MDS Messenger Volume 13, Issue 5 | Page 14

D'Var Torah: Rosh Chodesh

by Talia Gerber, 8G

Fudge brownies. Twix. Cocoa Puffs. You are a true chocolate-holic! Whenever you spot that milky, brown dessert, you can’t contain your excitement. Your chocolate-radar rings like an ambulance siren. However, the second you touch that delicious goodness, your father’s concern-radar blares. He warns you that your health is at risk if you eat chocolate from this point on. One day after school as you make your way through the kitchen, you spot a platter of fudge brownies, Twix, and Cocoa Puffs. You can’t contain your excitement and reach for a brownie. Suddenly you stop. You think for a moment and decide to draw back your hand. You realize it’s more important to be healthy that to have a face full of zits! This story is symbolic of the sin of the Golden Calf and how we came to get the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh. The chocolate symbolizes the Golden Calf, the father symbolizes Hashem, and the girl symbolizes women in the desert. Just like the girl stopped herself from eating the chocolate, so too the women refuse to participate in the sin of the Golden Calf. As a reward for their strength and self-control, women were given the holiday of Rosh Chodesh.

Rosh Chodesh is the first day of the month that the moon appears. Rosh Chodesh is established when two witnesses see the moon. They go to the Beit Din who then declares Rosh Chodesh at its appropriate time. Some months have two days while others just have one. The months that have one day are Av, Sivan, Nissan, and Shvat. Elul, Tammaz, Iyar, Adar, and Chesvan have two days. Kislev and Tevet depend on the year. During the time of the Torah, Rosh Chodesh used to be a period when special korbanot would be brought. Today, during Rosh Chodsh, we add 3 things in Tefillah: Hallel, Musaf, and Yaela V’Yavo.

However, today, there is no Beit Din. Instead, Hillel Ha’Nasi made a calendar many months in advance for us to know exactly when Rosh Chodesh occurs.

Why is Rosh Chodesh so important that it is the first mitzvah given to the Jewish people? What status does Rosh Chodesh hold? Is it a holiday? What extra customs do we add on this day? These questions will be answered within the body of this essay.

Rosh Chodesh is the basis of all of the Jewish Holidays so it’s the first Mitzvah given to Bnei Yisroel. It is the basis of all holidays because it helps us keep track of all the other Jewish holidays during the year. Rosh Chodesh is spoken about in Parshat Bo, Perek Yud Bet, Posuk Bet, ‘Hachodesh hazeh lachem rosh chodeshim rishon who lachem lachadshei hashana- This month shall be for you the beginning of the months, it shall be for you the first of the months of the year.’

The day before Rosh Chodesh is known as Yom Kippur Katan. Some people even use this day as a fast. When Rosh Chodesh is on Shabbat or Sunday, we fast on Thursday. We do not fast on Rosh Chodesh Tishrei, because we do not fast on erev Rosh Hashana.

It is customary for women not to work on Rosh Chodesh. For example, some try to refrain from doing laundry. It is also customary for men and women to wear something extra nice on this special day.

Rosh Chodesh is the first mitzvah given to Bnei Yisroel. This was the month in which Hashem told Bnei Yisrael that they were to leave Egypt and it would be the first month used in creating the calendar. Some people consider Rosh Chodesh a holiday because of the fact that Hallel is added to the davening. Just like many other Jewish holidays, Hallel is an important additional custom that is added to the tefila on Rosh Chodesh. In addition to Hallel, many people say extra tefilot and some people try not to work as much.

Rosh Chodesh was given as a special Mitzvah for the women because they did not participate in the big sin of the Golden Calf. We learn a very important lesson from this. We see the women’s greatness in that they did not fall into the pressure of sinning. They served as great role models and we still acknowledge it today. We learn the beautiful lesson of standing up for what is right regardless of what everyone else is doing. An example of this in our everyday lives is peer pressure. Being in Elementary School, many children sometimes face troubles involving peer pressure. It is important not to give in and stand up for what you believe in because that is what will make you a better person.

In the article by Dina Coopersmith about Rosh Chodesh, she talks about why Rosh Chodesh is important to the Jewish people. She says that the Jews have this unique task of making up their own calendar and keeping Rosh Chodesh. Now, unlike when we were in Egypt, we have the ability to be masters of our own time. We are masters of our time because we control what we do and how we spend our time on this earth. We now have the freedom and obligation to take advantage of this and celebrate Rosh Chodesh together as the Jewish nation.

Although many people think that men receive all of the (important) mitzvot, from here we see that is not true. Women are honored with the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh. Not only that, but it is the FIRST mitzvah given to the Jews. Therefore, the next time you think about women getting very little mitzvot, think about Rosh Chodesh and just how significant it is!

Thank You and Shabbat Shalom.

Bibliography

Coopersmith, Dina. “The Jewish Website- aish.com” The Jewish Website-aish.com. N.p.,n.d.Web. 13 Oct. 2010 http://aish.org.

Kitov, Eliyahu. “Rosh Chodesh”. The Book of Our Heritage. 3 volume pocket ed. New York: Feldheim Publishers, 1999. 213-231. Print.

buried there and they were his original ancestors.

Another reason is the fact that it was “kaful” or double. Rav and Shmuel disagree about what “double” means. Rav said i=t means two levels and Shmuel said it meant double couples on each floor. (Eruvin, page 53B) Either way, Avraham was interested in its two floors because it would allow more room for family after he died.

After the burial, Avrohom tells his servant to go find Yitzchak a wife He saw that he needed to continue the family. He said that the wife must be from his family. The servant asks Hashem for a way to figure out how he will know who is right for Yitzchak. Hashem gives a test says the woman would not only feed him water but offer the is camels a drink too. The servant finds Rivka, ho passes the test. She was Avraham’s niece, staying inside the family. He brings her home she marries Yitzchak. (24:2-67)

At the end of the parsha, Avraham remarries Ketura and has six children. Before he died, he left Ketura’s children gifts and sent them away, but Yitzchak, who was descendant of his own family, got the belongings. There are people who are not shomrei Torah Umitzvos but light the candlesticks left by their ancestors every Friday night. That shows why belongings are also so important. (My Dad)

Avrohom dies at the age of 175 and is buried next to Sarah in Maarat Hamachpeila.(Bereishit 25:8) A full generation passes from the beginning of the parsha until the end.

I learned in Chayei Sarah that families are so important that even from the days of Avraham, Jews were concerned about who their children marry and what will stay in the family. I think about how important my family is to me but now I also think about how I have to make sure it continues.

People say that the Jewish people are getting smaller and smaller. The main reason is because they married non-Jews and didn’t make their families continue as Jews. Family continuity is what makes Jews go on and on and has made the Jewish People the longest lasting people in the world.