Shabbat Gathering: Rosh Chodesh: Hooray for women!

Dear Chevra, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:
Zoom
Meeting ID: 963 5113 1550
Password: 1989
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

Tonight, as we did last week for those we lost in Buffalo, we will say a special kaddish for the lives taken away from us in the most recent mass murder, this time in Texas.

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Here we go.

Rosh Chodesh, the head of the month, is the day that marks the beginning of every Jewish month. Without going into a lot of explanation about how the Jewish calendar works (we covered that last week), the new month is synchronized to the new moon. And Rosh Chodesh is a very special day for women. And it's coming up on May 31 when we observe the beginning of the month of Sivan.

I’ve written about Shekinah (the feminine aspect of G-d) before and I’ve written about the Kabbalists (mystics) several times. According to My Jewish Learning, this is how Shekinah and Kabbalah are connected to Rosh Chodesh:

… the Zohar, the authoritative work of the mystical tradition, frequently likens the moon to the Shekhinah, the Divine Presence, which mystics consider the feminine aspect of God. Only when the world is redeemed will the Shekhinah reunite with the masculine aspect, the Kadosh Barukh Hu, the Holy One Blessed is He, and only then will the moon’s light intensify.

So, Rosh Chodesh is a special holiday for women and here’s more on why.

Remember the story of the golden calf?

The Hebrews turned in all their gold to Aaron who used it to make a golden calf. When Moses came down from the mountain and saw what was going on, he was cross. He ordered the golden calf melted, poured into a pond, and the Hebrews had to drink it all down. And that was just the beginning of the punishments. The Hebrews continued to pay a heavy price for their foolishness, but everyone ended up reconciled, eventually, after a lot of slaying. Then, later in our story, the Hebrews gave up their gold to make the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. So, where did that gold come from? Didn’t all their gold go into the golden calf? Well, according to Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer, the midrash that explains this seeming discrepancy, goes like this:

At the time of the golden calf, the women had withheld their gold jewelry from the men and told them that they were foolish to make a golden calf when we already had a perfectly good G-d who had freed us from Egypt. Hashem saw all this, of course, and told the women that they would be rewarded in this world and the world to come. In this world women would be given a day off every Rosh Chodesh. In the world to come they would be made forever young. And when it came time to build the Mishkan for the one and only G-d, the women gladly surrendered their jewelry.

Here are some recommendations for learning more about Rosh Chodesh.

The moon is made of gold.

Moonbeams: A Hadassah Rosh Hodesh Guide is for women who want to learn about Rosh Chodesh practices and create new ones. The flap copy for the book describes it like this:

This hands-on "idea book" focuses on Rosh Hodesh, the festival of the new moon, as a source of spiritual growth for Jewish women. A complete sourcebook which will initiate or rejuvenate women's study groups, it is also perfect for women preparing for bat mitzvah, those seeking to expand their Jewish education, or for anyone interested in learning more about Rosh Hodesh observance and what it has to offer.

Hooray for women!

And a group called Moving Traditions has a well-established program called Rosh Chodesh: It’s a Girl Thing that focuses on helping adolescent and teenage girls develop self esteem, create positive peer groups, and develop a closer tie to Judaism.

I totally think that women should have Rosh Chodesh off from all work, as well as equal pay, a sane amount of time off from work after giving birth, and much more. And I definitely think women should get lot more credit for not giving up their gold for Aaron’s calf. There’s lots of things about Judaism that could stand improvement, but Rosh Chodesh seems to be one of those things it got right.

And may it for you a blessing.
See you tonight!

All my love,
brian.