Rosh Chodesh, meaning head of the month, is a holiday celebrating the arrival of a new moon.
The new moon was a big deal in ancient times, marked by a festival, sacrifices, and blowing of the shofar, as commanded by God:
And on your joyous occasions—your fixed festivals and new moon days—you shall sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your sacrifices of well-being. (Numbers 10:10, from sefaria.org)
Due to a Talmudic midrash on the golden calf, the holiday became particularly special for women.
And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden rings (Ex. 32:2). The women heard [this], but they were unwilling to give their earrings to their husbands; but they said to them: “Ye desire to make a graven image and a molten image without any power in it to deliver.” The Holy One, blessed be He, gave the women their reward in this world and in the world to come. What reward did He give them in this world? That they should observe the New Moons more stringently than the men. (Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer 45:4, from Sefaria.org)
In doing so, Rosh Chodesh was often celebrated by women as a day off from work. In the 16th century, women of Eastern Europe also wrote special personal prayers for the occasion. In the 1970s, Jewish feminists claimed Rosh Chodesh for spiritual growth through worship and study. Today, it is not difficult to find women who gather each month to celebrate with liturgies of healing, liturgies written by women and speaking to women’s experiences, and the study of Torah. Look no further than our own Holy Blossom Temple, where we celebrate each new month in solidarity with Women of the Wall in Israel.
Rosh Chodesh, meaning head of the month, is a holiday celebrating the arrival of a new moon. It is often celebrated by women as a day off from work. All genders are welcome to join Women of Holy Blossom and pray in solidarity with Israel’s Women of the Wall. Join Women of Holy Blossom in sacred worship for 7:30 am Shacharit services on these dates (9:00 am on Sundays and statutory holidays*), followed by a light breakfast:
Rosh Chodesh Av – Monday, August 5, 2024 – Service at 0900am
Rosh Chodesh Elul- Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Rosh HaShanah- Thursday, October 3, 2024 (High Holidays)
Rosh Chodesh Heshvan – Friday, November 1, 2024
Rosh Chodesh Kislev – Monday, December 2, 2024
Rosh Chodesh Tevet – Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Rosh Chodesh Shevat – Thursday, January 30, 2025
Rosh Chodesh Adar – Friday, February 28, 2025
Rosh Chodesh Nisan – Sunday, March 30, 2025 (Service at 9:00am)
Rosh Chodesh Iyar – Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Rosh Chodesh Sivan – Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Rosh Chodesh Tamuz – Thursday June 26 & Friday June 27, 2025
Rosh Chodesh Av – Saturday, July 26 (Regular Shabbat Service), 2025
Rosh Chodesh Elul – Sunday August 24 (0900am service) & Monday August 25, 2025
Rosh Chodesh Tishrei – Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025 (Rosh HaShanah) 2025
For those planning on joining us in sacred worship online, please click “Register Here” (below) to receive our new service links. You will be asked to provide your full name and email address as an enhanced security measure for our Online Daily Service participants. The Zoom links will be sent to the email address you provided in your registration. If it does not show in your inbox after registering, please check your junk/spam folders. You will only need to register once for the new Daily Service Zoom links. If the links are updated again in future, you may need to register again to receive them. If you are joining us for the first time, we recommend you register in advance and test out the link before services and make sure your name is listed correctly, if you are unsure how to do that click here.
If you are still having trouble, please email JoAnne Bieman at [email protected]
As Rosh Chodesh is considered a special women’s holiday, Women of Holy Blossom will honour its inspiring, trailblazing, and amazing women. Each month, during Rosh Chodesh services, we will celebrate one woman from our Temple whose dedication and good work have helped shape our community. Please watch for these tributes in the “Life @ Holy Blossom” email!
Feel free to contact Women of Holy Blossom with questions and comments. Looking forward to celebrating together.
