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Kiddush levana

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Kiddush levana
As depicted by Artur Markowicz (1933)
Halakhic texts relating to this article
Babylonian Talmud:Sanhedrin 41b–42a
Jerusalem Talmud:Berakhot 9:2
Mishneh Torah:Laws of Blessings 10:16–17
Shulchan Aruch:Orach Chaim 426

Kiddush levana, also known as Birkat halevana,[a] is a Jewish ritual and prayer service, generally observed on the first or second Saturday night of each Hebrew month. The service includes a blessing to God for the appearance of the new moon, readings from Scripture and the Talmud, and other liturgy depending on custom. In most communities, ritual elements include the shalom aleikhem greeting and jumping toward the moon, with some communities also incorporating kabbalistic practices.

The oldest part of the ritual, the blessing, is described by the Talmud. Other elements were introduced by Massechet Soferim in the 8th century, although their ultimate origin is obscure. In the years since, different Jewish communities have incorporated various quotations from the Bible and Talmud, liturgical compositions, and mystical customs into their version of the ritual.

Starting in the 15th century, Kiddush levana was "a highly visible target for rationalist critiques, both Jewish and non-Jewish".[3] Simeon Singer included only the blessing itself in his liturgy,[4] and Joseph Hertz expurgated all ritual elements from his Authorised Daily Prayer Book (1948), leaving only the blessing and verses from Psalms.[5][6] Some other 20th-century prayerbooks ignored it entirely.[7] In 1978, Isaac Klein described it as an "all but forgotten ritual"[8] and Avram Arian as "one of the least well known . . . it has fallen into a state of disuse",[9] although Martin Lockshin claimed this was only true among non-Orthodox Jews.[10] In 1992, Chabad announced a campaign to popularize its observance.[11]

As of 2024, it is included in all mainstream Orthodox prayerbooks,[5] and it is observed by Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, and Jewish Renewal. Since 1976, several different feminist versions have been published. Kiddush levana continues to evolve, especially in non-Orthodox Judaism.[9]

History

[edit]

Kiddush levana is generally understood to be an evolution of the rituals associated with declaring a new calendar month, which date back to the Second Temple period, or possibly even earlier.[12] Others say that it was actually intended to replace these rituals, abandoned after the Hebrew calendar was fixed in the 4th century.[13][14][15][16] Some argue that it was originally a device for secret communication during the Bar Kokhba revolt,[17] but this is unlikely given its late date.[18] According to Julius Eisenstein, Kiddush levana was instituted by the rabbis to comfort their flock in a time of oppression, as a protection against any harm that might come to them in that month.[19] According to Leon Mandelstamm [he; ru], it was intended as a substitute for regular observances in times of oppression, and maintained especially for marranos.[20] Others say that it was instituted to protest Zoroastrian moon-worship[21] or the Karaite calendar.[22] Avram Arian calls it "primarily a redemptive rite".[23]

However, many other scholars ascribe Kiddush levana a pagan origin. According to Jacob Reifmann [he], it was originally a magical practice to protect Jews from eclipses;[24] Israel Drazin explains it as resulting from "ancient superstitious fear that the new moon might not return to its original fullness due to satanic interference."[25] Adolphe Franck and Solomon Rubin thought it had been borrowed from Zoroastrianism.[26][27] Arthur A. Friedman traces it to worship of Astarte,[28] Abraham Danon, to Ishtar,[29] and Gerda Barag, to "the cult of the Mother-Goddess",[30] while M. H. Segal, Theodor Reik, and Gnana Robinson argue that it was originally a form of moon-worship.[31][32][33] Yosef Goell called it "one of the last vestiges of ancient Jewish paganism".[34]

Talmudic blessing

[edit]

The oldest part of the Kiddush levana ritual is the blessing. The Talmud instructs both men and women to recite a special blessing when they see the new moon, recording several different liturgies and attributing them to 2nd and 3rd-century sages.[35] The oldest form was a simple "Blessed be the Creator",[36][37][38] but in time the version attributed to Judah bar Ezekiel (220-299) became canonical:

Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the universe, who didst create the heavens by thy command, and all their host by thy mere word. Thou hast subjected them to fixed laws and time, so that they might not deviate from their set function. They are glad and happy to do the will of their Creator, the true Author, whose achievement is truth. He ordered the moon to renew itself as a glorious crown over those he sustained from birth, who likewise will be regenerated in the future, and will worship their Creator for his glorious majesty. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who renewst the months.[39]

The blessing in MS Yad HaRav Herzog 1, a 16th-century Talmudic manuscript from Yemen which claims to reflect an 8th-century version. A modern Kiddush levana liturgy has been added in the margin.
A woodcut in the Prague Haggadah [he] (1526) shows a new moon ritual.[40]

Abaye (d. 337) teaches that the blessing should be recited while standing upright, but Maremar and Mar Zutra (d. 417) would recite it while being carried.[41] The development of this sugya is traced by Netanel Baadani in Talmud haIggud: Hayu Bodeqin (2007).[42]

In the Talmud, the blessing for the new moon is one of many recommended for the occasion of observing a natural wonder; liturgies are also given to mark the full moon,[43] thunder, lightning, rainbows, mountains, and the changing of the seasons.[44][9] Some Orthodox halakhists maintain that this blessing should be recited immediately upon seeing the new moon for the first time.[45] However, in general practice the blessing has been uprooted from this context and remade into a special ritual.[46][9]

Soferim ritual

[edit]

Massechet Soferim (c. 775) is the first text to describe a complex ritual, to be exclusively performed "at the conclusion of the Sabbath, when perfumed and beautifully attired".[47] According to Soferim,[48]

One looks toward the moon with straightened legs and blesses "Who didst create the heavens by thy command . . ." and then one says three times "A good omen on all Israel! Blessed be your Creator . . ." Then one jumps three times toward the moon, and says three times "Just as I jump but do not reach you, so too if others jump at me, let them not reach me," and "Terror and dread falleth upon them, by the greatness of Thine arm they are still as a stone (Ex. 15:16)", and backwards, and "Amen amen selah hallelujah". Then one greets another person three times, and returns home in good cheer.

The prayerbooks of Amram ben Sheshna (d. 875) and Saadia ben Joseph (892–942),[b] as well as early halakhic codes like Halakhot Gedolot (c. 750-900),[49] the Rif (c. 1085),[50] and the Mishneh Torah (1180),[51] incorporate only the Talmudic practice of reciting a blessing when one sees the new moon, rejecting the Saturday-night ritual described by Soferim.[52][9] Nor do Rashi or the Tosafists mention anything beyond the Talmudic blessing.[9] According to Manoah of Narbonne [he] (13th century), "The posqim did not want to accept the words of Massechet Soferim because it makes no sense for someone to delay fulfillment of a commandment. Many things can happen to a person! Therefore all God-fearers bless at the first opportunity, and do not wait for Saturday night".[53] According to modern scholars, Maimonides excluded Soferim's rituals from the Mishneh Torah because he considered them attempts at witchcraft.[54]

Yet by the turn of the 14th century, Soferim ritual's had been wholly accepted by Ashkenazic authorities (Orhot hayyim, Rokeah, Semag, Hamanhig, Shibbolei haleket,[55] Or zarua,[56] Machzor Vitry (London)[57]), as well as by Bahya ben Asher[58] and Jonah Gerondi,[59] and it was eventually codified in the Tur (c. 1340) and Beit Yosef (1542).[60][61] However, nothing from Soferim appeared in Baladi-rite texts until the early 17th century.[62]

Later additions

[edit]

Additional prayers were continuously added to the ritual in the following centuries,[63] some of unidentified origin, including a wide variety of quotes from Scripture.[64] A table tracking the popularity of many additions is given in Arian (1979), pp. 108-109.[9] According to Arian,

The growth of the kiddush levanah came slowly and unevenly. Some [customs] are popular and well-accepted. Others remain mysterious in origin and meaning . . . most of these accretions came during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when Jewry was attempting to cope with the effects of the expulsion from Spain and the Chmielmiczi Massacres in Poland. These centuries were marked by the rise of Safed mysticism and of Sabbateanism. These new trends in Jewish mysticism are undoubtedly involved in the growth of kiddush levanah.[9]

Nachmanides (Gen. 38:29) and Bahya ben Asher (Gen. 38:30)[c] both include "the Sages mention in Kiddush levana, '. . . and send me a sign: Long live David, King of Israel! (b. Rosh Hashanah 25a)'" in their biblical commentaries; already in the time of Zelikman of Binga [he] (d. c. 1470) and Judah Obernik (c. 1450), this had been interpreted as an instruction to say "Long live David, King of Israel" as part of Kiddush levana,[65][66] which was codified by Moses Isserles.[67] Yechiel Michel Epstein Ashkenazi, a popular Sabbatean halakhist, recommended beginning the ritual with Leshem Yichud [he] in 1692.[68] Hasidic Jews dance during the ritual.[69] In 1998, Geela-Rayzel Raphael published English-language songs for a new feminist version of the ritual, including Sun, Moon, and Stars and Schechinah Moon.[70] According to Eliezer Papo, one should ritually bathe before Kiddush levana.[71] Ovadia Yosef would say ". . . let them not reach us" and continue ". . . or our money, or anything of ours, and let us not have toothaches".[72] According to Itamar Rosensweig, one should calculate the molad before reciting Kiddush levana.[73]

A typical modern version includes:[52]

  1. Judah bar Ezekiel's liturgy.
  2. Repetition three times of "Blessed be your Creator . . ."
  3. Jumping toward the moon, declaring three times "Just as I jump but do not reach you, so too if others jump at me, let them not reach me . . ."
  4. Recitation of the verse, "Terror and dread falleth upon them, by the greatness of Thine arm they are still as a stone".
  5. Recitation of the same verse backwards, "As a stone they are still of Thine arm by the greatness falleth upon them dread and terror".
  6. Proclaiming, three times, "David, king of the Jews, lives and exists".
  7. Shaking hands and exchanging shalom aleikhem and aleikhem shalom.
  8. Repetition three times of the expression "A good sign and a good omen on all Israel!"
  9. Reading Song of Songs 2:8-9 and Psalm 121, each of which refers to the mountains.
  10. Reading another baraita, "Rabbi Ishmael said, had Israel merited no other privilege than to greet their Father in Heaven once a month, that would have been sufficient".

