(2) ’This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.
(א) וַיַּ֣רְא הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־בֹשֵׁ֥שׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָרֶ֣דֶת מִן־הָהָ֑ר וַיִּקָּהֵ֨ל הָעָ֜ם עַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ ק֣וּם ׀ עֲשֵׂה־לָ֣נוּ אֱלֹקִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר יֵֽלְכוּ֙ לְפָנֵ֔ינוּ כִּי־זֶ֣ה ׀ מֹשֶׁ֣ה הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הֶֽעֱלָ֙נוּ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְנוּ מֶה־הָ֥יָה לֽוֹ׃ (ב) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵקֶם֙ אַהֲרֹ֔ן פָּֽרְקוּ֙ נִזְמֵ֣י הַזָּהָ֔ב אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּאָזְנֵ֣י נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם בְּנֵיכֶ֖ם וּבְנֹתֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָבִ֖יאוּ אֵלָֽי׃ (ג) וַיִּתְפָּֽרְקוּ֙ כָּל־הָעָ֔ם אֶת־נִזְמֵ֥י הַזָּהָ֖ב אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּאָזְנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיָּבִ֖יאוּ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹֽן׃ (ד) וַיִּקַּ֣ח מִיָּדָ֗ם וַיָּ֤צַר אֹתוֹ֙ בַּחֶ֔רֶט וַֽיַּעֲשֵׂ֖הוּ עֵ֣גֶל מַסֵּכָ֑ה וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֵ֤לֶּה אֱלֹקֶ֙יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶעֱל֖וּךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ (ה) וַיַּ֣רְא אַהֲרֹ֔ן וַיִּ֥בֶן מִזְבֵּ֖חַ לְפָנָ֑יו וַיִּקְרָ֤א אַֽהֲרֹן֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר חַ֥ג לַה' מָחָֽר׃
(1) When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for that man Moses, who brought us from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him.” (2) Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” (3) And all the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. (4) This he took from them and cast in a mold, and made it into a molten calf. And they exclaimed, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (5) When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron announced: “Tomorrow shall be a festival of the LORD!”
When the Jews asked Aaron to make them a golden calf, Aaron said to them, "Remove the rings that are in the ears of your wives (Sh'mot 32:2)." The women, however, did not agree to give their jewelry to their husbands. Rather, they said to them: "Should we make a calf which is an abomination and has no power to save us? We will not listen to you!" Hashem rewarded them in this world that they keep Rosh Chodesh more than the men do. He also rewarded them in the world to come that they will be renewed like the Roshei Chodoshim, as the verse says: "Your youth shall be renewed to be [as light] as an eagle (Tehillim 103:5)."
(ב) באזני נשיכם. אָמַר אַהֲרֹן בְּלִבּוֹ: הַנָּשִׁים וְהַיְלָדִים חָסִים עַל תַּכְשִׁיטֵיהֶן, שֶׁמָּא יִתְעַכֵּב הַדָּבָר וּבְתוֹךְ כַּךְ יָבֹא מֹשֶׁה, וְהֵם לֹא הִמְתִּינוּ וּפָרְקוּ מֵעַל עַצְמָן:
(2) באזני נשיכם [BREAK OFF THE GOLDEN PENDANTS], WHICH ARE IN THE EARS OF YOUR WIVES — Aaron said to himself: women and children have a love for their ornaments; perhaps the matter will be delayed because they will hesitate to give their ornaments, and in the meantime Moses may arrive. They (the men), however, did not wait until the women and children made up their minds but they took the ornaments off themselves (cf. v. 3: they took off the pendants which were in their ears; there is no reference to the pendants belonging to the women).
