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Parshat Hachodesh & Shabbat Rosh Chodesh

ROSH CHODESH: THE WOMAN'S HOLIDAY

A holiday for women

Women who refrain from work on Rosh Chodesh [= the first day of a lunar month] are following an established custom (Yerushalmi Ta'anit 1:6)

We are taught in numerous Talmudic sources that there is a custom for women to refrain from work on Rosh Chodesh. The Be'ur Halacha (Orach Chaim 417) informs us that it is not simply a custom -- women are in fact obligated to make Rosh Chodesh different from a normal working day. It is a good custom for women to abstain from even simple work on Rosh Chodesh, but they are obligated to at least differentiate between Rosh Chodesh and a normal working day.

What is the meaning of this unusual Yom Tov which is celebrated uniquely by women? The Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer (quoted in part by Rashi and Tosefot Megilla 22b), tells us the source of the holiday of Rosh Chodesh:

[When the Jews asked Aaron to make them a golden calf, Aaron said to them, "Remove the rings that are in the ears of your wives (Sh'mot 32:2)." The women, however, did not agree to give their jewelry to their husbands. Rather, they said to them: "Should we make a calf which is an abomination and has no power to save us? We will not listen to you!" Hashem rewarded them in this world that they keep Rosh Chodesh more than the men do. He also rewarded them in the world to come that they will be renewed like the Roshei Chodoshim, as the verse says: "Your youth shall be renewed to be [as light] as an eagle (Tehillim 103:5)." (Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer, Ch. 45)

The Midrash tells us that the Jewish women merited this special holiday because they did not join the rest of the Bnai Yisroel in the sin of the Golden Calf.

The sin of the Golden Calf, however, occurred on the 17th of the lunar month of Tammuz, nowhere near the first of the month. Why, then, did Hashem reward women specifically with the holiday of Rosh Chodesh?

II

Why Rosh Chodesh? (1) The Tur (2) The Perisha

The Tur (Orach Chaim 417) offers an explanation for the above Midrash in the name of his brother, Harav Yehuda. On the three Regalim, [= pilgrimage festivals] -- Pesach, Shavout, and Succot -- all of the Bnai Yisroel go up to Yerushalayim to offer Korbanot [= sacrifices] in the Beit Hamikdash [= the Temple]. These holidays were given to Yisroel, Harav Yehuda explains, in the merit of the three forefathers: Pesach for Avraham, Shavout for Yitzchak, and Succot for Yaakov. Similarly, the twelve Roshei Chodoshim were to be given as holidays in the merit of the twelve Tribes. However, when the twelve tribes that were in the desert committed the sin of the Golden Calf, they lost these latter holidays. The women, who refrained from sinning along with the men, were rewarded with at least a remembrance of these forfeited holidays.

The Perisha (ad loc.), brings another answer in the name of his Rebbi, Rav Heschel. Rav Heschel explains that the real reward given to the women for their refusal to partake in the sin of the Golden Calf is found at the end of the above quoted Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer. Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer tells us that in Olam Habba [= the World to Come] the women will become youthful again. Rosh Chodesh hints to this future reward because the moon, after disappearing, becomes "youthful" again at the beginning of every month, when it reappears and begins to grow anew. Therefore, it is appropriate for the women to be granted Rosh Chodesh as a holiday, in order to allude to their eventual reward of regaining their youthfulness.

However, Rav Heschel's suggestion requires further explanation. Why did Hashem choose to reward the women specifically by returning them to their youthfulness? We may suggest the following: Had the sin of the Golden Calf never been committed, there would be no death in the world and the Bnai Yisroel would have enjoyed eternal life and youthfulness (Gemara Avoda Zara 5a). As the women abstained from transgression in return, they will receive that same eternal youth in Olam Habba. The women's renewed youthfulness will be identical to the condition of the Bnai Yisroel before the sin of the Golden Calf -- a state of eternal life and youth.

III

Galut as an opportunity for atonement.

Perhaps we may suggest another approach to our initial question: Why were the women rewarded with the holiday of Rosh Chodesh. Let us begin by asking another question: What are we celebrating when we see a new moon?

The Gemara tells us in Eruvin 54a that if the Bnai Yisroel had not committed the sin of the Golden Calf, they never would have been sent into Galut [= exile]. Only after they sinned, was their destiny to be a nation in exile. There is another side to this punishment, though. Although Galut is clearly meant as retribution, it is also a means for the Bnai Yisroel's continued existence. Why is that?

When the Bnai Yisroel committed the sin of the Golden Calf, Hashem wanted to wipe them out -- "Let my anger flare up against them and I shall annihilate them!" (Sh'mot 32:10). After Moshe Rebbeinu pleaded with Hashem to refrain from punishing the Bnai Yisroel with sudden and total destruction, Hashem agreed to mete out the punishment slowly throughout the generations: "Now, go and lead the people to where I have told you... [but] each time the Bnai Yisroel sin in the future, I shall bring this sin to account against them [along with their other sins]." (Sh'mot 32:34). This is the purpose that exile serves. Although Galut is a punishment, it holds the key to our continued existence. If the Bnai Yisroel had not been granted Galut as an opportunity for atonement, Hashem would have annihilated them completely in the desert!