Seasonal

[edit]

In some communities, shana tova was added to the usual shalom aleikhem greeting when observing Kiddush levana for Tishrei, which is usually recited immediately after Yom Kippur.[74]

Micrography of Psalm 67 in the shape of a menorah, included in a 1728 prayerbook for Kiddush levana.
Kiddush levana (1923), a woodcut by Reuven Rubin. On the right, a man jumps toward the moon, which is full to represent "May it be your will for the moon to wax . . ."[75]

Concluding the service

[edit]

Other prayers and rituals been added to the end of Kiddush levana, with many communities incorporating several.

In some communities, Aleinu is recited.[76][77] Isaiah Horowitz (1555-1630) recommended saying Kaddish deRabbanan,[78] which today is generally preceded by the recitation of a baraita (such as Hananiah ben Aqashia [he]'s).[79] Others say Kaddish Yatom instead.[80][81] 16th-century Lurianic kabbalists began a practice of shaking one's garments (especially tzitzit) after the ritual, in order to dislodge any evil spirits drawn by the moon.[82][83] Epstein Ashkenazi recommended reciting Psalm 67 while mentally tracing the shape of a menorah.[84] Jerahmiel Hofstein [he] claimed that checking one's tzitzit after Kiddush levana prevents fever.[85] According to Yisrael Friedman of Ruzhin, one with a toothache should say "And let me not have a toothache" after the ritual, and be healed.[86] Moroccan Jews conclude with the cantor reciting a mi shebeirach on behalf of the congregation; among the Jews of southern Tafilalt, this is preceded by communal recital of "The likeness of Jacob is etched beneath the Throne of Glory".[d][87] Shneur Zalman of Liadi's prayerbook (Shklov, 1803) included Ana beKoach at the end of the ritual, but this was abandoned by all subsequent Chabad publications.[88] Other prayerbooks have also included Ana beKoach, including Beit Yaakov (1889), attributed to Jacob Emden, and Otzar haTfilot.[89] Some conclude with a modern liturgy, "May it be Your will for the moon to wax into fullness. . ."[90] Haim Palachi says to look at oneself in the mirror, give three coins to charity, look at someone named Isaac, and say "Isaac, Isaac, Isaac".[91] A recent custom calls for appending lines 13-24 of El Adon, "Good are the heavenly lamps which God created . . . he fixed the form of the moon";[92] Yitzhak Yosef writes that one should not say these lines if reciting Kiddush levana for Av before Tisha B'Av.[72] Some recent Kabbalistic books add another liturgy, "Behold, I have come to bless . . ."[93] Some sing Yosef Hayyim's piyyut Simhu na bevirkat halevana.[94] At one 1992 kiruv retreat, participants followed Kiddush levana with the hora, howling, and meditation on "giving and receiving love".[95]

Controversy and popularity

[edit]

Kiddush levana was "a highly visible target for rationalist critiques, both Jewish and non-Jewish".[3] Alilot Devarim (1467), a satirical critique of rabbinical practice, attacks the custom of waiting to recite the blessing until Saturday night, the practice of jumping at the moon, and the liturgy "Blessed be your Creator . . ."[96] The Kol Sakhal (1504) of "Amitai bar Yedaya ibn Raz of Alcalay" calls Kiddush levana "not only complete idiocy but obvious idolatry" and moon-worship.[37] At the turn of the 19th century, Dutch authorities had "proscribed the benediction of the new moon".[97]

S. A. Horodetsky [he] described "[Joseph] Perl calling the police to disperse the people when they gathered in the street to greet with prayers the new moon".[98] Erasmus Scott Calman critiqued it as idolatrous in 1840.[99] In 1852, Isaac Samuel Reggio wrote that he had initially thought that the public ritual should end, before changing his mind.[37] In 1854, Pavel Ignatieff commissioned a report on Kiddush levana, which found "obscene (nepristoinye) phrases incorporated within the liturgy," demonstrating a fanatical, messianic undertone. This report implicitly declared that the ritual should be banned in Imperial Russia.[100] Leon Mandelstamm [he; ru] proposed reforming the ritual in 1861.[101][102]

In an 1891 dialogue published in Ha-Tsfira, one character says that the ritual embarrasses Judaism before the world; the other, a rabbi, appeals to the value of tradition.[103] In 1892, François Borloz, a missionary, critiqued Kiddush levana as primitive and idolatrous. In response, Gottlieb Klein, a Stockholm rabbi, defended the ritual on theological grounds, while Abraham Meyer, a Tlemcen rabbi, suggested that the jumping and backwards scripture elements should be discontinued, and that the remaining elements should only be said at home, citing both theology and fear of prejudice.[104] In 1893, the American Hebrew reported that "These things have passed away . . . Not now in Jewry is it customary for us to assemble on the ninth or tenth night of the month and say the sanctification of the moon".[105]

At the 1910 rabbinical conference in Saint Petersburg, "One resolution appears to outsiders plainly inconceivable in its mediaevalness . . . it was resolved that the blessing of the new moon should be permitted in the streets as a public worship as are the pilgrimages of the Christian churches, but at the same time it was declared that in a case of emergency, it was permitted to pronounce this blessing at the window".[106]

Edward Keith-Roach banned reciting Kiddush levana at the Western Wall on Tisha B'Av 1930, causing "great resentment".[107] In 1931, Samuel Krauss described jumping at the moon as a primitive magical practice, "so strange that even Isserles acknowledged that it had a suspicion of idolatry attached to it . . . it is only maintained out of respect for old traditions."[108]

After the 1969 Apollo moon landing, some advocated for altering or abandoning the ritual, which includes jumping toward the moon and saying "Just as I jump but do not reach you".[109] William Greider predicted the end of Kiddush levana in the Washington Post, writing "The moon landing . . . destroys the mystery of the symbol and alters forever perspectives of faith and imagination. Once men get beyond the old mysteries, they will surely have to create new myths".[110] Shlomo Goren proposed an emended version,[111] but Shimon Hirari [he] opposed any change.[109] Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Chaim Kanievsky, Yitzhak Yosef, and Yehuda Kesus also ruled against changing the liturgy.[112] Arthur Waskow wrote a different emended version for Jewish Renewal congregations.[113] In 2009, "Zvi Konikov and [Buzz] Aldrin exchanged thoughts on the monthly Jewish custom of the sanctification of the moon, and Aldrin repeated the Hebrew words 'Kiddush Levana.'"[114]

Simeon Singer included only the blessing itself in his liturgy,[4] and Joseph Hertz expurgated all ritual elements from his Authorised Daily Prayer Book (1948).[5][6] Some other 20th-century Orthodox prayerbooks ignored it entirely.[7] It did not appear in 20th-century Conservative, Reform, or Reconstructionist prayerbooks.[9] In 1978, Isaac Klein described it as an "all but forgotten ritual"[8] and Avram Arian as "one of the least well known . . . it has fallen into a state of disuse . . .To the best of my knowledge, it is presently observed by only the most halakhically scrupulous of Orthodox Jews".[9] Martin Lockshin claimed this was only true among non-Orthodox Jews.[10] In 1992, Chabad announced a campaign to popularize its observance.[11]

Marcia Falk witnessed it in 1999, but wrote "Nothing I had seen in feminist Jewish rituals—or, indeed, in the rituals of many non-Jewish feminists—looked more open to the label of 'paganism' (a label frequently used to censure Jewish feminist innovations) than what I was witnessing here, on the streets of Sha'arey Hesed, being enacted by members of a devout Jewish sect."[115]

As of 2024, Kiddush levana is included in all mainstream Orthodox prayerbooks,[5] and it is observed by Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, and Jewish Renewal. Its inclusion in prayerbooks speaks to "the growing influence of mysticism and Hassidism".[116] Yet, according to Ron H. Feldman, "While the contemporary Orthodox new moon rituals preserve elements of both the Talmudic and kabbalistic practices, the interpretation of the rituals minimizes the kabbalistic legacy."[117] The editors of the current Rabbinical Council of America prayerbook, Arie Folger and Aton Holzer, write that, although it was "marked for omission by some reviewers", nonetheless "we . . . don't flinch from including . . . Kiddush Levanah . . . we provide a basis to rationalize [its] use".[118]

Orthodox Halakha

[edit]

Kiddush levana is a d'rabbanan.[119] While it is customary to say the prayer with the large crowd, or at least with a minyan, it can be also said alone.[120][83][121][37] According to David Lida [he], even one who has not yet said Maariv should recite Kiddush levana with the rest of the community;[122] this ruling is also cited by Yechiel Michel Epstein Ashkenazi in the name of "the writings of Bunim Halevi of Rymanów".[84]

A mourner sitting shiva traditionally does not recite Kiddush levana due to the happy nature of its recitation, unless the shiva will end after the tenth of the month and there is a concern that he will miss the opportunity to recite it entirely.[76][123] Others rule that a mourner should not recite Kiddush levana during shiva unless the shiva will not be over before the last night that it is possible to recite it.[76][124] A mourner may, however, participate in the shalom aleikhem following Kiddush levana.[72]

Yaakov Levi Moelin ruled that one should recite it outside and not while standing inside and looking at the moon through a window.[76][125] The Jews of Marrakesh recited it on the synagogue roof.[126] However, one who cannot go outside can recite it while looking through a window,[127] although some write that one should open the window if possible.[128] Solomon Luria would intentionally break with this tradition, reciting it by his window.[129] Halakhists dispute whether a blind person is obligated to recite the blessing.[130]

Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin thought one should recite the baraita containing the blessing if the moon was covered on the last night, while Shalom Perloff recommended reciting the blessing without holy names.[131]

A table tracking many halakhic questions relating to Kiddush levana throughout history is given in Arian (1979), pp. 109-111.[9]

Timing

[edit]

It is traditionally recited only at nighttime.[76][125][132][133] Shlomo Goren ruled that in polar day conditions, one should recite it at 12:00 AM.[134]

The Rambam (followed e.g. by Hayim Vital) ruled that the blessing should be recited on the first night of the new moon.[135][83][76][136] Indeed, some say that one should only stand to recite the blessing if it is performed "in its proper time", meaning on the first of the month.[137] However, according to most authorities one must wait until three[76][83][138] or seven[76][139][140] complete days after the molad, or appearance of the new moon.[141]