(כב) ויבואו האנשים על הנשים. כלומר לשלול מהן תכשיטיהן כדכתיב חח ונזם ואעפ"כ הנשים שמחות וזהירות במלאכת שמים כדכתיב כל הנשים אשר נשא לבן אותנה לפיכך זכו הנשים שלא לעשות מלאכה בראש חדש לפי שבמעשה העגל לקחו תכשיטיהן בעל כרחן כדמשמע מדכתיב ויתפרקו וגו' ובמעשה המשכן שמחו בנתינה לפיכך נתן להם ר"ח לי"ט ונ"ל דזהו ר"ח ניסן שבו הוקם המשכן ואגב אותו ר"ח משמרות כל ר"ח השנה:
(22) ויבואו האנשים על הנשים, “and the men came to the women intending to deny them to offer their jewelry such as חח ונזם nose rings and ear rings; however the women were quite anxious to donate even these pieces of jewelry, seeing that it was for holy purpose. This is why the Torah gives them special credit for their general attitude in verse 26: וכל הנשים אשר נשא לבם אותנה, “and all the women whose heart stirred them, etc.” According to our sages, this is the reason why they were given a holiday each Rosh Chodesh by being allowed to treat it as a sort of holiday, not having to perform tedious activities. This was also in recognition of the fact that they had refused to part with any of their jewelry during the episode of the golden calf. (Compare Exodus 32,2, as interpreted by Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer in chapter 45). According to our author, they were given off on the first day of the month of Nissan during that year, as that was the day when the Tabernacle was put up. Subsequently, every Rosh Chodesh became a semi-holiday for the women.
וא"ר אחא בר חנינא א"ר אסי א"ר יוחנן כל המברך על החדש בזמנו כאילו מקבל פני שכינה כתיב הכא (שמות יב, ב) החדש הזה וכתיב התם (שמות טו, ב) זה אלי ואנוהו
R. Aha b. Hanina also said in the name of R. Assi in R. Johanan's name: Whoever pronounces the blessing over the new moon in its due time welcomes, as it were, the presence of the Shechinah: for one passage states, "This month;" while elsewhere it is said, "This is my God, and I will glorify Him."
רבי שמעון בן פזי רמי כתיב (בראשית א, טז) ויעש אלהים את שני המאורות הגדולים וכתיב את המאור הגדול ואת המאור הקטן אמרה ירח לפני הקב"ה רבש"ע אפשר לשני מלכים שישתמשו בכתר אחד אמר לה לכי ומעטי את עצמך אמרה לפניו רבש"ע הואיל ואמרתי לפניך דבר הגון אמעיט את עצמי אמר לה לכי ומשול ביום ובלילה אמרה ליה מאי רבותיה דשרגא בטיהרא מאי אהני אמר לה זיל לימנו בך ישראל ימים ושנים אמרה ליה יומא נמי אי אפשר דלא מנו ביה תקופותא דכתיב (בראשית א, יד) והיו לאותות ולמועדים ולימים ושנים זיל ליקרו צדיקי בשמיך (עמוס ז, ב) יעקב הקטן שמואל הקטן (שמואל א יז, יד) דוד הקטן חזייה דלא קא מיתבא דעתה אמר הקב"ה הביאו כפרה עלי שמיעטתי את הירח והיינו דאמר ר"ש בן לקיש מה נשתנה שעיר של ראש חדש שנאמר בו (במדבר כח, יא) לה' אמר הקב"ה שעיר זה יהא כפרה על שמיעטתי את הירח
R. Simeon b. Pazzi pointed out a contradiction [between verses]. One verse
says, And God made the two great lights, and immediately the verse continues,
The greater light...and the lesser light. The moon said unto the Holy One,
blessed be He, "Sovereign of the Universe! Is it possible for two kings to wear one
crown?" He answered, "Go then and make thyself smaller". "Sovereign of the
Universe!" cried the moon, "because I have suggested that which is proper must I then
make myself smaller?" He replied, "Go, and thou wilt rule by day and by night." "But
what is the value of this?" cried the moon. "Of what use is a lamp in broad daylight?"
He replied. "Go. Israel shall reckon by thee the days and the years." "But it is
impossible," said the moon, "to do without the sun for the reckoning of the seasons, as
it is written, And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and for
years." "Go.The righteous shall be named after thee as we find, Jacob the Small,
Samuel the Small, David the Small." On seeing that it would not be consoled, the
Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Bring an atonement for Me for making the moon
smaller." This is what was meant by R. Simeon b. Lakish when he declared, "Why is it
that the he-goat offered on the new moon is distinguished in that there is written
concerning it unto the Lord? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Let this
he-goat be an atonement for Me for making the moon smaller."
