Summary of the day
Rosh Chodesh is the first day of every Hebrew month, and when the previous month has thirty days the thirtieth day also counts as Rosh Chodesh (two days). Unlike the solar calendar, the Hebrew month is set by the molad of the moon: it is considered a “minor festival” with a partial Hallel, special offerings and a sense of renewal. In biblical times it was one of the appointed times: “At the beginnings of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the Lord” (Numbers 28:11).
The mitzvot of the day
- The Torah reading (Numbers 28:1-15) at Shacharit, and a partial Hallel (omitting two passages of Psalms, hence “half Hallel”).
- “Ya’aleh Veyavo” in the Amidah and in the Grace after Meals, and the Musaf of Rosh Chodesh.
- Birkat HaChodesh: on the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh we bless the coming month and announce its molad (except before Rosh Hashanah).
- Kiddush Levanah: the blessing over the new moon, said at night and outdoors, from three days after the molad until the middle of the month (Sanhedrin 42a: “Whoever blesses the new moon in its time is as if receiving the Divine Presence”).
- Yom Kippur Katan: a custom that developed among the kabbalists of Safed, to fast and pray on the eve of Rosh Chodesh.
- A day for women: it is customary for women to refrain from certain work (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 417).
Origin in history
The first mitzvah given to the people of Israel as a people is Rosh Chodesh: “This month shall be the first of months for you” (Exodus 12:2), before the Exodus from Egypt. In the Second Temple period the Sanhedrin sanctified the month on the testimony of two witnesses who had seen the new moon, and the news was relayed by fire signals and messengers (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah, chapters 1-2). In the time of Hillel II (around 359 CE) the calculated calendar that we still use was fixed. A midrash (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer chapter 45) tells that the women refused to give their jewellery for the Golden Calf, and in reward Rosh Chodesh was given to them as a day of rest.
The message for today
The moon wanes and vanishes, then returns and grows again, so the Sages compare it to the people of Israel: we too fall, and rise again (Sanhedrin 42a). It is a message of hope: whatever the past month was like, there is a fresh start. Whoever lives by the Hebrew calendar lives to the rhythm of small beginnings, and every month is an opportunity.
Torah and haftara readings
The passages read in synagogue, with their start and end.
Rosh Chodesh
- Torah · Morning
Numbers 28:1–15
The Rosh Chodesh offerings (four aliyot)
- Maftir · Morning
Numbers 28:9–15
When Rosh Chodesh falls on Shabbat: the maftir in a second scroll
- Haftara · Morning
Isaiah 66:1–24
When Rosh Chodesh falls on Shabbat: "The heavens are My throne"
Why this reading? On every Rosh Chodesh we read the passage of the Rosh Chodesh offerings, because the Torah commands a special offering "at the beginnings of your months" (Numbers 28:11). When Rosh Chodesh falls on Shabbat, a second Torah scroll is taken out, and the haftara in Isaiah 66 reads: "From one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to bow before Me" (66:23), a verse that joins Rosh Chodesh and Shabbat.