The latest time for Kiddush levana is usually said to be when the moon is "filled in", and the amoraim debate whether this means half full (until the seventh of the month) or completely full (mid-month).[76][142] Normative custom follows the second opinion (mid-month).[76] According to an alternate position in the Yerushalmi, the latest time is "half a cake".[143] Yosef Karo ruled that it can be recited until fifteen days after the molad,[76][144] but Moses Isserles ruled that it can be recited only until the moon's literal half-way point, i.e. fourteen days, eighteen hours and twenty-two minutes after the molad.[76][145] Others say it can be recited until the sixteenth day of the month, as the waning of the moon is not yet recognizable,[76][146] unless a lunar eclipse (which always occurs mid-month) marks mid-month before that.[76][147]

Most halakhists follow Massechet Soferim in ruling that Kiddush levana should be recited at the conclusion of Shabbat,[148][76] although others prefer reciting it immediately whenever the new moon appears.[76][149] However, if waiting until the conclusion of the Sabbath will make it impossible to recite Kiddush levana before the tenth day of the month, most halakhic authorities rule that it should recited immediately,[76][150] although some still wait until after the Sabbath if it will be possible to recite it then at all.[151]

A holiday card shows Ashkenazi Jews reciting Kiddush levana after Yom Kippur (c. 1910)

In the month of Tishrei, most communities delay the recitation of Kiddush levana until after the conclusion of Yom Kippur.[83][145] One who is too hungry to focus should first break their fast.[74] Others have a custom to say it specifically before Yom Kippur.[76][152][153]

In the month of Av, it is traditionally postponed until after the fast of Tisha B'Av, as the beginning of the month is a time of mourning and the ritual is considered joyful.[76][83][145] Isserles also bans reciting it immediately after Tisha B'Av ends, considering the mourning period to still be in effect,[76][145] but most later halakhists only require one to postpone its recitation until after breaking their fast,[76][154] and others allow it to be recited immediately following the conclusion of Tisha B'Av.[76][155][87]

Kiddush levana is generally not recited on the eve of a Sabbath or festival,[76][83] unless it is the last opportunity to do so,[120][156] because of concern that some will break the Sabbath in order to recite it,[157] or because the Shekhinah would have to be brought in from beyond the techum, or because it is considered similar to a marriage, and marriages are not performed on the Sabbath.[158] If a festival falls on Sunday, Kiddush levana is not performed on Saturday night.[145][120] Any additional passages normally recited by the community, beyond the Talmudic blessing, should only be included if the ritual is performed on Saturday night.[120][159]

Women

[edit]

According to David and Victoria Rosen, the "traditional ritual celebrations of the moon were centered on the activities of men and involved rituals that, for the most part, took place within the male-dominated ritual sphere of the synagogue".[160] Idit Pintel-Ginsburg writes that "An ambivalent relationship exists between women and the first day of the month" because women do not participate in Kiddush levana.[161] Noa Ginzburg understands the ritual as an attempt by men to claim a female moon;[162] according to Arian, "There is a small amount of literary evidence which supports the hypothesis that the moon is used as a feminine symbol".[9]

Kiddush levana in 15th-16th century women's machzorim. Three contain the female formula "who did not make me a maidservant", and the fourth is signed by the woman who commissioned it.

Women are allowed to perform time-bound positive mitzvot, even though they are not obligated to,[163][164] and Rav Ashi (352-427) describes women reciting the Kiddush levana blessing in Babylonia.[142] 15th- and 16th-century Italian women's prayerbooks contain Kiddush levana.[165] However, Isaiah Horowitz (1555-1630) observed that "women keep away from Kiddush levana . . . even though many are sure to recite every prayer, they have never observed this commandment". Horowitz speculates that this is out of embarrassment for Eve's sin, which according to him was responsible for the lunar cycle (cf. Zohar Gen. 89, which blames Adam),[78] but according to Jacob Zallel Lauterbach, "there is no reason for it".[36] This practice may have developed because women don't usually attend maariv on Saturday night, and therefore aren't at the synagogue when Kiddush levana is recited,[166][167] or because it is done outdoors, and women did not leave the house,[168] or because women did not understand the calendar.[169][170]

Avraham Gombiner cited Horowitz in 1671,[171] and most halakhic authorities, beginning with Joseph Teomim (1787),[172] interpreted him as prohibiting women from participating in the ritual.[173][174] Teomim banned women from reciting it even without invoking a holy name,[172] but Yaakov Chaim Sofer encouraged women to have a man recite it on their behalf or to recite only "Blessed be the one who renews the months",[175] and Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, Ovadia Yosef, and Jacob Kassin [he] agreed.[176]

Elijah Israel [he] (1715-1784) ruled that it is permitted for women to recite Kiddush levana.[177] Shlomo Kluger (1785-1869) went further, abandoning Horowitz's premise, and explained that women are obligated to perform the mitzvah, because it is dependent on the act of seeing the new moon rather than a particular schedule.[178] Joseph B. Soloveitchik agreed with Kluger, at least in theory,[179] as does Hershel Schachter.[180] Since 1992, some Chabad women have recited it, although Yosef Simha Ginzburg [he] disapproves.[181] Re'em Ha'Cohen[182] and Zvi Greenwald[167] have ruled that women are permitted to recite it, and the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance advocates for allowing women to both recite it and lead men in the service.[183]

As of 2024, women do not recite Kiddush levana in mainstream Orthodox Judaism,[184][185] but the question "remains unresolved".[186]

In non-Orthodox Judaism

[edit]

Conservative Judaism endorses the recital of Kiddush levana.[8] Isaac Klein wrote that Kiddush levana "embodies much that might be appealing to contemporary Jews" and "has a mystic, haunting air about it", but that it is an "all but forgotten ritual".[8] A more recent post from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America states that "Through Kiddush levana ... we reaffirm our commitment to sanctifying time and celebrating the Jewish holidays that are determined by the lunar calendar".[187]

David Teutsch, a leader in Reconstructionist Judaism, describes Kiddush levana as an opportunity to "explore aspects of the Jewish tradition which were associated with women" and that "concern with the environment, and particularly with recycling the good things of the world, flows naturally from our awareness of the recycling of the moon".[188]

A 2010 dissertation by a student in Hebrew Union College advocated for Reform Judaism using the ritual to "to facilitate opportunities for Jewish growth", particularly for men, whom the Reform movement has had difficulty engaging.[189]

Ritualwell, a website for progressive Jewish rituals, presents meditations for the new moon[190] and for the full moon.[191]

Feminist versions

[edit]

In 1976, Arlene Agus included Kiddush levana in her women's Rosh Chodesh ceremony.[192] Susan Talve composed a feminist version of the liturgy in 1983.[193] A women's group from Delaware, the Judaism and Feminism Study Group of Jewish Family Service, wrote another version in 1990,[194] and Geela-Rayzel Raphael and Margot Stein-Azen published another version in 1998, including original poetry and music.[195] In 1994, Laura Geller published another feminist version;[196] also in 1994, the Baltimore "B'not HaLevana" would chant the blessing to music set by Judi Tal.[197] Debbie Friedman composed "Birkat Halevanah" for use in womens' groups.[198] Another feminist version was created by the Kohenet Institute, addressed to a female Goddess.[199]

Superstitions

[edit]

According to Israel Abrahams, in the Middle Ages, "Blessing on the moon . . . in origin tainted with no superstitious implications, was seized upon by the mystics and emphasized into full blown superstition".[200] Other scholars consider the Soferim ritual superstitious; compare §History, above. Popular modern beliefs include:

  • One who recites Kiddush levana will not die in the following month.[201][19][36][86][202][203] [204][205] In 1840, Erasmus Scott Calman described, "No Rabbinical Jew whatever has any doubt of the truth of all this, and places implicit confidence in the efficacy of its operation. Their minds are generally in the greatest anxiety lest a natural or a violent death should overtake them, from the close of the month till the time of the performance of this ceremony has arrived, when they begin to feel secure and relieved."[99]
  • It's bad luck be unable to recite it because of clouds.[36] One rabbi declared a penitential fast after clouds prevented the community from reciting it.[157] The Jerusalem Post reported in 1990 that "one enterprising hasidic rebbe in the New York City area charters a light plane to fly above the clouds when meteorological conditions prevent the fulfilment of the mitzva on the ground".[206]
  • If necessary, a hasidic rebbe can part the clouds.[11][207][208]
  • It can cure tooth pain and other ailments.[86][72] Chaim Kanievsky recalled that his mother had once complained of tooth pain and his father, Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, responded "Why didn't you tell me before Kiddush levana?"[209]
  • It can help a man get married.[86][72][210]
  • Shaking one's garments after the ritual protects against enemies.[36][86]
  • Reciting Kiddush levana can protect a traveler from highwaymen.[211][84][212][213][86][214]
  • Music and dancing during the ritual hastens the eschaton.[215][216] According to Israel Drazin, this is also the original purpose of reciting "Long live David, King of Israel" and shalom aleikhem.[5]
  • It helps with fertility.[217]

In culture

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Kiddush levana has appeared in modern music, poetry, and prose fiction. Artists have depicted the ritual for centuries, in paintings, woodcuts, engravings, and manuscript illuminations. Many Jewish folktales are told regarding it. Kiddush levana was also Ludwig Jesselson's favorite mitzvah. He "used to proudly recall all the different places he had bentched the new moon: across the United States, Europe, Israel, and even on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Said [Mendy] Jesselson, 'Kiddush levana represented a new beginning to him, a monthly reminder to do the things that we want to do and haven't yet done.'"[218]

Music

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Debbie Friedman ("Birkat Halevana"),[219][220] Geela-Rayzel Raphael ("Sun, Moon, and Stars" and "Schechinah Moon"),[221] Ariel Root Wolpe ("Kiddush levana"),[222] and Yosef Hayyim (Simhu na bevirkat halevana) composed religious songs for use in Kiddush levana.[223] Judie Tal[197] and Shlomo Carlebach[224] wrote music for the ritual, as has Rachel Chang,[225] and Nissan Spivak published several compositions for the ritual.[226] Lipa Schmeltzer released a "Kiddush levana" in Letova (2001), as did Ariel Hendelman in Prayers for Fire & Water (2023); Avraham Fried uses the Kiddush levana liturgy in "Keshem she'ani roked", part of Bracha v'Hatzlacha (1995). Avraham Yaakov Saftlas released "Kiddish Levuneh" in 2024. Many tunes have been composed for David Melekh Yisrael.

