: The exodus from Egypt was quite obviously a momentous event which left its mark on the course of international progress, and specifically on the development of the Jewish nation. Yet on the day we merit the complete redemption, this final redemption will surpass our redemption from Egypt, overshadowing it by far. Then the Exodus from Egypt will shrink in importance, or even be annulled completely.

In contrast, Rosh Chodesh does not signify any time-specific event. Rosh Chodesh is far loftier, in a manner that we are unable to comprehend in this world. Rosh Chodesh's inner character can be grasped by examining the description of our prophets as to the changes in nature that will take place at the end of days.

Let us offer the following introduction: Y'chezkel concludes his prophecies with the description of the Third Temple. One of the events that he describes is water that flows forth from the Temple. This water swells and rises up and up, and Y'chezkel is unable to stand where he is, and is forced to climb up stairs in order to save himself. Slowly he sees the water that flows from the Temple descending to the south-east, flowing to the Dead Sea. Y'chezkel describes:

"Then he said to me, 'These waters issue out towards the eastern region, and descend into the Arava, and on their entering the sea, the sea of issuing waters, the waters will be healed."

(Y'chezkel 47:8)

These waters descend to the Dead Sea, (which is "the sea of issuing waters,") causing a great transformation in the Dead Sea and its surrounds:

"And it shall come to pass, that every living thing with which it swarms, wherever the streams will come, will live; and there will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters will come there, so that everything will be healed and will live where that stream comes."

(ibid. v. 9)

The Dead Sea will thus become full of life, "and there will be a very great multitude of fish" -- why? "Because these waters will come there" -- because the water which exited the Temple will flow into the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea will be filled with fishermen:

"And it will come to pass that the fishermen will stand on it from Ein Gedi until Ein Eglayim, there will be place for the spreading of nets, their fish will be of various kinds, like the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many."

(ibid. v. 10)

But at the same time a number of the salt mounds will remain:

"But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given for salt."

(ibid. v. 11)

And then we come to the connection to Rosh Chodesh:

"And by the stream upon its bank, on this side and on that side, shall grow all food-bearing trees, whose leaf will not wither, neither will its fruit fail; it will bring forth new fruit every month, because their waters have emerged from the Temple, and its fruit will be for food, and its leaf for medicine."

(ibid v. 12)

"It will bring forth new fruit every month" -- every Rosh Chodesh it will bring forth its monthly yield of new fruit. In other words there will no longer be the seasons of the year, summer, winter, etc., rather each month, with the rejuvenation of the moon, will bring about the rejuvenation of nature.

These, then, are the closing episodes of Y'chezkel's prophecy.

This reminds us of the words of Y'sha'yahu we mentioned above: "For as the new heavens and the new earth" -- the basis of the two prophecies being the same.

In our contemporary reality there are the heavens and the earth, which are related to the seasons of the year. However in the end of days there will be a revitalization of nature. There will no longer be seasons of the year, but rather just as the heavens and the earth will be renewed so too Am Yisra'el will be revitalized and rejuvenated. The difficulty of the human worldly existence in our times is that there is no light without darkness, there is no day without night, there is neither spring nor summer without the winter that precedes them.

The word 'choref' - 'winter' -- holds within it the essence of our lives in this world. 'Choref' stems from the root chet, resh, peh, which is at the root of the word 'cherpa' -- shame, disgrace. What is shameful? The word 'cherpa' appears in relation to the foreskin which is circumcised. The foreskin is disgraceful, and in the words of Yehoshu'a after circumcising Yisra'el at Gilgal:

"This day I have removed the cherpa (shame/disgrace) of Egypt from you."

(Yehoshu'a 5:9)

The foreskin, then, is the cover -- when the cover is removed, the cherpa is removed.

The word 'cherpa' appears first in the Torah in the words of Rachel, who was barren for many years. After she was able to give birth to a healthy child she says:

"God has gathered my cherpa."

(B'reshit 30:23)

In other words everything had been covered, concealed, until now.

Chana, too, pleads for an end to her barren state, saying:

"There is no Rock like our God... for all the cliffs of the earth are God's."

(Sh'mu'el I 2:2,8)

This is Chana's own description of "cliffs of the earth," a description of the cliffs and mountains that halt the progress of her life. Infertility is thus linked to cherpa, cessation and halting.

