Have you ever wondered why we celebrate the new month as a minor holiday?
We are no strangers to holidays and we enjoy them mightily. But something, some event, has to happen for us to keep a day as a Yom Tov. As a wise and witty man once said, all Jewish holidays involve nine words, “They tried to kill us. We won. Let’s eat.”
So what then is the reason we observe Rosh Chodesh as a holiday? Why is there a mitzvah to eat a festive meal on Rosh Chodesh and why do we say Hallel?
The answer is in this week’s haftarah, a special portion we read when Rosh Chodesh falls out on Shabbos. The reason we read Yeshaya, chapter 66, is due to the penultimate posuk (66:23), which we then repeat at the end of the haftarah: “Vehaya midei Chodesh b’Chadsho, umidei Shabbos b’Shabato, yavo kol basar l’hishtachavos Lefanai, amar Hashem, On every New Moon and on every Shabbos, all mankind will come and bow before Me, says Hashem.” Daas Sofrim explains that the chapter discusses the end of time, when those nations who have tried to destroy Bnei Yisrael will meet their downfall. All of Bnei Yisrael will come to the Beis HaMikdash to serve Hashem with perfection, on Shabbos, as well as on the Rosh Chodesh, which will then be a major holiday.
Still it is important for us to fulfill the mitzvah of seudas Rosh Chodesh as it exists at this time.
According to the Sefer Hayere’im (227), one is obligated to be joyful on Rosh Chodesh by eating meat and drinking wine. All other authorities say that there is no such obligation. Still, if one does so, one fulfills a mitzvah. It is also a good idea to set the table in a respectable manner in honor of the Rosh Chodesh meal (Ben Ish Chai, Vayikra 10).
Although there is no obligation to eat bread as part of the Rosh Chodesh meal, one who does so is praiseworthy (see Mishna Berura with Shaarei Hatziyun 418:1). The Steipler Gaon, zt”l would make sure to drink wine on Rosh Chodesh, and would give wine to his entire household, including women (Orchos Rabeinu, Volume 1, page 177). The Kaf Hachaim says that women are just as obligated in seudas Rosh Chodesh as men. In fact, one could suggest that women have a stronger obligation, given that women have a custom not to perform certain types of labor on Rosh Chodesh, due to the day being a special holiday for them, since they did not take part in the Cheit HaEigel (see Tur, siman 417).
As stated, although bread, wine, and meat need not be eaten at the seudah, we should at least eat something special.
The earliest source of the mitzvah of seudas Rosh Chodesh can be found in the haftarah we read when Rosh Chodesh falls on Sunday, Machar Chodesh. The posuk says (Shmuel I 20:24) that Shaul sat down to his monthly feast for Rosh Chodesh. Some also point to, “On the day of your gladness, and on your festivals, and on the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets” (Bamidbar 10:10). Of course, the fact that there are special additional korbanos brought on Rosh Chodesh (which is why we daven musaf) indicates a special holiness.
The Gemara in Beitzah 16a, according to some versions of the text, mentions the mitzvah of seudas Rosh Chodesh in regards to expenses for Shabbos and Yom Tov – the Gemara says that what a person spends for Rosh Chodesh is not counted as part of the money allotted to him on Rosh Hashanah, its a bonus. Other versions of the Gemara have the words “seudos Yom Tov” instead of “seudas Rosh Chodesh.” Nonetheless, the Beis Yosef writes that we can still derive the same lesson from this Gemara since “seudas Rosh Chodesh” is included in the term “seudos Yom Tov.”
We asked: Why is there a mitzvah to celebrate on Rosh Chodesh? Why do we say Hallel? Why are we supposed to be joyous and more passionate on this day?
The Jewish people do not usher in months like the rest of the world. There is the physical creation and formation of things and there is the spiritual. Months change on their own, physically, with the cycle of the moon. But the task of spiritually transforming the world to be able to accept a new month can only happen through Klal Yisrael, and specifically through Beis Din. Only our Chachamim have the sacred strength and power to effect such great spiritual change and this is why only they can declare when the month has begun. Kiddush hachodesh is not a mere ceremony relating to the calendar. Rather, as the translation of these two words makes evident, it is a sanctification of the new month, giving it renewed holiness and spiritual potential.
We suggest that this is why Chazal describe the fervor that people had in trying to become the witnesses who testified first to the new moon’s appearance. It was a great merit to be among those who would be the harbingers of spiritual change and rejuvenation. In fact, this is why the Torah requires witnesses.
Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh points out that the word for witness is “eid,” which is “da” spelled backwards. Testimony and witnesses must come from a high level of daas, knowledge, regarding the case before the court. When it comes to kiddush hachodesh, those people who want to passionately grow and become renewed would rush to beis din to establish the new moon, sanctifying and providing Klal Yisrael with opportunities for spiritual change with the new month’s appearance.
Based on the Maharal (Gevuros Hashem, Chapter 46), the Or Gedalyahu (Moadim pgs. 59-60) describes the relationship between physical and seasonal changes and their spiritual parallels. When winter arrives and it’s cold outside, plants and trees show little signs of life. The spiritual message is that it is time to buckle down, get inside and retain the growth already achieved. When spring arrives and trees begin to bud with fruits and leaves, Hashem is telling us that it is time for new spiritual development and progress.
Similarly, when we see the new moon at the start of each month, it is a sign from Hashem that we can renew ourselves spiritually. Rabbeinu Yona explains that although the moon is not really new each month, the fact that it appears this way is still cause for performing kiddush levana and making a bracha on its “rejuvenation.” Explains Rav Gedalya Schorr: the “newness” of the moon means that Hashem wants us to react with newness in our spirituality. The hischadshus of the levana is a time when a person can be mechadesh himself.
This is why we say Hallel and this is why we celebrate on the day.
As a friend of mine said, “On Rosh Chodesh, we need to develop a rosh chadash.” On Rosh Chodesh we need to develop a new “head,” a new outlook on renewal for our lives.