Poetry

[edit]
Zamira was amazed to see her slave standing with his face toward the moon. Henri-Léopold Lévy (1891)

Several modern poems have featured Kiddush levana. Gabriel Preil alludes to the ritual in "Notes on an Ancient Parchment",[227] as does Yehuda Amichai in “Gods Change, Prayers Are Here to Stay".[228] Harriette Wimms composed a poem "on the occasion of [her] first Kiddush levana" titled Moon Mother.[229] Ruth Finer Mintz included a poem called "Kiddush Levana" in Traveler Through Time (1970).[230] Stanley Moss's "New Moon" describes Kiddush levana as "night prayers for unconscious sins and new beginnings".[231] Morris Rosenfeld's "Kidesch-lewone / The Moon Prayer",[232] Shlomo Zalman Luria's "Kiddush levana",[233] and D. B. Suller's "Kiddush levana" compare it,[234] with melancholy, to ordinary life.[235] Gerson Rosenzweig wrote an epigram about Kiddush levana,[236] and A. M. Klein interpreted it in "The Benediction of the New Moon".[237]

Prose

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Kiddush levana has also inspired prose fiction. Leopold von Sacher-Masoch wrote a short story, The Blessing of the New Moon, about a Jewish slave named Naome who unites with his master, Zamira, over Kiddush levana.[238] David Frischmann wrote "Kiddush-levone", a Yiddish story.[204] Chaim Walder included a parable titled "Kiddush Levana" in Kids Speak 3 (1994), about a child who learns to embrace returning prayerbooks after Kiddush levana.[239] The ritual forms a recurring motif in Haim Sabato's Adjusting Sights [he] (1999; trans. Hillel Halkin 2003).[240][241] Joseph Skibell's debut novel A Blessing on the Moon (1997) takes its title from Kiddush levana, which it uses to "provide a cause for hope",[242] evoking "significantly and potentially restorative symbolic meaning".[243] A. P. Miller reflects on the ritual in "Blessing the New Moon", a short story.[244]

Art

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Cologne, 1490
Venice, 1593
Early woodcuts of astrologers inspired depictions of Kiddush levana.

Portrayals of kiddush levana are particularly common in 15th-century Italian liturgical manuscripts, which often show a silver crescent moon.[245] Starting in the 16th century, the ritual appeared in European woodcuts and engravings, and many illuminations survive from the 18th century Jewish illuminated prayerbook revival.[246] The form of these depictions follows a template established by early woodcuts of astrologers, and they generally include an anthropomorphic moon, which was very common in pre-modern Jewish art.[247] Stars are shown along with the moon, to link Kiddush levana to the end of the Sabbath (which is determined by the appearance of stars), and to symbolically link the Sabbath and Kiddush levana "to one another as tokens of gratitude for the weekly and monthly cycles of time".[14] Partial cloud cover is included for realism, but the sky is always shown clear enough to allow for Kiddush levana to be recited.[14] Some depictions of moon divination on Hoshana Rabbah have been misattributed to Kiddush levana by reference works.[247]

Kiddush levana appeared on many fin de siècle holiday cards, and on modern Russian and American postage stamps.[248] Notable modern artists have depicted Kiddush levana, including Joseph Budko, Max Weber,[69] Lionel S. Reiss[249] Emanuel Glicen Romano,[250] Hendel Lieberman,[251] Zalman Kleinman,[252] Moshe Castel[253] Zvi Malnovitzer,[254] Elena Flerova,[255] Boris Shapiro,[256][257] Reuven Rubin, Haim Goldberg, Tadeusz Popiel, Hermann Junker, and Artur Markowicz.

Noa Ginzburg's MFA thesis, Kiddush Levana, The Moon Is Your Handheld Mirror (2019), aimed "to disarm anthropocentric points of view and speak of temporality and displacement".[162][258]

A selection of out-of-copyright works is available in the gallery below.

Folklore

[edit]
Main article: Jewish folklore
  • Moses Meisels told me that once a certain Jew was attacked by gentiles at night, and they wanted to kill him. But he saw that the moon was shining, so he asked them to let him perform the mitzvah first. A miracle happened when he performed the custom of jumping! A wind arose from the gentiles, rendering him invisible, and he was saved.[201] A similar story is told in the name of Aaron of Posen.[214]
  • Once upon a time, the Baal Shem Tov wanted to set out on a journey, but as it was time for Kiddush levana, he delayed until nightfall. As he was walking to perform Kiddush levana, one of his companions wanted to look behind them, but the Baal Shem Tov wouldn't let him look, saying "Someone is stealing the halter from the horses, but he is stealing in order to purchase Sabbath materials". The horses were hitched to the wagon, so that they could leave immediately after Kiddush levana. After Kiddush levana, the gabbai began shouting, "Who stole the halter?" But the Baal Shem Tov said to him, "Don't shout at him. Here are 18 coins, go to so-and-so and buy back the halter—the thief is pawning it there—but don't say anything".[259]
  • Hassidim say that when the Ruzhiner was once arrested on the order of the czar, he was placed in an impregnable fortress, but when the time arrived for the monthly blessing of the new moon, he would elude his guards by simply walking past them uprightly, perform the religious duty, and return to his cell.[260]
  • It happened when [Meir of Tiktin] was going to sanctify the New Moon on motzae Yom ha-kippurim, he and his rabbinical court. At the very moment the sky covered with clouds and the moon could not be seen at all. For a long time he and his court on his right and on his left were standing amazed and struck with awe. And then, all of a sudden, the sound of his beautiful voice could be heard; let's realize the power of Heaven! Meir and his court are standing and the silence is interrupted by a gust of strong wind, the sky brightens and the moon appears again, as bright as ever, to throw light on the earth. At the very moment the above gaon thanked Heaven with an eulogy and filled with great joy began to chant Birkat halevana.[207]
  • It was the last night in which the moon could be sanctified, but it was covered with clouds. [Meir of Premishlan] turned to his followers. “How did the Jews recite Kiddush levana in the desert?” he asked. “Their camp was covered by the Clouds of Glory.” His followers sensed that his question was rhetorical and remained silent. Meir soon continued. “Moshe Rabbeinu took a handkerchief, waved it at the position in the sky where the moon would be located, and the clouds parted.” And Reb Meir took out his own handkerchief, waved it at the clouds, and they too moved apart, revealing the full moon.[11]
  • When blessing the new moon, the Jews go outside and chant "Hail to David, King of Israel" - literally: "David, King of Israel lives and exists." A king had decreed that the Jews were to stop this custom. He dreamed he was chasing a deer which lured him far into the forest. Exhausted he reached a hut in which a group of Jews was dining. He was very hungry but was given a piece of bread only after he had cancelled in writing the decree against the blessing of the new moon. On awakening he heard the Jews singing "Hail to David the King." Angrily rushing outside he was greeted by the rabbi who showed him the cancellation of the decree in his own handwriting. The king also found a piece of bread in his pocket. (Mot. F 1068)[261] A more complicated version is told of Menahem Recanati.[262][263][264]
  • It is said that around 1924, Haim Pinto the Younger was saying the "Birkat ha'Levanah" (the blessing of the new moon). When he finished the blessing, he told the people who were with him: "What did we say in the blessing? Ke'shem she'anahnu meraqqedin... [as we dance toward thee, but cannot touch thee]. I promise you that some of you will live to see the day when man will go up to the moon and dance there". The people who were with him asked: "How can such thing come about?" He told them: "It will happen".[265][266]
A 1744 illustration of Kiddush levana. The shamash holds a text with attached candles.
A modern Kiddush levana poster (Mikveh Israel)

Kiddush levana letters

[edit]

Kiddush levana is traditionally recited outside,[83][267] often with only the moon for light. Prayerbooks often set Kiddush levana in large type, in order to make it easier to read.[268][231][234] Historically, it was traditional in many places for Kiddush levana to be recited from memory,[126][72] or for one to recite it loudly on behalf of all;[269][270][271] in others, the shamash would hold up a large board with the text of the liturgy.[272][273][274][275]

Later, synagogues began to post the text of the prayer in large type on an outside wall. In 1972, Jerusalem had "fewer than a dozen of these signs . . . measuring approximately three by four-and-a-half metres, all of the black-on-white Kiddush Levana signs throughout the world appear almost identical, as if executed by the same hand. They are mounted on any exterior wall near the synagogue entrance, and have a sheet metal "roof" overhead, for protection against the rain. Some source of illumination is aimed at the board, to make it readable".[276] According to Noa Ginzburg, "The style of the letters is anything but soft; it is like [the men] just want to claim her as their own".[162]

Recalling the large-print prayerbooks and signs, the term "Kiddush levana letters" (Hebrew: אותיות קידוש לבנה, romanized: otiot kiddush levana) developed to refer to any text written in unusually large letters.[277] By the First Aliyah, even secular Jews understood the term.[278]

Some relate the term to "libona'ah script" (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: כתב ליבונאה, romanized: ketab libona'ah), which Rashi interpreted as "large letters like those used in amulets".[279][280]

Comparative Religion

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Analogues to Kiddush levana "have been found in various religious cultures going back to dim antiquity."[281] "Different nations, from the remotest periods, consecrated the day or the evening which commences this renewal of the moon".[282] "Many nations in antiquity celebrated the new moon, welcoming the periodic return of the grateful rays of the orb of night with festive ceremonies. Among the Semitic Peoples, the observance of new moon festival. was very general, and dates from remote antiquity".[283] Kiddush levana "recalls the rites of all emerging religions".[284]