This is the painful, demoralizing infertility that prevents one's life forces from breaking forth. It is a fundamental notion that infertility began with Sara, Sara who appeared after the first two thousand chaotic years of the world's existence, and then simultaneously the notion of sterility appears.

Not only Sara was barren, but all our matriarchs were barren -- Sara, Rivka, Rachel, and even Leah, for the Torah states:

"And God opened her womb."

(B'reshit 29:31)

This indicates that she too was barren.

In addition to our four matriarchs who were barren, there are three more women of whom the Tanach testifies that they were barren: The wife of Mano'ach, who was to bear Shim'shon, Chana, and the final barren individual is Zion, as the prophet states:

"Be joyous, barren one who has not given birth."

(Y'sha'yahu 54:1)

The removal of the cherpa, the shame and the disgrace, is the removal of the cover that prevents the manifestation of the concealed potential. This is what winter is in nature. During winter the produce is concealed under the earth's surface, it does not rise up onto the surface during winter.

In the future, in the end of days, there will no longer be day and night, for in the future the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun. And when the moon will be restored it will be Rosh Chodesh, when the "new heavens and the new earth" will exist. In the end of days every Rosh Chodesh will be the day of nature's ripening, for those waters that will flow from the Temple will be different waters, life-giving waters, waters of the end of days. When this water will go forth from the Temple, there will no longer be desert, for the desert will bloom and blossom.

This is the reason for the incorporation of the "Barchi Nafshi" psalm into the prayer service on Rosh Chodesh.

At first glance it seems that this psalm has no association to Eretz Yisra'el. It talks about rabbits and ibexes, which are usually found in the desert, and then the psalm continues:

"Behold this sea -- great and of broad measure"

(Tehillim 104:25)

and then:

"This whale you created to engage in recreation with."

(ibid. v. 26)

What do these descriptions have to do with the Judean Desert?

Certainly these are not a collection of different descriptions nor a haphazard compilation of various ideas!

The basis for understanding this is as follows:

David sits in the Judean Desert, and he is able to observe the rocks and ibexes, the rabbits and leopards, and then he looks in the direction of the Dead Sea, and says:

"Behold this sea -- great and of broad measure... there ships will travel."

(ibid. v. 25, 26)

He says "will travel," in the future tense. David says here is the Judean Desert which overlooks the Dead Sea, the Sea of Death -- I see in the future the rocks and rock rabbits of the desert together with the water and the sea. If this is the case, then

"Barchi nafshi et Hashem" -- "Let my soul bless God."

(ibid. v. 1)

For if this occurs we then know that we have reached a period when

"Sinners will cease from the earth."

(ibid. v. 35)

And then

"May the glory of God endure forever, let God rejoice in his works."

(ibid v. 31)

In other words God too, will rejoice, so to speak, in his works, for then:

"The wilderness and the arid land will be glad, and the desert will rejoice and blossom like the tulip."

(Y'sha'yahu 35:1)

On Rosh Chodesh we say the psalm of Barchi Nafshi which is the psalm of the rejuvenating, revitalizing nature, as the verse states:

"And You renew the surface of the earth."

(Tehillim 104:30)

This psalm describes how the dead vegetation and animal life is renewed and comes to life. This is the character of Rosh Chodesh, rejuvenation and renewal.

Rosh Chodesh does not commemorate an historic event, rather it marks the understanding that the world will be renewed and revitalized. Rosh Chodesh is the appreciation that a day will come when we will emerge from this period of winters and summers, days and nights, to an age when "a day approaches which is neither day nor night," a day which is not preceded by night.

We recall the episode of the diminishing of the moon, when the moon complained that "two kings do not share one crown," and therefore God reduced the moon. There the moon asks God -- 'Simply for asking a rational, fair question I must diminish myself?'

From then onwards God attempts to placate and appease the moon, but it refuses to be consoled, until God tells Yisra'el "to bring a he-goat on Rosh Chodesh." To quote God's words, this goat is "atonement for My having diminished the moon."