This 'lessening of the moon' was interpreted by the Kabbalists as a symbol of the Shekhinah's exile. The Shekhinah itself is the 'holy moon,' which has fallen from its high rank, been robbed of its light and sent into cosmic exile. Since then, exactly like the moon itself, it has shone only with reflected light. With the Talmudic explanation, which relates only to the designation of the moon as the 'lesser light' in the first chapter of Genesis, the Kabbalists connected their knowledge of the changing phases of the moon, which seemed to indicate that until the Messianic redemption the moon (and the Shekhinah as well) would time and time again sink back into utter lightlessness and want. Only in redemption would the moon be restored to its original state, and in support of this belief a verse from Isaiah (3o : 26) was cited. Meanwhile, no cosmic event seemed to the Kabbalists to be more closely connected with the exile of all things, with the imperfection and the taint inherent in all being, than this periodic lessening of the moon.
This renewal is to be to you a beginning of New moons (literally a beginning of renewals, of revivals)"
...Each time the moon finds the sun again, each time it receives its rays of light afresh, God wants the Jewish people to find God again and to be illuminated with fresh rays of God's light, wherever, and however, in running their course, they have had to pass through periods of darkness and obscurity. (pg. 125)
The Israelites find the presence of God in the sanctuary, which represents the permanent holiness of sacred space, and on the festivals, which represent the recurring holiness of sacred time.
מוסף לראש חודש
ראשי חדשים לעמך נתת, זמן כפרה לכל תולדותם.
Musaf for Rosh Chodesh
Beginnings of Months you gave to your people, a time of atonement for all their deeds.
(א) רֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ מֻתָּר בַּעֲשִׂיַּת מְלָאכָה, וְהַנָּשִׁים שֶׁנּוֹהֲגוֹת שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲשׂוֹת בּוֹ מְלָאכָה הוּא מִנְהָג טוֹב. הַגָּה: וְאִם הַמִּנְהָג לַעֲשׂוֹת מִקְצָת מְלָאכוֹת וְלֹא לַעֲשׂוֹת קְצָתָן, אַזְלִינָן בָּתַר הַמִּנְהָג (בֵּית יוֹסֵף).
On Rosh Chodesh it is allowed to do Melacha (work), and the women who choose not to do Melacha , are right to do so. ( and if the Minhag is to so some Melachot, and some not to, you follow the minhag).
(ז) ראש בית דין אומר מקדש, וכל העם עונין אחריו מקדש מקדש.בין שנראה בזמנו בית שלא נראה בזמנו, מקדשין אותו.רבי אלעזר ברבי צדוק אומר, אם לא נראה בזמנו, אין מקדשין אותו, שכבר קדשוהו שמים.
(7) The chief of the tribunal [בית דין] then said, the feast of the new moon is mekoodash [consecrated]; and all the people said after him, "Mekoodash, mekoodash." Whether the new moon had been seen at the proper time or not it was consecrated. R. Eleazar, son of Zadok, said, "If it had not been seen at its proper time, it was not consecrated, because it had already been consecrated in heaven."
1. We have learned that the reason that women should do no work on Rosh Chodesh is this: God gave the three festivals to Israel on account of our forefathers, and also wanted to give the twelve new months as complete festivals in themselves too, on account of the twelve tribes. Yet since the people sinned with the golden calf, they lost this [gift]. Therefore, the women, who did not take part in the sin, merited this festival far more than the men, and are considered in a holier position, doing no work apart from that necessary for food. This is the meaning of the verse “A woman in all these [eleh] I did not find; see, I only found this [zeh].” (Kohelet 7:28). Eleh is the sin of the calf… which the women were not part of, and zeh is Rosh Chodesh, of which there are twelve, and which are sanctified by seeing, as it says, “This [zeh]is the beginning of your months.” (Exodus 12:2)... and the women have more part in this than the men… a clue to this is also found in the verse “The stone which the builders rejected shall be the cornerstone.” (Psalms 118:22) That is, the woman, who is a ‘stone’ since she is the foundation of the world, was rejected by the scholars, who are known as ‘builders’ and who say daily “Blessed are you who has not made me a woman”, and yet she merits to celebrate Rosh Chodesh rather than the men.
2. It is forbidden to force a woman to work on Rosh Chodesh, even in places where they do not have this custom. Apart from what I have mentioned above, the reason women rest on Rosh Chodesh is that the root of woman is in malchut, and Rosh Chodesh is a time of increased malchut, which is not present in Tiferet, the root of man. Therefore, this is a festival for women far more than for men. However, if a man wishes to also abstain from work on Rosh Chodesh, this is considered righteous - this does not fall under the category of “All who are exempt from something and do it are called idiots.” From this you can understand how much more so a woman should care for the holiness of Rosh Chodesh, since in many commandments they are treated as inferiors, and only in this are they superior.