Women, the Moon, and Rosh Chodesh

Chabad.org - Rosh Chodesh

MarCheshvan (sometimes called Cheshvan) is the second month of the Jewish calendar counting from Rosh Hashanah. Cheshvan is the only month that does not have any holidays or special mitzvot. We are taught that it is “reserved” for the time of Moshiach, who will inaugurate the Third Temple in the month of Cheshvan.

The great flood in the days of Noach began in this month, and it was a year later, also in the month of Cheshvan, that Noach left the ark.

In the month of Cheshvan, we commemorate the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of our matriarch Rachel. She is buried on the road to Beit Lechem, where throughout the ages, and still today, Jews of all walks of life go to pray and beseech that she intercede on their behalf as a mother does for her child.

This month is the anticlimax of the previous month of Tishrei. With so many holidays and spiritual experiences, it was a feast for the soul—a vacation of sorts. Now, as we enter the month of Cheshvan, real life begins, back to the daily “mundane” grind. This is the time to take the inspiration and all that we gained in the month of Tishrei and integrate it into our lives, learning how to balance the spiritual and the physical elements of our life in unison and harmony.

Pnenei Halacha "Zmanim: Rosh Chodesh" - by Rav Eliezer Melamed

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The Torah lists Rosh Chodesh together with all the other holidays on which we offer additional sacrifices (Musafim) in honor of the day’s sanctity. Chazal derive from a verse in Eichah(1:15) that Rosh Chodesh is also called mo’ed (an appointed time) like all the other holidays (Pesachim 77a). In Temple times, they used to blow trumpets on Rosh Chodesh, as it says, “On the day of your gladness, and on your appointed times, and on the beginnings of your months, you shall sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings”(Bamidbar, 10:10).

Because of the sanctity of Rosh Chodesh, a custom developed to go out and greet one’s Rabbi, similar to the custom on the Sabbath to say “Shabbat Shalom” to the Rabbi of one’s shul. ( Melachim 2, 4:23, Rosh HaShanah 16b, Bi’ur Halachah 301:4). There is also a custom to prepare festive meals on Rosh Chodesh(cf. Shmuel 1, ch. 20).

A wonderful expression is used by the Torah when describing the goat that was sacrificed on Rosh Chodesh, calling it “a sin offering for the Lord”(Bamidbar, 28:15). The Talmud (Chulin 60b) explains that in the beginning, God created two great luminaries in the sky, the sun and the moon. The moon, however, made a claim to the Master of the World: “How can two kings share the same crown?” hoping that HaShem would diminish the sun so that it, the moon, could reign supreme. God, however, said to the moon, “Go and reduce yourself.” It replied, “Because I made a justified claim before You, I should reduce myself?” God consoled the moon by saying that the Jews would reckon the months according to its cycle, and that the righteous would be called by its name. But the moon was not consoled, so the Holy One Blessed Be He said, “Bring an atonement for Me, for I diminished the moon.” This is why it says, “And one kid of the goats for a sin offering for the Lord.“^[5].

This contains a very profound concept. On a simple level, the moon’s reduction symbolizes the deficiencies that exist in creation, including the descent that the soul undergoes when it arrives in this world, and all the failures that man experiences during his lifetime. All these failures and deficiencies are prerequisites for subsequent growth, because coping with hardships helps one reach higher heights in the end, as R. Abahu says, “The purely righteous cannot stand where penitents stand” (Berachot 34b). In the meantime, people commit sins which cause great pain in the world. So, in order to relieve the pain and repair the flaws, HaKadosh Baruch Hu commanded us to sacrifice a goat as a sin offering. This is the purpose of Rosh Chodesh, to show us how a new beginning sprouts from the moon’s reduction, which happened as a result of sin and indictment. Therefore, Rosh Chodesh is a good time for repentance, new beginnings, and profound joy. However, until the world is redeemed from all its deficiencies, the joy of Rosh Chodesh is not completely revealed (see also below, sec. 15-16).

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It is permissible to do work on Rosh Chodesh. Ideally, though, one should not work on Rosh Chodesh, similar to the law regarding Chol HaMo’ed. The holier the day, the more it is designated for spiritual endeavors, and the more one should refrain from working. Thus, all work is forbidden on Shabbat, because it is the holiest day. Work is also forbidden on Yom Tov, a level below Shabbat, but one is permitted to do things necessary for the preparation of food. Chol HaMo’ed is the following level, when only certain acts are forbidden. Rosh Chodesh should rightfully be on par with Chol HaMo’ed, but since the Twelve Tribes sinned in the episode of the Golden Calf, Israel lost, correspondingly, the special quality of the twelve Roshei Chodeshim of the year. Women, however, did not participate in the sin of the Calf, refusing to contribute their nose-rings towards its creation. Therefore, God gave them reward in this world – “They keep Rosh Chodesh more than the men do” – and in the World to Come, for they will eventually regain their youthfulness, like the moon which renews itself every month, as it says, “Who satisfies your ornament with goodness, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle” (Tehillim103:5. SeePirkei DeRebbe Eliezer 45). As a result, women experience more of the sanctity of Rosh Chodesh; and they have adopted the custom not to do work on the day. ^[9].

When the Temple stood and the kohanim offered Musaf sacrifices, some men also had the custom to refrain from doing major work on Rosh Chodesh. But their custom has no binding force, because men committed the sin of the Calf. Women, on the other hand, who did not sin, have more of a connection to the sanctity of Rosh Chodesh and their custom has validity.

Therefore, every woman must refrain from doing some type of work on Rosh Chodesh – knitting, for example – in order to differentiate between Rosh Chodesh and an ordinary day. It goes without saying that she may not plan to do any big jobs on Rosh Chodesh.

Meticulous women refrain from doing any type of work that is forbidden on Chol HaMo’ed. This includes sewing, knitting, and fixing things in the house. Cooking, baking, and ironing, however, are permitted, as they are on Chol HaMo’ed. Washing clothing in a washing machine is also permitted, because it entails almost no effort. If the clothes are needed for Rosh Chodesh itself, one may wash them even by hand. A woman who works for a living is permitted to do so on Rosh Chodesh, even if she generally adopts the customs of the meticulous, for if she misses work regularly on Rosh Chodesh, she might lose her job. And even if there is no concern of being fired, she may go to work if she needs the money, or if her absence will cause damage to her employer^[10].