Rav Charlap explained the following issue in the above Gemara: Why do all the R'galim involve pilgrimage to the Temple and the requirement to be present in the courtyard of the Temple, while Rosh Chodesh does not? He answers as follows:

"And it would appear correct to say that the reason is that on Rosh Chodesh God said: 'This goat will be atonement for My having diminished the moon,' as if to say that God feels liable for having diminished the moon. And since the basis of T'shuva (literally "returning," ie. repentance) is shame, there is no mitzva of being present in the (Temple) courtyard on Rosh Chodesh in order not to emphasize this aspect of shame. However in the future when this sin will be rectified, and the lamination of the moon will be like that of the sun, then there will surely be (the mitzva of) being present in the (Temple) courtyard on Rosh Chodesh too."

(Mei Marom 13)

Thus, God is shamed and embarrassed, so to speak, when Yisra'el appear in the courtyard of the Temple on Rosh Chodesh, for He is 'doing T'shuva' so to speak. And therefore it is not apt to appear in the Temple and observe God in his moment of penitence and shame.

This idea does not only reveal God's shame, so to speak, but at the base of this concept lies the shame of everything -- of Am Yisra'el, of nature, of winter, and of death. However in the future, in the end of days, when the moon has been mended and its light is like the light of the sun -- then there will be pilgrimage to the Temple on Rosh Chodesh, and we will all appear in the Temple's courtyard every month.

Let us consider this issue further.

When the moon went and complained: "Two kings can not share one crown" -- this is in fact correct! However what is it the moon's business to be concerned with this? Who appointed the moon a "king" to worry over a crown?

God then tells the moon: '"You are unable to share one crown with the sun because of your haughtiness! You consider yourself a 'king' as opposed to an 'emissary' -- you and the sun are emissaries! Two emissaries can most certainly serve one king. Then God tells the moon, "Diminish yourself," while this diminishment will lead the moon to its true proportions. Then begins a whole education process for the moon, for the moon refuses to be consoled.

Therefore God tells the moon that it may rule over day and night, for one who occupies volume, is limited by time. The moon responds: "How does a candle offer benefit during the day?" What good does a candle do in the sun? The moon is in fact asking who will notice its influence during the day, and hence what good is it?

God tells the moon to move on to the next step -- for if the moon diminishes itself, it will be surrounded by stars, for one who contracts himself is very pleasant company, (despite the fact that these stars may even be larger than the moon, but they are meaningless, for next to the moon they seem small, for true greatness is measured by the ability to contract and diminish oneself.)

Yet the moon is still unsatisfied, for in this world we do not know how to properly diminish ourselves. The moon desires to appear every day, but it is precisely this longing that prevents the appearance of new heavens and a new earth. This yearning and striving is what perpetuates the reality of day and night.

Then God says: "They will bring atonement for My having diminished the moon," for as long as the world does not understand that its greatness is in the diminishment, then shame does not exist in this world, and Rosh Chodesh cannot materialize in all its beauty.

Rosh Chodesh is not a commemoration of any specific event, Rosh Chodesh teaches the concept of renewal, the concept of "And You renew the surface of the earth." Rosh Chodesh is not commemorative of salvation from death, but rather is the annulment of death. It is a description of there no longer being death in the Dead Sea, it is a time of new heavens and a new earth, and our seed, the seed of Yisra'el existing as the heavens and the earth do.

Rosh Chodesh is the time when man looks at nature around him and sees that everything speaks of life and of God. Therefore Rosh Chodesh is the festival of the end of days. And hence in this world, which is the world of nistar -- concealment -- it is termed "Ba'ke'se l'yom cha'genu" -- "at the time appointed for our festive day." when the moon is concealed. But it is within this concealment that everything takes place.

In the sin of the Golden Calf, Moshe is unseen, he is late in returning. Moshe, who is like the sun, represents the Godly conveyor. He is hidden, and therefore the nation and Aharon search for something tangible. The nation refuses to wait, and when men could no longer cope with the concealment -- the women did not sin!

In this world, Rosh Chodesh -- unlike the R'galim -- is not clearly defined. Pesach, for example, illustrates good and evil, and how the good triumphs over the evil. Therefore the happiness and rejoicing are great. However on Rosh Chodesh the good does not triumph over the evil, rather the evil is transformed into good. In the future, in the end of days we will reveal Rosh Chodesh. And that it what the prayer service of Rosh Chodesh is about:

"Rosh Chodeshes have You given Your people, a time of atonement for all their offspring."

