|
12:1 |
God
said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt: |
|
12:2 |
This
month shall be the head month to you.
It shall be the first month of the year. |
Rosh Chodesh occurs on the first day of a Jewish month, which always occurs on the new
moon. It was the first commandment directed at the whole Jewish people and the Torah goes
on in the next verses to describe preparations for the event which will come to be known
as Pesach, "Passover".
During the period of Syrian-Greek persecution that
culminated in the Chanukah siutation, Rosh Chodesh was one of prohibited practices,
the other two being circumcision and Shabbat. This tells us how central Rosh
Chodesh was in earlier times. Before the space program, clocks and computers, the
new moon in Israel was announced with light beacons from hilltop to hilltop (Mishnah, Rosh
Hashanah 2.2-4), . This allowed everyone to be synchronized as to the date and time,
perhaps one reason for that centrality. Spiritually in Judaism, the phases of the
moon are seen as an inspiration to and promise of renewal.
The day has come to be associated with women according to a midrash
(Pirkei de-Rebbe Eliezer, Chapter 45).
"The women heard about the constructionof the golden calf and refused to
submit their jewelery to their husbands. Instead they said to them: "You want
to construct an idol and mask which is an aboination, and has no power of
redemption. We won't listen to you." And the Holy One, Blessed be, rewarded them in
this world in that they would observe the new moons more than men, and in the next
world in that they are destined to be renewed like the new moon."
And, GET THIS: It became a women's tradition not to work on the new moon.
"There is no requirement that we celebrate. It is said that on Rosh
Chodesh an
additional sacrifice is required, yet performing work is
permitted...It is permitted that men work, but women are forbidden
to work
because they did not submit their jewelry in the making of the
golden
calf. (Tosafot on Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 22b |
The
correlation of menstruation with a monthly cycle also fits nicely into this model.
So it is a growing custom for Jewish women and girls to
gather on Rosh Chodesh for celebration, study and sharing the torah of our lives. I
am a member of such at group under the auspices of Ma'yan, a program dedicated to
innovative approaches to Jewish women's issues and lives. We meet monthly for one hour,
usually 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. plus up to a half hour of networking/socializing.
Example of a Possible Format for a Rosh Chodesh
(Coffee, tea and cakes are always abundantly available before, during and after.
Women with large enough apartments here in NYC volunteer to host.)
1. Opening Niggun/song/melody - during this time two woman
pass around the room with a pitcher, bowl and towel for hand washing, symbolic of
purification.
2. Then the volunteer leader(s) of the month introduce the
theme they have selected with a short explanation, poem, text study, story
or teaching.
3. Then there is a guided visualization which helps us to
connected our bodies and spirits to our thoughts on the subject.
4. Then everyone is invited to share their wisdom on the
theme.
5. About ten minutes before our ending time (we are very
prompt, people have to go to work), we help hold aloft a huge tallit while we say the
blessing for the new moon and the poem on the subject by liturgist Marsha Falk.
Often women who have never experienced Rosh Chodesh drop in and they are invited under the
tallit for a blessing for their first time.
6. We close with a halleluYah song/melody.
_______________________________________________________________________
|
Fear
A Spiritual Gift?
Using it and losing it
A Passover Rosh Hodesh Experience
Developed by
Rabbi Goldie Milgram and Beth Brenzel
Sharing women's wisdom is one of the great,
rare opportunities in life. Many of us live in cultures where this is not structurally
encouraged. People face the television, the computer screen, the therapist, the teacher,
the stage, the ark, and not each other. At our Rosh Chodesh we share our views, values and
vision. We support each other in growing and mourning, knowing and glowing.
Sometimes a woman has never led a Rosh Chodesh, she has an idea in mind and is a
bit reluctant to take on the leadership role. Someone who is experienced can partner such
a woman in preparation. Co-leading perhaps, or just being there as a study buddy during
the preparation phase. What follows is an example of this. I was approached by
Beth to work on a Rosh Chodesh with her.
Our assigned month was just before Passover. Beth looked at the Torah portion and
noticed the repetitive theme of fear. A great choice - a topic both deep and broad that
our group had not yet addressed. Also, the Hebrew word for fear is fascinating in itself, yir-ah
simultaneously means "fear" and "awe."
