Q&A: Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh
Question
Hello Rabbi,
What is the idea behind Rosh Chodesh? Why should I mark, with reciting Hallel and so on, the fact that the moon is beginning another orbit around the earth?
And as a bonus question—what is the idea behind the blessing over the moon?
Of course this is Jewish law; my question is about its logic today.
Answer
I didn’t understand the focus on today. What do you think its rationale was back in earlier times?
Just as other appointed times were established, Rosh Chodesh was established too. Do you understand Sukkot or Shavuot but not this? Reasons were given for them, but the precise timing is a determination of the Torah. By the same token, I assume that the purpose of Rosh Chodesh is to remember that the conduct of the world (symbolized by the moon’s orbit) comes from the power of the Holy One, blessed be He, and from His creation. That is also why the occasion was set at Rosh Chodesh, with the renewal of the moon. The same applies to the blessing over the moon, as a servant of the Holy One, blessed be He.