  • Mali: "On the first appearance of the new moon, which they look upon to be newly created, the [Mandinka], as well as Mahomedans, say a short prayer; and this seems to be the only visible adoration which the kafirs offer up to the Supreme Being. This prayer is pronounced in a whisper; the party holding up his hands before his face: its purport (as I have been assured by many different people) is to return thanks to God for his kindness through the existence of the past moon, and to solicit a continuation of his favour during that of the new one. At the conclusion, they spit upon their hands, and rub them over their faces." (Mungo Park 1799) [285]
  • Samoa: "On the appearance of the new moon all the members of the family called out: 'Child of the moon, you have come.' They assembled also, presented offerings of food, had a united feast, and joined in the prayer: 'Oh, child of the moon! Keep far away disease and death.'" (George Turner 1884)[286]
  • South Africa: "[The Lemba] see the new moon, they decided to shave earlier, before the moon is visible and this is done every month . . . when they grew up that's what they were told to do". (Deborah Grenn-Scott 2002).[287]
  • Dönmeh: Among their precepts was (c. 1760), "Each and every month they shall look up and behold the birth of the moon and shall pray that the moon turn its face opposite the sun, face to face".[288] Gershom Scholem explains, "This is the observance of the Sanctification of the (New) Moon . . ."[289] One descendant recalled that "she was taken out to see the new moon each month and to recite a prayer that her mother taught her: 'O God, I see the Moon, O God I do believe. Let the Moon be blessed by God.'"[290][291]
  • Islam: "So if you’ve ever watched a Muslim prayer, there is a prayer called the Salat. And at the end of it, you turn to the left and you go: Al-Salamu alaykum wa Rahmat Allah wa Barakatu So you say Sholom Aleychem and you talk about the blessing Barakatu that we have, and if you’ve ever done Kiddush Levana blessing the new moon There is this strange choreography and verbiage that literally parallels that you turn to the left. And you say Shalom Aleikhem, and you turn to the right and you say Shalom Aleikhem. It just seems to me there are a lot of synergies between the different prayer cultures." (Geoffrey Stern 2024)[292]
  • Ireland: "Another custom, or religious adoration, is that of praying to the new moon the first time that luminary is seen after its change. This seems to be a mixture of Jewish and Heathen worship, of which Selden de Diis Syriis speaks, as related in the additamenta M. Andr. Beyeri, page 80, where he also quotes a French author, saying of the inhabitants of Ireland, 'se mettent a genoux en voyant la lune nouvelle, et disent en parlant a la lune; laisse nous ausi sains que tu nous as trouvé.' (William Shaw Mason 1819).[293] Charles Vallancey adds, "This custom is still preserved, and every peasant in Ireland on seeing the new Moon crosses himself and says, slan fuar tu sin agus slan adfaga tu sin, whole you find us and whole leave us.[294]
  • Persia: "The disciples of Zoroaster and the followers of the Talmud consider themselves duty bound to greet the moon at its first quarter with prayers and thanksgivings" (Adolphe Franck 1843).[26] Others have also compared the Zoroastrian rite to the Talmudic.[27][295][296][297][298][283][299] The Zoroastrian liturgy is "Hail to Ahura Mazda! . . . We sacrifice to the new moon, the holy and master of holiness", and their New Moon lasted for the first five days of the month.[300] In 1879, Andrew Carnegie described, "This evening we were surprised to see, as we strolled along the beach [in Mumbai], more Parsees than ever before, and more Parsee ladies richly dressed; all seemed wending their way to the sea. It was the first of the new moon, a period sacred to these worshippers of the elements; and here on the shores of the ocean, as the sun was sinking in the sea, and the slender silver thread of the crescent moon was faintly shining in the horizon, they congregated to perform their religious rites".[301]
  • Brazil: "The only prayer they agreed to share with me, and only after a great deal of begging, was the prayer for the new moon. The new moon prayer has very little to do with the traditional Jewish Kiddush Levanna except that it is done exactly at the period of the new moon and it has to be done under the open sky. Otherwise there is very little in common. The Venhaver prayer for the New Moon is a rather superstitious plea to the moon, as though it had the power of granting one's wishes. Their prayer says 'Lua nova, lua cheia, lua de quarto crescente; quando fores que vieres trazei-me este presente New moon, full moon, half moon, when you go and came back, do bring me back this gift.' The 'gift' is understood as being the fulfillment of a wish. Although these prayers do not resemble the Kiddush Levanna, it has the potential of being the vestige of the traditional Jewish practice, since such prayer is absolutely unknown among the Gentiles in the area" (Cukierkorn 1994).[302]
  • Hungary: Szekler Sabbatarians had a "New Moon song" which was recited while looking up at the sky. Its phrasing has been compared to Kiddush levana.[303]
[edit]

Art

[edit]

Manuscript illuminations (1390-1600)

[edit]
  • 1393, by Abraham ben Samuel of Wenigerode
    1393, by Abraham ben Samuel of Wenigerode
  • 1478-1480,[304] in the Rothschild Miscellany [he]
    1478-1480,[304] in the Rothschild Miscellany [he]
  • 1480 (Mantua), by Abraham Farissol
    1480 (Mantua), by Abraham Farissol
  • 1480 (Pesaro), by Elia ben Solomon of Ravenna
    1480 (Pesaro), by Elia ben Solomon of Ravenna
  • 1490s (Florence), by Giovanni di Giuliano Boccardi, "one of the last representatives of the golden age of Florentine renaissance illumination"
    1490s (Florence), by Giovanni di Giuliano Boccardi, "one of the last representatives of the golden age of Florentine renaissance illumination"
  • 15th century (Italy)
    15th century (Italy)
  • 15th century (Italy), by "Isaac"
    15th century (Italy), by "Isaac"
  • 15th century (Italy)
    15th century (Italy)
  • 15th century (Italy)
    15th century (Italy)
  • 1520 (Italy), by Moshe ben Hayyim Akrish
    1520 (Italy), by Moshe ben Hayyim Akrish
  • 1589, in the Nuremberg Miscellany
    1589, in the Nuremberg Miscellany

Woodcuts (1525-1715)

[edit]
  • 1526, in the Prague Haggadah [he]
    1526, in the Prague Haggadah [he]
  • 1560 (Mantua)
    1560 (Mantua)
  • 1601 (Venice). This haggadah reuses the same woodcut to depict Pharaoh's astrologers and Terah.
    1601 (Venice). This haggadah reuses the same woodcut to depict Pharaoh's astrologers and Terah.
  • 1593 (Venice)
    1593 (Venice)
  • 1601 (Venice)
    1601 (Venice)
  • 1662 (Amsterdam)
    1662 (Amsterdam)
  • 1692 (Dyhernfurth)
    1692 (Dyhernfurth)
  • 1707 (Amsterdam). This woodcut was used in many similar editions.
    1707 (Amsterdam). This woodcut was used in many similar editions.
  • 1708 (Frankfurt am Main)
    1708 (Frankfurt am Main)

Engravings (1685-1750)

[edit]
  • 1687, with watercolors
    1687, with watercolors
  • 1726
    1726
  • 1726, following Yom Kippur
    1726, following Yom Kippur
  • 1738 sketch (Mainz) by Juspe Schmalkalden, apparently after an engraving
    1738 sketch (Mainz) by Juspe Schmalkalden, apparently after an engraving
  • 1748, by Gottfried Eichler
    1748, by Gottfried Eichler

Revival illuminations (1712-1800)

[edit]
  • 18th century
    18th century
  • 1714 (London), by Aaron ben Moses of Novardok
    1714 (London), by Aaron ben Moses of Novardok
  • 1717 (Amsterdam)
    1717 (Amsterdam)
  • 1722
    1722
  • 1722 (Moravia), by Nathan ben Samson [of Mezhyrich]
    1722 (Moravia), by Nathan ben Samson [of Mezhyrich]
  • 1723 (Amsterdam)
    1723 (Amsterdam)
  • 1724 (Amsterdam)
    1724 (Amsterdam)
  • 1727, by Nathan ben Samson of Mezhyrich.
    1727, by Nathan ben Samson of Mezhyrich.
  • 1728, by Nathan ben Samson of Mezhyrich
    1728, by Nathan ben Samson of Mezhyrich
  • 1728 (Fürth).
    1728 (Fürth).
  • 1728
    1728
  • 1736, by Simhah Pihem Segal (Mannheim)
    1736, by Simhah Pihem Segal (Mannheim)
  • 1737
    1737
  • 1738
    1738
  • 1743 (Italy), by Jacob ben Joseph Conegliano
    1743 (Italy), by Jacob ben Joseph Conegliano
  • 1744
    1744
  • 1748, by Jacob and Israel Shamash
    1748, by Jacob and Israel Shamash
  • 1775 (Hildesheim), by Wolf Leib Katz Poppers
    1775 (Hildesheim), by Wolf Leib Katz Poppers
  • 1793 (Fürth)
    1793 (Fürth)
  • 18th-century
    18th-century
  • 18th-century
    18th-century
  • 18th century
    18th century
  • 18th-century (damaged)
    18th-century (damaged)
  • 18th century
    18th century
  • 18th-century
    18th-century
  • 18th-century (Amsterdam)
    18th-century (Amsterdam)
  • 1795 (Amsterdam)
    1795 (Amsterdam)
  • 18th century
    18th century
  • 18th-19th century
    18th-19th century

Postcards (1875-1925)

[edit]

Modern Art

[edit]
  • Blessing of the New Moon by Alphonse Levy (1883)[306]
    Blessing of the New Moon by Alphonse Levy (1883)[306]
  • Painting by Hermann Junker (1838-1899)
    Painting by Hermann Junker (1838-1899)
  • 1903 chalk drawing by Karl Pelzenhardt
    1903 chalk drawing by Karl Pelzenhardt
  • Painting by Bentzion Sokiranski (1887-1953)
    Painting by Bentzion Sokiranski (1887-1953)
  • Etching by Joseph Budko (1888-1940)
    Etching by Joseph Budko (1888-1940)
  • Kiddush levana (1923), a woodcut by Reuven Rubin
    Kiddush levana (1923), a woodcut by Reuven Rubin
  • 1933 painting by Artur Markowicz
    1933 painting by Artur Markowicz