We opened with the song based on the verse from Reb Nachman of Breslov:
"All of the world is a very narrow bridge and the main thing is not to fear at
all."
Kol ha olam kulo gesher tzar mo'ed. V'ha eekar lo l'fakheyd klal.
Then we offered the following study verses and questions to ponder regarding fear/awe:
| 1:17 |
The midwives
feared God, and did not do as the Egyptian king had ordered them. They allowed the infant
boys to live. |
a) What does it mean for the midwives to fear
G-d?
b) Have you ever feared G-d?
c) The Hebrew word for Fear = Awe, what do you learn from this?
| 3:4 |
When God saw
that [Moses] was going to investigate, He called to him from the middle of the bush.
'Moses, Moses!' He said.
'Yes,' replied [Moses]. |
| 3:5 |
'Do not come
any closer,' said [God]. 'Take your shoes off your feet. The place upon which you are
standing is holy ground.' |
| 3:6 |
[God then]
said, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob.'
Moses hid his face, since he was afraid to look at the Divine. |
a) This fear appears different from G-d
fearing, how or why? Is it a new/different awe?
b) What does this mean to be afraid to look at G-d?
c) Are you afraid to look at G-d within you?
| 4:10 |
Moses pleaded
with God. 'I beg You, O God, I am not a man of words - not yesterday, not the day before -
not from the very first time You spoke to me. I find it difficult to speak and find the
right language.' |
| 4:11 |
'Who gave man a
mouth?' replied God. 'Who makes a person dumb or deaf? Who gives a person sight or makes
him blind? Is it not I - God? |
| 4:12 |
Now go! I will
be with your mouth and teach you what to say.' |
| 4:13 |
'I beg you O
Lord!' exclaimed [Moses]. 'Please! Send someone more appropriate!' |
a) Is Moses' resistance fear?
b) What is he fearing? Is Moses afraid of his own strength?
c) Are you afraid of your own strength?
| 14:10 |
As Pharaoh came
close, the Israelites looked up. They saw the Egyptians marching at their rear, and the
people became very frightened.
The
Israelites cried out to God. |
| 14:11 |
They said to
Moses, 'Weren't there enough graves in Egypt? Why did you have to bring us out here to die
in the desert? How could you do such a thing to us, bringing us out of Egypt? |
| 14:12 |
Didn't we tell
you in Egypt to leave us alone and let us work for the Egyptians? It would have been
better to be slaves in Egypt than to die [here] in the desert!' |
| 14:13 |
'Don't be
afraid,' replied Moses to the people. 'Stand firm and you will see what God will do to
rescue you today. You might be seeing the Egyptians today, but you will never see them
again. |
| 14:14 |
God will fight
for you, but you must remain silent.' |
a) Does your fear have you?
b) Has your fear ever stopped you from making the crossing?
c) Were you able to leave your Egypt?
d) Do you have an inner voice to help you cross the sea?
| 14:30 |
Thus, on that
day, God rescued the Israelites from Egypt. The Israelites saw the Egyptians dead on the
seashore. |
| 14:31 |
The Israelites
saw the great power that God had unleashed against Egypt, and the people were feared God.
They believed in God and in his servant Moses. |
a) Is this fear awe?
b) Is this fear the Israelites response to the miracle?
c) Earlier the Israelites' fear was a cry out to G-d. Has the experience of fear changed?
d) Is this "fear of G-d" different from the fear of death?
Beth shared these with the group and then I
led a visualization about crossing the Red Sea which you can find
here (we stopped in the middle of the
sea for our purposes, didn't do the whole visualization, which yields a different focus
point.)
Then we invited the women to put into their
spiritual treasure chest what they had noticed about themselves. And to reflect on
their wisdom about fear. To share as though there was a teenage or college age woman
in the room and you are mentoring that person about fear's value, uses and ways of
handling and viewing fear in yourself and your life.
Beth led a wonderful discussion and we closed
with a song composed by a member of our group.
May you be blessed to explore many exciting Rosh Chodesh themes with friends as we
do! |
