Rosh Chodesh - The Forgotten Holy Day

Rosh Chodesh —
The Forgotten Holy Day

B’midbar 10:10
    ¹⁰On the day of your gladness, and on your festivals, and on your new moons, you shall sound the trumpets over your Olah-Offering and over your feast Shelamim; and they shall be a remembrance for you before your God: I am HASHEM, your God.
Commandment 382
B’midbar 28:14
¹⁴And their libations: a half-hin for each bull, a third-hin for the ram, a quarter-hin for each lamb — of wine. This is the Olah-Offering of each month in its own month for the months of the year.

Yechezk’el 46:1-10
     ¹Thus said Adonai HASHEM God “The gate of the inner courtyard that faces eastward shall be closed during the six days of labor, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened. ²Then the doorpost of the gate; the Kohen'im will prepare his Olah-Offering and his Shelamim, and he will then prostrate himself at the threshold of the gate and depart; but the gate shall not be closed until the evening. ³The people of the land shall prostrate themselves before HASHEM at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons.

     ⁴And [this is] the Olah-Offering that the prince shall bring for HASHEM: on the Sabbath day, six unblemished sheep and an unblemished ram, ⁵and a Minchah-Offering of one ephah for the ram and a Minchah-Offering of whatever his hand gives for the sheep, with a hin of oil for each ephah;. ⁶on the day of the New Moon an unblemished bull from the herd and six sheep and a ram, they shall be unblemished, ⁷and he shall make an ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram as a Minchah-Offering, and for the sheep according to his means, with a hin of oil per ephah.

     ⁸When the prince enters, he shall enter by way of the hall of the gate, and by the same way he shall leave. ⁹But when the populace comes before HASHEM on the appointed days, whoever comes in by way of the northern gate to prostrate himself shall go out by way of the southern gate, and whoever comes in by way of the southern gate shall go out by way of the northern gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he cam in; rather he shall go out opposite it. ¹⁰And the prince: He shall enter among them when they enter, and when they leave he shall leave.”

Sh’mu’el Rishon 20:5-6
     ⁵David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the New Moon, when I would usually sit with the king to eat. Grant me leave and I will hide in the field until the third evening [of the month]. ⁶If your father notices my absence, you shall say to him, ‘David asked me to let him run to his hometown Beth-Lechem, for there is an annual feast-offering there for the entire family.’

Mizmor 81:1-4
     ¹For the conductor, on the gittis, by Asaph. ²Sing joyously to the God of our strength, call out to the God of Jacob. ³Raise up a song and sound the drum, the sweet harp with the lyre. ⁴Blow the shofar at the moon's renewal at the time appointed for our festive day. ⁵Because it is a decree for Israel, a Judgment [day] for the God of Jacob.

The New Moon Festival is indeed the forgotten festival. Quite literally, although the Talmud has over 500 references to Rosh Chodesh, there is little in the way of, "What is to be done on that day?"

Rosh Chodesh seems to be one of those festivals HASHEM gave in the beginning, that only a few nations remembered — Israel indeed remembered it. The first reference to it shows it was something they were familiar with. Was it a pagan festival? It might have been, but Scripture forbade the keeping of pagan custom. It is probable, that this festival was an Adamic festival given in Eden or afterwards — then redeemed or reminded of at Sinai.

We see from B’midbar that there was a New Moon ritual, of sacrifices and therefore prayers. We see from Sh’mu’el that there usually was a family feast on that day. We see from Tehillim that it was a musical festival of rejoicing. The Shofar is blown, songs are sung, prayers uttered, Tehillim read and food eaten.

For whatever reason, the festival seemed to fall into discontinuance — probably during the days of the Great Synagogue (Ezra & Nechemyah). During those days, the people of Israel were attempting to relearn many of their fathers' festivals, prayers, and sacrifices, suggesting many of them had been outlawed in Babylon (indeed, certain passages in Esther and Daniel show they were under strict legal order to attempt to conform, or assimilate). It is probable that during that time, in an attempt to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple, all the while avoiding political intrigue and trying to purge pagan elements forbidden by Torah, that this little mentioned festival was allowed to fall by the wayside. Indeed, the only mention of Rosh Chodesh in the Brit Chadashah is (Colossians 2:16 NIV) “Therefore, let no one judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a festival or a New Moon or Sabbaths,” As I've pointed out elsewhere, this does not mean “Don't keep Rosh Chodesh”, but rather, if you keep it, do not suffer any criticism of it.

How do we reclaim Rosh Chodesh? Perhaps a communal dinner, celebrated by reading the two Tehillim, uttering the Rosh Chodesh prayers, blowing the shofar, music and dancing...or maybe just at home.

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