Photographs

[edit]
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kiddush Levanah.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hebrew: קידוש לבנה, qidduš ləḇānā, Sanctification of the Moon and Hebrew: ברכת הלבנה, birkath haləḇānā, Blessing of the Moon). Also called Kiddush hachodesh (קידוש החודש), Birkat hachodesh (ברכת החודש), and Birkat hayare'ach (ברכת הירח).[1] Today, Birkat hachodesh more often refers to the announcement of the molad on the previous Shabbat morning. Romaniote Jews referred to this other ceremony as Kiddush Yarcha.[2]
  2. ^ See also the Tafsir to Genesis (1984) p. 236.
  3. ^ Compare his commentary to Exodus 12:2.
  4. ^ An aphorism regarding the constellations, commonly attributed to the Talmud (cf. b. Chullin 91b and Rashi ad loc.). A similar phrase is found in Hekhalot Rabbati 9:3 and Eichah Rabbah 2:2, but no homily containing the exact phrase is found in any text except Jacob Sikilli [he]'s Yalkut Talmud Torah (14th century), which presents it as a quotation from the Midrash Yelammedenu, although it is cited by earlier medievals, including Ibn Ezra (Deut. 32:8) and Ezra of Gerona [he] (Introduction to Canticles). See Hanoch Albeck's Bereishit Rabbah (1936) p. 788 and notes. Sikilli's version of the Yelammedenu is said to be post-Islamic with later insertions. See Posnanski, Samuel (1912), "On the Talmud Torah Collection of Jacob beRabbi Hananel Sikilli" (in Hebrew), in Hatzofeh me-eretz hager vol. III p. 19, and Mann, Jacob (1940), The Bible As Read and Preached in the Old Synagogue, English pagination, p. 28, Hebrew pagination, pp. 171, 316. Similarly, in many versions the liturgy "Blessed be your Creator . . ." has been modified to spell JACOB by acrostic (cf. ed. Hager, p. 339; Arian (1979), p. 32), attested already by Meir of Rothenburg (d. 1293), Minhagim p. 17, by the Tur OC 246 (c. 1340) and by David Abudarham 1:8:27 (fl. 1340). Rothenburg explains that "Jacob is etched in the moon" while Abudarham explains that "Jacob is compared to the moon". Rothenburg is certainly not referring to Amar adonai leyaaqov [he], as imagined by Feuchtwanger-Sarig, Naomi (2021). Thy Father’s Instruction, p. 207. Many interpretations are discussed in Perez, Michael, Otzar hapsakim: Rosh chodesh uvirkat halevana (2004), p. 27-32. According to Jacob D. Schwartz, it was based on comparison to Isaiah 43:1, "Who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel", and LevRab 36:4, and the original was in that order, or even had only those two verbs. Schwartz, Jacob D. (1906). The New Moon Benediction. Hebrew Union College (Thesis). Compare the alternate proposal at Weinstein, Moshe Shmuel (משו"ש) (November 25, 1870). "Birkat hahodesh II". Jbri Anochi (in Hebrew). 4 (8): 63–64. See also Arian (1979), pp. 78-79, 101. and Wolfson, Eliot R. (1995). Along the Path. pp. 1-62, 146-147. and Wolfson, Eliot R. (1997). Seductiveness of Jewish Myth. pp. 235-270.
  1. ^ The Talmud (Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 42a) refers to "blessing the new moon" (and "sanctifying" the new moon (ibid. 10b) in a different context). Only a few medievals (all Ashkenazic) use Kiddush levana, but the term became widespread across Jewry in the printing age. Yosef Karo uses Birkat halevanah in the Shulchan Arukh, and Moshe Isserles uses Kiddush hachodesh in his gloss. Today, most Sephardic prayerbooks use Birkat and most Ashkenazic prayerbooks use Kiddush. See Spiegel, Yaakov Shmuel (2007). "On the Terms Kiddush hachodesh, Birkat halevana, and Kiddush levana" (in Hebrew), in Sidra: A Journal for the Study of Rabbinic Literature Vol. 22, pp. 185-200.
  2. ^ Niehoff-Panagiotidis, Johannes and Hollender, Elisabeth. "Ewole שדח שאד: The Announcement of the New Moon in Romaniote Synagogues" Byzantinische Zeitschrift, vol. 103, no. 1, 2010, pp. 108. https://doi.org/10.1515/byzs.2010.009
  3. ^ a b Fishman, Talya (1997). Shaking the Pillars of Exile: 'Voice of a Fool,' an Early Modern Jewish Critique of Rabbinic Culture. Stanford University Press. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-8047-2820-1.
  4. ^ a b Simeon Singer (editor), Authorised Daily Prayer Book, Seventh editon, London 1904, page 292.
  5. ^ a b c d e Drazin, Israel (2008). "The Origin of the 'Sanctification of the Moon'" in Maimonides: the ceptional Mind pp, 235-245.
  6. ^ a b Joseph H. Hertz (ed.), The Authorised Daily Prayer Book, vised edition, ninth printing 1960, pp. 994-995.
  7. ^ a b Abramowitz, Mayer (1973). "Sanctification of The Moon: Ancient Rite of Rebellion". Judaism. 22 (1): 45–53 – via ProQuest. Arian, Avram (1979). The Evolution of Kiddush Levanah (PDF). Hebrew Union College (Ordination thesis). Isidor Grunfeld complains, "I do not know why this beautiful prayer has"] Quoted in Celebrating the New Moon (1998), p. 21. been omitted from Singer's Prayerbook, which is generally used by English Jews" (Horeb vol. 1 (1962) p. 167).
  8. ^ a b c d Isaac Klein, A Guide to Jewish religious practice, New York : Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1979, pages 266-267.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Arian, Avram (1979). The Evolution of Kiddush Levanah (PDF). Hebrew Union College (Ordination thesis).
  10. ^ a b Lockshin, Martin (1980). "Review of A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice". Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought. 18 (2): 227–230. ISSN 0041-0608. JSTOR 23258638.
  11. ^ a b c d Eli & Malka Touger, "The Rebbe's Kiddush Levanah". Chabad.org.
  12. ^ Ydit, Meir. "Moon, Blessing of the." Encyclopaedia Judaica, edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2nd ed., vol. 14, Macmillan Reference USA, 2007, p. 468; Robinson, Ganana, The Origin and Development of the Old Testament Sabbath: A Comprehensive Exegetical Approach (1975), pp. 74-75; Chelst, Dov (May 1990). "It Began Many Moons Ago" in Hamevaser 21:6, pp. 4-5. One specific theory is expounded in Schwartz, Jacob D. (1906). The New Moon Benediction. Hebrew Union College (Thesis). Landman, Isaac (1940). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incorporated. p. 170.
  13. ^ Hakohen, Mordecai [he] (1984). "Kiddush hachodesh vekiddush levana". Areshet (in Hebrew) (4): 67–85  – via Otzar haHochma (subscription required)
  14. ^ a b c Feuchtwanger-Sarig, Naomi (2021-12-06). Thy Father's Instruction: Reading the Nuremberg Miscellany as Jewish Cultural History. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. pp. 204–210. ISBN 978-3-11-041428-8.
  15. ^ Brody, Shlomo. "Ask the Rabbi: Baffling Blessing: What is Behind the Sanctification of the Moon." The Jerusalem Post, Mar 07 2008, p. C39. ProQuest.
  16. ^ Nulman, Macy (1996-02-01). The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer: The Ashkenazic and Sephardic Rites. Jason Aronson, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-4616-3124-8.
  17. ^ Posner, A. (April 12, 1901). "The Origin of the Sanctification of the Moon". The Hebrew Standard of Australasia. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Abramowitz, Mayer (1973). "Sanctification of The Moon: Ancient Rite of Rebellion". Judaism. 22 (1): 45–53 – via ProQuest. Compare citation in the name of Joseph B. Soloveitchik at OUKosher.org, "After completing the bracha of Kiddush Levana . . .", and Levy, Eliezer (1958). Yesodot hatefillah p. 305, who says the same of the shalom aleikhem and "A good omen . . ." elements.
  18. ^ Robinson, Gnana (1975). The Origin and Development of the Old Testament Sabbath. p. 74, "Abramowitz's attempt to find the origin of the Kiddush-Levana ritual at the Bar-Kokhba rebellion is, however, not convincing". Arian, Avram (1979). The Evolution of Kiddush Levanah (PDF). Hebrew Union College (Ordination thesis). pp. 96–97. Abramowitz's theory is colorful and fascinating, but it disregards too many factors: it is oblivious to historical perspective; it glosses over textual evidence of the transmission of tradition; and it must therefore be discounted. Lobel, Andrea D. (August 2015). Under a Censored Sky: Astronomy and Rabbinic Authority in the Talmud Bavli and Related Literature. Concordia University (Dissertation). p. 99, "[W]hat the evidence amounts to are literary quotes and a line from correspondence from the Bar Kokhba era—all of which appear contorted to fit the facts. Although it is not inconceivable that such a connection exists, it seems to be a stretch".
  19. ^ a b Eisenstein, Judah David (1938). Otzar dinim uminhagim (in Hebrew). p. 60. Compare §Superstitions, below
  20. ^ Mandelshtam, Leon (1861). Horae thalmudicae II: Reform im Judenthum (in German). Friedländer. pp. 16–19. Compare Müller, Joel. (1878). Masechet Soferim. pp.  282, who says the same regarding the jumping element.
  21. ^ Franck, Adolphe (1926) [1843]. The Kabbalah: Or, The Religious Philosophy of the Hebrews. Kabbalah Publishing Company. p. 292. It is true that we must refer the origin of the benediction of the moon to Parseeism, but only in so far as the Rabbis were compelled to consider the influence of Parseeism upon the people.—Jellinek. Weinstein, Moshe Shmuel (משו"ש) (November 25, 1870). "Birkat hahodesh II". Jbri Anochi (in Hebrew). 4 (8): 63–64. Rabinowitz, Meir (1888). Hamahanayyim (in Hebrew). A. Brody. p. 81. Weiss, Isaac Hirsch (1893). Dor dor vedoreshav (in Hebrew). Vol. 2. p. 16. Kohler, Kaufmann. (Jan. 15, 1897). "Jewish Life in the Middle Ages II" The American Hebrew. p. 313, "anti-Persian in character, and assuredly of ancient origin". ProQuest.