In other words, on Rosh Chodesh we triumph over time, and then we bring sacrifices which are "l'ratzon" -- "for favor." Not solely sacrifices which are in praise and thanksgiving for a past event, (for example the slavery in Egypt,) when we offer thanks for our redemption, but in fact prefer that it would never have happened in the first place. Here, on Rosh Chodesh, the sacrifices are "l'ratzon."

The sin-offering if for God, as if to say that God is no longer ashamed or embarrassed that the normal manifestation cannot exist in the world. On Rosh Chodesh we offer a sin-offering to God in humility in order to appease! To appease the moon that does not understand the diminishment, and to tell God that we are heading for "And You renew the surface of the earth."

"Prepare a new altar in Zion" -- the whole concept of Rosh Chodesh is that of a new altar. It does not relate to something that occurred in the past.

"And we will offer the o'lah of Rosh Chodesh on it" -- on that new altar.

And when we come to the Temple we will bring the bikkurim -- the first fruits -- that ripen and are renewed every month.

"And we all will rejoice in the service of the Temple" -- for these sacrifices are not a result of a past tragedy or catastrophe, but are brought out of true joy.

"And in the songs of David your servant that are said at your altar" -- the songs will influence the soul to have "an eternal love."

This "eternal love" is that one will finally understand how to love the world -- he will perceive the inner connection of reality. For then we will love the world, and the world will love us. And when this occurs -- then "may You recall the covenant of the forefathers upon the children" -- for then the content of the sacrifices reflect not to miracles which occurred to our forefathers, but rather the deeds of their children, (and therefore the forefathers are mentioned solely in relation to the covenant.)

And from this point in the Amida the prayers continue as they do on the R'galim: "And may you bring us to Zion, Your city, with happiness."

We opened our shi'ur with the verse "And on days of your rejoicing, on your festivals, and on your Rosh Chodesh celebrations," and we questioned why Rosh Chodesh is mentioned last, as if at the climax of the list. Now there is no question! For Rosh Chodesh is indeed elevated above all the days of rejoicing!

Am Yisra'el could have merited an additional twelve festivals, Rosh Chodesh of every month, their purpose being to reveal the inner independence of Am Yisra'el. However we stumbled, sinning with the Golden Calf, thus detaching heaven from earth. Therefore we no longer have the Rosh Chodeshes as festivals. However there were those who did not sin, those who did not listen to the words of Pharaoh, those who did not offer their jewelry for manufacture of the Golden Calf. These are the women, the daughters and granddaughters of the four barren matriarchs who taught the world that simply because something is concealed does not mean that it does not exist. To the contrary, the concealed content of the world exists in a beauty ten times greater than that which is revealed to the eye. They, then have the original Rosh Chodesh.

And when all of Yisra'el recognize this, then the cherpa, the shame will be removed. And then the light of the moon will equal that of the sun, and the light of the sun will shine brighter, as the light of the seven days of creation. Then we will discover the Rosh Chodesh of Am Yisra'el.

The Kabbalistic books mention that Rosh Chodesh is the day of our matriarch Rachel, and a hint can be found in the Amida of Rosh Chodesh:

"Rosh Chodashim lahem natata" -- "You have given them Rosh Chodeshes" -- spelling the name 'Rachel' -- resh, chet, lamed.

As we mentioned above, Rachel was the epitome of infertility. She, more than anyone else, taught the world that that which is concealed is more genuine, and also "God has gathered my shame" when Yosef is born. She also announces:

"May God give me another son."

(B'reshit 30:24)

Rachel knew that this son which was just born, is in act linked to another, yet to born. She teaches us the nature of Rosh Chodesh, which is independent of any event or incident, yet which strives to cleave to the concealed, leading it to revelation.

This is also our mission in this world, to add to and build ourselves with the appreciation that specifically the diminished one, the humble, he who is like the moon, rules over both day and night. He is accompanied by the stars as a result of his humility and modesty. And it is he who at the termination of the process well reach that era of new heavens and a new earth, days when the light of the moon will be as the light of sun, and the light of the sun will shine brighter than ever as it did during the seven days of creation, when God will restore His nation and cure all ills -- Amen!

Translated by Sholem Hurwitz

Copyright Keren Yishai/Rav M. Elon