 Immersing myself in Chanukah teachings and also Rosh Chodesh teachings, I heard Eliza Bulow talk about how the Hellenists took away four privileges from the Jews, including celebration of Rosh Chodesh. The other three were 1) Shabbat, 2) Circumcison and 3) Torah study. That told me a lot about the importance of Rosh Chodesh! If the Jews were being punished by the removal of the most important rituals, what does that tell us about them today? Perhaps we don't understand intellectually because they are more important to our eternal soul than to our conscious mind. I love this quote from the Embrace Shabbos email by Rabbi David Sutton, author of Living Shabbos: "On Shabbat, we receive an extra soul - a soul that is loftier and more sacred than our ordinary souls. We have the responsibility to nurture and uplift this special soul, and we accomplish this by ensuring to speak properly throughout the Shabbat. And thus although calm, dignified speech is always important, it assumes special significance on Shabbat, when we are charged with the responsibility of caring for our special souls." I wonder if celebrating Rosh Chodesh is another way to care for our souls, as well as the historic way we mark time, and therefore establish the calendar and the holidays?  Happy Chanukah 5776 |
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