This second role of Galut is brought out in many Talmudic sources -- see, for example, Sanhedrin 37b, "Galut is an atonement for everything," Ta'anit 16a, "We have been exiled, may our exile be an atonement for us." Although Galut has many negative aspects, it is at the same time a vehicle for Jewish survival.

III

The waxing of the moon: Yakov's return from Galut

We find in the Midrash that Esav and Yaakov are, respectively, compared to the sun and moon:

"Hashem created... the greater luminary [= the sun] to rule by day, and the lesser luminary [= the moon] to rule by night." (B'reishit 1:16)
It is appropriate for the greater [= older] brother to base his calendar on the greater luminary, and for the lesser [= younger] brother to base his calendar on the lesser luminary. This is why Esav's calendar is based on the sun, while Yakov's is based on the moon... .

Esav counts his days by the sun, which is greater. The sun rules only by day and not by night, and so too, Esav has a portion only in this world, but not in the World to Come. Yakov counts his days by the moon, which is lesser. Just as the moon can be seen both by day and by night, so too, Yakov has a portion both in this world and in the World to Come.
(B'reishit Rabba 6:3)

The Midrash compares Esav to the sun, and Yakov to the moon. Perhaps, then, the phases of the moon can be construed as representative of Yakov's fate. The moon shrinks, getting smaller and smaller until it reaches its smallest point. This alludes to Galut, a punishment which necessarily involves the reduction and weakening of the Bnai Yisroel. Afterwards, however, the moon again waxes, increasing in size until it becomes full. This represents the other side of Galut -- the eventual strengthening and redemption of the Bnai Yisroel.

This, then, may be the reason for the joy experienced upon seeing the moon at the beginning of the month, a time when the moon has just begun to return after its disappearance. We are celebrating the return of Yakov and his children to their former glory. As we chant when we recite the blessing on the new moon, "David the king of Israel is alive and continues to be!" (-see Gemara Rosh Hashana 25a).

The Gemara in Chulin would seem to support this interpretation:

First we are told that Hashem made "the two great luminaries," implying that the two were equally large. But later we are told of "the greater luminary... and the lesser luminary!" (Bereishit 1:16).

The explanation of this discrepancy is that originally the two luminaries were indeed equal. However, the moon spoke before the Hashem saying, "Ruler of the World, is it possible for two kings to share the same crown?" Hashem replied, "Go and make yourself smaller!" The Moon retorted, "Because what I said was correct, I must reduce myself?" Hashem comforted her, saying, "Go and rule both by night and by day." (Chulin 60b)

The Gemara implies that because of the moon's unwarranted grievances Hashem punished her and shrank her. This made the moon both less luminous than the sun, and subject to phases, during which it "shrinks" for half a month (see Chizkuni B'reishit ad loc.). It would appear that the Gemara is detailing the punishment of the moon for speaking up arrogantly before its creator. But how can that be -- the moon, lacking mind and free choice, has neither the ability to speak nor the capacity for sin!

We may explain this strange Aggadah in light of the comparison drawn above between the moon and Galut. The moon represents the Bnai Yisroel. It is the Bnai Yisroel who complain to Hashem that Hashem created Esav as the twin of Yaakov, thereby granting them equal power. If Esav, who is conspiring to do evil instead of the will of his creator, is granted strength equal to Yaakov's (-- two kings sharing the same crown), then there is no guarantee that Yaakov will prevail. Instead, as we see with the sin of the Golden Calf, Esav and the forces of evil can prevail over Yaakov and the legions of good.

Hashem responds by saying to the Bnai Yisroel "Make yourself smaller!"-- hinting, as we have suggested, that the Bnai Yisroel, due to their eventual sin, will be punished with exile. The moon then counters that her complaint was valid -- it is Esav who should be minimized, to prevent the triumph of evil! What good will be accomplished by shrinking the Moon? Reducing the power of the Bnai Yaakov will only make matters worse! Now, not only is it possible for evil to prevail over good, evil has been granted the upper hand in the battle! Hashem replies, "Rule by day and by night!" Hashem assures the Bnai Yisroel that instead of making the situation more difficult for them by sending them into Galut, He is ensuring their survival and their eventual victory. Due to the expiatory effects of the Galut, they will eventually rule both "by day and by night" -- in this world, and in the World to Come, as seen in the previous Midrash. (See also Maharsha Chulin ad loc., Zohar Chadash 15b.)

IV

The celebration of the women, in light of the above

With this in mind, we may perhaps answer the question with which we began -- why was the women's restraint from sin rewarded with the holiday of Rosh Chodesh? We may now suggest the following:

We find, on the one hand, that the shrinking of the moon represents the exiles and the punishments for the transgressions of the Bnai Yisroel. The moon's waxing, on the other hand, represents Hashem's promise that this state of reduction and weakness is only temporary. It shows that *because* of our trials and tribulations, we will be able to survive as Hashem's nation, and merit the final redemption.

The men, who committed the sin of the Golden Calf, do not deserve to celebrate the waxing of the moon. After all, if the men had not sinned, there would have been no need for a Galut to guarantee the survival of the Bnai Yisroel. The men, therefore, have nothing to celebrate when the moon waxes. The women, however, did not sin, and therefore did not deserve to be punished. The women, then, can rightfully celebrate the waxing of the moon. They can rejoice in Hashem's promise to preserve the Bnai Yisroel as a nation forever, although the men had sinned, by sending them into Galut!

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