  22. ^ Gottlieb, Moshe Yekutiel (May 19, 1876). "Liqutei amarim". Jbri Anochi. 16 (31). 245-246.
  23. ^ Arian, Avram (1979). The Evolution of Kiddush Levanah (PDF). Hebrew Union College (Ordination thesis). Compare Mond, David (November 11, 1982). "Kiddush Levanah". Hamevaser 21:2, p. 7.
  24. ^ Reifmann, Jacob (1845). Pesher davar. p. 28. Compare replies at Weinstein, Moshe Shmuel (משו"ש) (November 18, 1870). "Birkat hahodesh I". Jbri Anochi. 4 (7): 55–56. and Gottlieb, Moshe Yekutiel (May 19, 1876). "Liqutei amarim". Jbri Anochi. 16 (31). 245-246. See also Schwartz, Jacob D. (1906). The New Moon Benediction. Hebrew Union College (Thesis). pp. 23-25.
  25. ^ Drazin, Israel (2008). "The Origin of the 'Sanctification of the Moon'" in Maimonides: Exceptional Mind pp, 235-245. Shamma Friedman is said to agree.
  26. ^ a b Franck, Adolphe (1926). The Kabbalah: Or, The Religious Philosophy of the Hebrews. Kabbalah Publishing Company. p. 292. The editor, Isaac Sossnitz, quotes Adolf Jellinek in opposition.
  27. ^ a b Rubin, Solomon (1882). HaShachar (in Hebrew). Peretz Smolenskin. p. 338.
  28. ^ Feldman, Arthur A. "Freud's "Moses and Monotheism" and the Three Stages of Israelitish Religion." The Psychoanalytic Review 31 (1944): 395. ProQuest.
  29. ^ Danon, Abraham (1900). "Kat yehudit-mashalmanit". Sefer hashana (in Hebrew). Nahum Sokolow. p. 168.
  30. ^ Barag, G. G. (1946). "The Mother in the Religious Concepts of Judaism". American Imago. 4 (1): 33–41. ISSN 0065-860X. JSTOR 26300887.
  31. ^ Segal, Moses Hirsch (January 1963). "The Religion of Israel before Sinai". Jewish Quarterly Review. 53 (3): 239–240.
  32. ^ Robinson, Gnana (1975). The Origin and Development of the Old Testament Sabbath: A Comprehensive Exegetical Approach. pp. 74–75.
  33. ^ Reik, Theodor (1964). Pagan Rites in Judaism: From Sex Initiation, Magic, Moon-cult, Tattooing, Mutilation, and Other Primitive Rituals to Family Loyalty and Solidarity. Farrar, Straus. pp. 92–102.
  34. ^ Goell, Yosef. "Return to Religion? No Thanks." The Jerusalem Post, Dec 01 2003, p. 13.
  35. ^ "Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 42a". Sefaria. Rabinowitz, Zeev Wolf. "Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9:2". Sefaria. According to Arian (1979), p. 16-19, the early attributions are false.
  36. ^ a b c d e Lauterbach, Jacob Zallel (1911). "Birkat halevana". Otzar Yisrael vol. 5. p. 316.
  37. ^ a b c d ibn Raz, Amitai bar Yedaya (pseudonym); da Modena, Yehuda Aryeh; Reggio, Isaac Samuel (1852). Behinat haQabbalah (in Hebrew). pp. 46–47, 169–171.
  38. ^ Müller, Joel (1878). Masechet Soferim. pp. 279–282.
  39. ^ Translation from Birnbaum, Philip (1949). Daily Prayer Book, New York: Hebrew Publishing Company.pages 561-562. Arian (1979), p. 22, writes "The language of the blessing is extremely close to that of the last Psalm of the pseudepigraphic Psalms of Solomon, which dates from the First century B.C.E. It is impossible to make exact linguistic comparisons, since the Psalms of Solomon has survived in manuscript in Greek only. There is no clear link between Psalms of Solomon and the Rabbinic tradition, although it is possible that the Talmudic Rabbis were acquainted with the Psalms. Herbert Edward Pyle and Montague Rhodes James, eds., Psalms of Solomon, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1891), Ps. 19:1-4, pp. 151-153. Pyle and James assert that the language here has even earlier parallels, in Parables of Enoch 41:5 and in Apocalypse of Baruch 48:9-10. The existence of similar, or even identical language, however, does not in any way demonstrate the possibility of the existence of a similar ceremony, nor does it imply that the language at the earlier date carried the meaning that later came to be associated with it".
  40. ^ Compare discussion of a similar image (1589) in MS Nuremberg Oct. Hs. 7058 at Feuchtwanger-Sarig, Naomi (2021). Thy Father’s Instruction, p. 207.
  41. ^ "Sanhedrin 42a:3". Some modern versions: "while leaning on each other". Tosefot Hakhmei Anglia (ad loc.) comment, "They were not able to stand on account of age". Isaiah di Trani, "Because they were old and could not stand, their students would carry them on their shoulders while they blessed," and similarly Jonathan of Lunel (ad loc.) and Meir Abulafia (ad loc.). But Isaac of Vienna (II 456), "Some explain that when they blessed the new moon, their servants would lift them onto their shoulders in celebration". Compare Talmud Bavli Beitzah 25b and Talmud Bavli Yoma 87a (with variants and medievals), from which it appears Maremar and Mar Zutra rode in sedan chairs to avoid the crowd.
  42. ^ Baadani, Netanel (2007). Friedman, Shamma (ed.). Hayu Bodeqin (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: HaIggud leFarshanut haTalmud. pp. 119-135.
  43. ^ Rabinowitz, Zev Wolf. "Sha'arei Torat Eretz Yisrael on Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9:2:13:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12. Schwartz, Jacob D. (1906). The New Moon Benediction. Hebrew Union College (Thesis). p. 26.
  44. ^ Mishnah Berakhot 9:2 and Talmud Bavli Berakhot 59a.
  45. ^ Grossman, Avi (2019). "On the Times Commonly Presented for Birkat HaL’vana: Part 1" and ". . . Part 2". SeforimBlog. Lau, Benjamin (2005). "Meqoma shel haqqabala befsikato shel harav Ovadia Yosef" (in Hebrew). Daat 55. pp. 146-152. See e.g. Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Berakhot 10:17; Manoah ben Yaa'kov, Sefer haMenucha ed. Eliezer Horowitz (1970), p. 348; Meir HaKohen, Hagahot Maymuniyyot to Berakhot 10:Samekh in the name of his master [=Meir of Rothenburg?]; Hayim Vital, Pri etz Hayyim, f. 93r; Israel Isserlein, Moreh Derekh #35; Yisrael Meir Kagan, Mishneh Berurah 426:20; Dovid Rosenberg, Minchat David vol. I p. 113; Judah David Eisenstein, Otzar dinim uminhagim p. 59b; Moshe Feinstein, Iggerot Moshe OC 1:143. Yoel Shilo, "Techilat zman kiddush levana" in Yarchon haOtzar 9 (2017), p. 92. Compare Blumenfeld, Isaac (1926). "Sefer alilot devarim". Otzer Nehmad 4. p. 186.
  46. ^ Gartner, Jacob (1991). "Kiddush levana". Asuppot (in Hebrew). 5: 327–343.
  47. ^ Variant texts given in ed. Hager p. 336 and discussed in Yosef Karo, Beit Yosef to Orach Chaim 426. Textual questions regarding this opening line are fully treated in Gartner, Jacob (1995). "Kiddush Levana" Gilgulei Minhag baOlam haHalakha, pp. 204-209 and Gartner, Jacob (1991). "Kiddush levana". Asuppot (in Hebrew). 5: 327–343.
  48. ^ "Tractate Soferim 20". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  49. ^ Simeon Kayyara. "Halakhot Gedolot 1:135". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  50. ^ Isaac, Alfasi. "Rif Berakhot 21a:3". Sefaria. Compare ibid. 43b.
  51. ^ Maimonides. "Mishneh Torah, Blessings 10:16". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  52. ^ a b Abramowitz, Mayer (1973). "Sanctification of The Moon: Ancient Rite of Rebellion". Judaism. 22 (1): 45–53 – via ProQuest.
  53. ^ Sefer haMenucha ed. Eliezer Horowitz (1970), p. 348.
  54. ^ Reifmann, Jacob (1845). "Pesher davar". p. 28. Schwartz, Jacob D. (1906). The New Moon Benediction. Hebrew Union College (Thesis). pp. 23-25. Drazin, Israel (2008). "The Origin of the 'Sanctification of the Moon'" in Maimonides: Exceptional Mind pp, 235-245. Compare Krauss, Samuel (1931). "Levirkat halevana" in Otzar hahayyim vol. 7, p. 45, who explains jumping at the moon as a magical practice, and Arian, Avram (1979). The Evolution of Kiddush Levanah. Hebrew Union College (Ordination thesis), p. 2, "They recite what can only be described as an incantation for good luck". According to Shai Secunda, the reversed reading of Ex. 15:16, "Like a stone . . ." is a medieval magical practice attested in the geniza. Folger, Arie; Holzer, Aton (2020). "Siddur Avodat HaLev: A New Siddur and Insights on the Old" (PDF). Hakirah. 28: 60. Secunda, Shai (2011). "Did you say magic?". Segula 3. Compare Gottlieb, Moshe Yekutiel (May 19, 1876). "Liqutei amarim". Jbri Anochi. 16 (31). 245-246.
  55. ^ Zedekiah ben Abraham Anaw. "Shibbolei HaLeket 167:4". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  56. ^ Isaac ben Moses of Vienna. "Ohr Zarua, Volume II 456:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  57. ^ Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry. "Machzor Vitry, Order of Motza'ei Shabbat 202". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  58. ^ Bahya ben Asher. "Rabbeinu Bahya, Shemot 12:2:11". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  59. ^ Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi. "Rabbeinu Yonah on Berakhot 21a:2". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  60. ^ Jacob ben Asher. "Tur, Orach Chaim 426:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  61. ^ Karo, Joseph. "Bet Yosef, Orach Chaim 426". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  62. ^ Gavra, Moshe [he] (2010). Mehkarim besiddurei teiman (in Hebrew). Museon Yehudei Teiman. pp. 526–538.
  63. ^ For an in-depth analysis of the development of the custom to greet three people saying"'Shalom aleichem" during the ceremony, see Zvi Ron, "Shalom Aleichem to three people during kiddush levanah", Hakirah 7 (Winter 2009), pp. 243-248. For the custom to recite "David Melech Yisrael Chai VeKayam", see Nachman Levine, "David Melech Yisrael Chai VeKayam: Kiddush halevanah, midrash, archeology and redemption", in Hakirah 28 (2020), pp. 83-100. For the custom to repeat Exodus 15:16 backwards, see David S. Farkas, "Backward and Forward: An Unusual Feature of Kiddush Levanah" in Hakirah 7 (Winter 2009), pp. 229-242; Yacov Balsam, "Kiddush Levana" in Hakirah 8 (Summer 2009), pp. 11-16; Folger, Ari and Aton, Holzer (2020). "Siddur Avodat HaLev: A New Siddur and Insights on the Old". Hakirah. 28. p. 60.
