{"id":1004,"date":"2013-08-22T18:05:07","date_gmt":"2013-08-22T22:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bethadonai3.web802.discountasp.net\/wordpress\/?page_id=1004"},"modified":"2013-08-22T18:26:07","modified_gmt":"2013-08-22T22:26:07","slug":"rosh-chodesh","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/bethadonai.com\/?page_id=1004","title":{"rendered":"Rosh Chodesh"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe Torah commands us to sanctify each month at its start, and\u00a0Rosh Chodesh, literally the \u201chead of the month,\u201d is celebrated as a minor holiday.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It takes about 29.5 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth. During each lunar orbit, the Moon&#8217;s appearance changes from not visibly illuminated (a new moon) through partially illuminated (a waxing crescent) to fully illuminated (a full moon), then back through partially illuminated (a waning crescent) to not illuminated again (a new moon).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<!-- \/\/ Begin Current Moon Phase HTML (c) CalculatorCat.com \/\/ --><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:223px\">\n<div style=\"padding:2px;background-color:#000000;border: 1px solid #000000\">\n<div style=\"padding:16px;padding-bottom:6px;padding-top:6px;border: 1px solid #AFB2D8\" align=\"center\">\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:7px;color:#FFFFFF;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11px;letter-spacing:.3em;\">CURRENT MOON<\/div>\n<p><script language=\"JavaScript\" type=\"text\/javascript\">var ccm_cfg = { pth:\"http:\/\/www.moonmodule.com\/cs\/\", fn:\"ccm_h1.swf\", lg:\"en\", hs:1, tf:\"12hr\", scs:1, df:\"std\", dfd:0, tc:\"FFFFFF\", bgc:\"000000\", mc:\"000000\", fw:184, fh:79, js:0, msp:0, u:\"cc\" }<\/script><script language=\"JavaScript\" type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moonmodule.com\/cs\/ccm_fl.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-top:5px\" align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.calculatorcat.com\/moon_phases\/moon_phases.phtml\" target=\"cc_moon_ph\" style=\"font-size:10px;font-family:arial,verdana,sans-serif;color:#7F7F7F;text-decoration:underline;background:#000000;border:none;\"><span style=\"color:#7F7F7F\">moon info<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \/\/ end moon phase HTML \/\/ --><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The first time that the waxing crescent of the Moon is visible marks the beginning of a Jewish month, called <i>Rosh Chodesh <\/i>(&#8220;head of the month&#8221;). Twelve <i>chodashim <\/i>make a <i>shanah <\/i>or year (however, since 12 x 29.5 equals 354 days, but a solar year is 365 days, an extra month (called <i>Adar Sheni) <\/i>is added to the Hebrew calendar every two or three years in order to keep the solar seasons aligned with the lunar calendar).<\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>The Jewish Calendar<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Since a Hebrew month may be either 29 or 30 days long, Rosh Chodesh may occur at two times:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>If the current month has 29 days, Rosh Chodesh is observed on the first day of the new month.<\/li>\n<li>If the current month has 30 days, Rosh Chodesh is observed on the last day of the month as well as on the first day of the new month.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Shabbat service <i>before <\/i>the new moon is called <b>Shabbat Mevarchim, <\/b>or the Sabbath that blesses the month.&#8221; After the Torah reading service, the leader holds the Torah scroll, recites a blessing for a good month, and then announces the day of the upcoming week when the new month will begin.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>The History of Rosh Chodesh<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>According to tradition, the very first commandment given to the children of Israel after being delivered from Egypt was to sanctify the new moon (Exodus 12:1-2), thereby causing the fledgling nation to depart from the solar tradition of the Egyptians \u00a0and to look to the moon for a new means of reckoning time and seasons:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Knowing precisely when Rosh Chodesh began was critical to the order of the <i>mo&#8217;edim, <\/i>or appointed times commanded by the LORD. In fact, the entire Jewish calendar was dependent upon knowing when Rosh Chodesh began, and without this information the set times for the festivals and holidays would be lost. Therefore, during times of persecution (e.g., by the Syrian-Greeks), the Jews were often forbidden to observe Rosh Chodesh as well as Shabbat, in order to keep them from obeying God.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Significance of Rosh Chodesh<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The unique feature of the moon is that it appears to us to wax and wane, to disappear and reappear, to grow, diminish and grow again. It is also the smaller of the two luminaries.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Whereas the sun is the symbol of unchanging nature, rising in the east, setting in the west, day in and day out every day of the year, the moon changes and it seems to be telling us something: You can be small and you can diminish until you almost disappear, but then, when things look their darkest, hope springs eternal.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The solar system determines the year, in Hebrew &#8220;<i>shana<\/i>,&#8221; which comes from the same root as &#8220;to repeat, to go over&#8221;.\u00a0 The word \u201c<i>chodesh<\/i>\u201d comes from the root\u00a0<i>chadash,<\/i>\u00a0which means new. The moon\u2019s cycle of waxing and waning is a powerful symbol of renewal, reminding us that every diminution creates the possibility of rebirth.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Rosh Chodesh offers us the opportunity to begin anew, not just once a year, but once a month.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>2013 Rosh Chodesh Dates:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>November 3<sup>rd<\/sup> (Sunday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Kislev<\/p>\n<p>December 3<sup>rd<\/sup> (Tuesday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Tevet<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>2014 Rosh Chodesh Dates:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>January 1<sup>st<\/sup> (Wednesday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Shevat<\/p>\n<p>January 31<sup>st<\/sup> (Friday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Adar<\/p>\n<p>March 2<sup>nd<\/sup> (Sunday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Adar 11<\/p>\n<p>March 31<sup>st<\/sup> (Monday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Nisan<\/p>\n<p>April 30<sup>th<\/sup> (Wednesday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh iyar<\/p>\n<p>May 29<sup>th<\/sup> (Thursday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Sivan<\/p>\n<p>June 28<sup>th<\/sup> (Saturday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Tammuz<\/p>\n<p>July 27<sup>th<\/sup> (Sunday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Av<\/p>\n<p>August 26<sup>th<\/sup> (Tuesday) Rosh Chodesh Elul<\/p>\n<p>September 24<sup>th<\/sup> (Wednesday) Rosh Chodesh Tishri\u00a0 &#8211; Erev Rosh HaShannah<\/p>\n<p>October 24<sup>th<\/sup> (Friday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan<\/p>\n<p>November 22<sup>nd<\/sup> (Sunday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Kislev<\/p>\n<p>Devember 22<sup>nd<\/sup> (Monday) \u2013 Rosh Chodesh Tevet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; The Torah commands us to sanctify each month at its start, and\u00a0Rosh Chodesh, literally the \u201chead of the month,\u201d is celebrated as a minor holiday. &nbsp; It takes about 29.5 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth. During each lunar orbit, the Moon&#8217;s appearance changes from not visibly illuminated (a new moon) through [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/bethadonai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1004"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/bethadonai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/bethadonai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bethadonai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bethadonai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1004"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/bethadonai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1010,"href":"http:\/\/bethadonai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1004\/revisions\/1010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/bethadonai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}