  64. ^ Some of these verses are mentioned in Masekhet Soferim, 20:2 (in some editions 19:10). Others are mentioned in Yosef Karo, Shulchan Aruch OC 426:2, and the comments of Moshe Isserles there. Other verses that are recited are mentioned in the writing of Hayim Vital, Peri Etz Chaim (f. 93r-93v). Still other verses are mentioned in Judah Ashkenazi, Ba'er Hetev, 426:8. See also Eliezer Papo, Hesed laalafim p. 574. Saadya, student of the Vilna Gaon [he], Maaseh Rav 161 reports that the Elijah of Vilna would not include any verses at all.
  65. ^ Zelikman of Binga (1985). Maharaz Binga: Hiddushim beurim ufsakim lerabbenu Zelikman miBinga talmid muvhak leMaharil [Novellae, Commentaries, and Rulings from Rabbi Zelikman of Binga] (in Hebrew). Mechon Yerushalayim. p. 169.
  66. ^ Joseph ben Moses. "Leket Yosher, Volume I (Orach Chayim) 69:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
  67. ^ Karo, Joseph. "Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 426:2". www.sefaria.org. See Fishman, Talya (1997) Shaking the Pillars of Exile p. 166, and Nachman Levine, "David Melech Yisrael Chai VeKayam: Kiddush halevanah, midrash, archeology and redemption", in Hakirah 28 (2020), p. 83, who are not aware that Binga and Obernik testify to this practice in the 15th century. Isserles cites Bahya, who explains that when David melekh yisrael chai veqayyam is used as a cipher for the new month declaration in b. Rosh haShana 25a, this is because "the House of David descends from Peretz, and Peretz corresponds to the moon". Other explanations include: that David himself corresponds to the moon (Rashi ad loc.), that the gematriya of the phrase is 819, equal to that of rosh chodesh (Shaarei Ephraim), and that it references a legend that the calendar system was established by David (Siddur Avodat Yisrael). According to Isserles, reciting it signifies that "David's kingdom, like the moon, will renew itself in the future." See Arian (1979), pp. 79-80.
  68. ^ Horowitz, Isaiah (1871). Kitzur shnei luchot habrit (in Hebrew). Zitomir : Y. M. Bakshat, 1871. p. 118.
  69. ^ a b Baigell, Matthew (2000). "Max Weber's Jewish Paintings". American Jewish History. 88 (3): 341–360. ISSN 0164-0178.
  70. ^ Berrin, Susan (1998-05-01). Celebrating the New Moon: A Rosh Chodesh Anthology. Jason Aronson, Incorporated. pp. 144–150. ISBN 978-1-4616-2773-9.
  71. ^ Papo, Eliezer (1841). Hesed laalafim (in Hebrew). p. 574. See also Kassin, Jacob (2021). Or halevana (in Hebrew). p. 23. "ובפרט אם בלתי טהור מתשמיש המיטה".
  72. ^ a b c d e f Yosef, Yitzhak (2005). Yalkut Yosef: Birkat hahama uvirkat halevana, pp. 162-175
  73. ^ Rosensweig, Itamar (2024-12-15). "Kiddush levana vekiddush hahodesh [48:30 mark]". www.yutorah.org. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  74. ^ a b Margolioth, Ephraim Zalman ben Menahem Mannes (1834). Maṭeh Efrayim ʻim Elef le-maṭeh... (in Hebrew). pp. 39v.
  75. ^ ישראל, יעל; Israel, Yael (2008). מנדלסון, אמיתי; רובין, כרמלה (eds.). "Reuven Rubin: Art and the Nation / ראובן רובין, האמנות והאומה". Cathedra: For the History of Eretz Israel and Its Yishuv / קתדרה: לתולדות ארץ ישראל ויישובה (129): 165–170. ISSN 0334-4657. JSTOR 23407460.
  76. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Encyclopedia Talmudit Volume 4, entry ברכת הלבנה, "Birkat ha-lavanah" (viewed on Bar Ilan Responsa Project).
  77. ^ Yisrael Meir Kagan, Biur Halacha 426, d.h. u-mevarekh me'umad.
  78. ^ a b Horowitz, Isaiah (1649). Shnei luhot habrit (in Hebrew). Amsterdam: Benvenishti. pp. 140v.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  79. ^ Mordecai Yehuda Leib Sachs, Minhagei Eretz Yisrael (1953), p. [19].
  80. ^ Ben Yosef, Yitsḥaḳ (2021-04-07). "Kaddish aharei birkat halevana". דין | שאל את הרב (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-12-15.
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  82. ^ Tishby, Isaiah (1980). "The 'Genealogy' of 'My Teacher' (מורי) and 'My Father Who is My Master and My Teacher' (א"א מורי) as Pseudonymous Quotations in "Ḥemdat Yamim"". Tarbiz (in Hebrew). 50: 468–471.
  83. ^ a b c d e f g h Joseph Jacobs and Judah David Eisenstein, New Moon, Blessing of the, in Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901-1906.
  84. ^ a b c Horowitz, Isaiah (1871). Kitzur shnei luchot habrit (in Hebrew). Zitomir: Y. M. Bakshat. p. 118. Many 18th-century prayerbooks include a micrography of Psalm 67 in the shape of a menorah after Kiddush levana, as an aid to this meditation (example right); Jacob Joshua Falk attempted to ban them in 1739 (Pnei Yehoshua Gittin 6b). This practice evolved into the more complicated meditative aid known as the shiviti.
  85. ^ Friedman, C. Y. Siach tzadikim: Kiddush levana (in Hebrew). p. 88.
  86. ^ a b c d e f Sklarch, Moshe Mendel (2021). Hayye Moshe: Orach Hayyim (in Hebrew). Vol. 4. p. 43.
  87. ^ a b Nizri, Meir (2018). "Birkat halevana". Qehilot Tafilalt / Sijilmasa [The Congregations of Tafilalt / Sijilmasa] (in Hebrew). Vol. 2. Bar-Ilan University Press. pp. 82–84.
  88. ^ Lawat, Abraham David (2005) [1887]. Shaar hakollel (in Hebrew). p. 79. The change was affirmed by Menachem Mendel Schneerson in Iggerot Qodesh vol. VII (1988), p. 336.
  89. ^ Shoshan, Eitan (2015). Birkat Ish (in Hebrew). p. 477  – via Otzar haHochma (subscription required)
  90. ^ See e.g. "Weekday Siddur Chabad, Kiddush Levanah 14". Sefaria. Arian (1979) p. 50-51 calls this a "nineteenth-century addition" but see Merḳerlibikh, Mikhaʾel ben Avraham (1718). Seder tefillah. Reifmann (1845), p. 33 claims that it was instituted by Isaac Luria.
  91. ^ Palachi, Haim. "Kaf ha-ḥayim chapter 35". he.wikisource.org (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-12-25. Kassin, Jacob (2021). Or halevana (in Hebrew). p. 56.
  92. ^ Shoshan, Eitan (2015). Birkat Ish (in Hebrew). p. 486-491  – via Otzar haHochma (subscription required)
  93. ^ "Hemdat Yamim, volume 2, chapter 5". www.toratemetfreeware.com. Retrieved 2024-12-25. Bing, Yehezkel (2014). Nequdot hakesef (in Hebrew) p. 676.
  94. ^ Abuhatzeira, Yosef Hayyim (2017). "19 Tevet 5777". Qovetz gilyonot mRIH nihoah. p. 2. See words at Yosef, Hayyim (2015). Shirat rabbenu Yosef Hayyim miBavel. Ahavat Shalom. p. 27. This song is sung to the same tune as Hayyim's Simhu na bevirkat hatorah for Simchat Torah.
  95. ^ Brenner, Daniel S. (2021-05-31). "Making Space for Jewish Boys and Men". CCAR Journal Spring/Summer2021: Symposium: Gendered Judaism--Gender-Based Programs in Jewish Life. CCAR Press. ISBN 978-0-88123-374-2. Compare Nesvisky, Matt. "Some Goyishe Shticks just Won't Stick." The Jerusalem Post, Feb 24 1995, p. A4. ProQuest.
  96. ^ Blumenfeld, Isaac (1926). "Sefer alilot devarim". Otzer Nehmad 4. p. 186. Compare Schachter, Jacob J. (1980). "Al sefer alilot devarim". Alei Sefer 8, pp. 149.
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  102. ^ Meyer, Michael A. (2001). Judaism Within Modernity: Essays on Jewish History and Religion. Wayne State University Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-8143-2874-3.
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  104. ^ Meyer, Abraham (1892). "La Bénédiction de la Lune". L'Univers israélite: journal des principes conservateurs du judaisme (in French). pp. 332–333.
  105. ^ "Discarded Symbols." The American Hebrew (1879-1902), Aug 04 1893, p. 438. ProQuest.
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  133. ^ Yisrael Meir Kagan (Mishnah Berurah 426:2) rules that it can be recited only after nightfall. However, Ovadia Yosef (Yabia Omer OC 5:36) rules that it can be recited a little before nightfall if one benefits from the light of moon.
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  138. ^ Yisrael Meir Kagan, Mishnah Berurah 426:20.
  139. ^ Dovid Zaklikowski, Kiddush Levana: Sanctification of the Moon on Chabad.org.
  140. ^ Yosef Karo, Shulchan Aruch OC 426:4.
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  142. ^ a b Sanhedrin 41b-42a.
  143. ^ The girsa at Sefer haOreh 1:172, not as corrupted in MS Leiden and printings, "half a stick". See e.g. Zev Wolf Rabinowitz, Shaarei Torat Eretz Yisrael (ad loc.). Some scholars translate "half a plate".
  144. ^ Shulchan Arukh OC 426:3, based on Sanhedrin 41b, where the Talmud says "until the sixteenth of the month", and many understand this to be until and not inclusive. Similarly Moelin, Yaakov. Minhagei Maharil, Hilchot Rosh Chodesh 9.
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  294. ^ Vallancey, Charles (1822). An Essay on the Antiquity of the Irish Language: With a Preface, Proving Ireland to be the Thule of the Ancients. T. Thorpe. p. 49. Compare Camden's Britannia, "I cannot tell whether the wilder sort of the Irishry yield divine honour unto the Moon; for when they see her first after the change commonly they bow the knee and say over the Lord's prayer, and so soone as they have made an end they speake to the Moone with a loud voice in this manner, 'Leave us whole and sound as thou hast found us."
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