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Kiddush levana

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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. Ritual elements include the shalom aleichem greeting and jumping toward the moon, with some communities also incorporating kabbalistic practices.

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

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. Kiddush levana continues to evolve in non-Orthodox Judaism.

It is observed by Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews. However, superstitious features of the ritual led the largest Orthodox and Conservative rabbinical organizations to exclude it from the regular liturgy.[3] Isaac Klein described it as an "all but forgotten ritual,"[4] but Martin Lockshin claims this is only true among non-Orthodox Jews.[5] Chabad held a 20th-century campaign to popularize its observance.[6]

History

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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.[7] Mordecai Hakohen [he] argues that it was actually intended to replace these rituals, abandoned after the Hebrew calendar was fixed in the 4th century.[8][9] Mayer Abramowitz suggests that it was originally a device for secret communication during the Bar Kokhba revolt.[3] 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.[10]

Talmudic blessing

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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.[11][12] The oldest form was a simple "Blessed be the Creator",[13] 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.[14]

 
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.[15]

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.[11] The development of this sugya is traced by Netanel Baadani in Talmud haIggud: Hayu Bodeqin (2007).[16]

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,[17] thunder, lightning, rainbows, mountains, and the changing of the seasons.[18] Some Orthodox halakhists maintain that this blessing should be recited immediately upon seeing the new moon for the first time.[19][20] However, in general practice the blessing has been uprooted from this context and remade into a special ritual.[21]

Soferim ritual

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Massechet Soferim (8th century) is the first text to describe a complex ritual, to be exclusively performed "at the conclusion of the Sabbath, when perfumed and beautifully attired".[22] According to Soferim,[23]

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 . . ." 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 (8th century)[24] and the Mishneh Torah (1180),[25] incorporate only the Talmudic practice of reciting a blessing when one sees the new moon, rejecting the Saturday-night ritual described by Soferim.[3] 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."[26]

However, by the turn of the 14th century Soferim ritual's had been wholly accepted by Ashkenazic authorities (Orchot Chayyim, Shibbolei Haleket,[27] Or Zarua,[28] and Machzor Vitry (London)[29]), and it was eventually codified in the Tur (c. 1340) and Beit Yosef (1542).[30][31]

Later additions

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Additional prayers were continuously added to the ritual in the following centuries,[32][33] some of unidentified origin, including a wide variety of quotes from Scripture.[34] 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,[35][36] which was codified by Moses Isserles.[37] Yechiel Michel Epstein Ashkenazi, a popular Sabbatean halakhist, recommended beginning the ritual with Leshem Yichud [he] in 1692.[38] 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.[39]

A typical modern version includes:[3]

  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."
 
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 . . ."[40]

Concluding the service

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Other prayers and rituals been added to the end of Kiddush levana, with many communities incorporating several. In some communities, Aleinu is recited.[41][42] Isaiah Horowitz (1555-1630) recommended saying Kaddish deRabbanan,[43] which today is generally preceded by the recitation of a baraita (such as Hananiah ben Aqashia [he]'s).[44] Others say Kaddish Yatom instead.[45][46] Medieval Ashkenazim would follow with a special mi shebeirach on the Shabbat before Shovavim.[47] 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.[48][32] Epstein Ashkenazi recommended reciting Psalm 67 while mentally tracing the shape of a menorah.[38] Moroccan Jews conclude with the cantor reciting a mi shebeirach on behalf 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][49] 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.[50] Other prayerbooks have also included Ana beKoach, including Beit Yaakov (1889), attributed to Jacob Emden, and Otzar haTfilot.[51] Some conclude with a modern liturgy, "May it be Your will for the moon to wax into fullness. . ."[52][53] A recent hasidic 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."[54] At one 1992 kiruv retreat, participants followed Kiddush levana with the hora, howling, and meditation on "giving and receiving love".[55]

Superstitions

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  • One who recites Kiddush levana will not die in the following month.[10][13]
  • It's bad luck be unable to recite it because of clouds.[13]
  • If necessary, a hasidic rebbe can wave his handkerchief and part the clouds.[6]
  • Shaking one's garments after the ritual protects against enemies.[13]

Controversy and popularity

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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.[56]

By the 20th century, the ritual had become extremely elaborate, and its mystical trappings led rabbis to separate it from the rest of the liturgy. According to Mayer Abramowitz, "It is probably this kind of derogation, obscurity and superstition regarding kiddush levana, that led editors of modern Siddurim, like the Orthodox Siddur of the Rabbinical Council of America, as well as the Conservative Sabbath and Festival Prayer Book, issued by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue, to exclude this ritual from the regular prayers."[57] By 1978, Isaac Klein would describe as an "all but forgotten ritual,"[4] although Martin Lockshin claimed this was only true among non-Orthodox Jews.[5] Chabad held a 20th-century campaign to popularize its observance.[6]

Orthodox Halakha

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While it is customary to say the prayer with the large crowd, or at least with a minyan, it can be also said alone.[58][32][59] According to David Lida [he], even one who has not yet said Maariv should recite Kiddush levana with the rest of the community;[60] this ruling is also cited by Yechiel Michel Epstein Ashkenazi in the name of "the writings of Bunim Halevi of Rymanów".[38]

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.[41][61] 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.[41][62]

Yaakov Levi Moelin ruled that one should recite it outside and not while standing inside and looking at the moon through a window.[41][63] However, one who cannot go outside can recite it while looking through a window,[41][64] although some write that one should open the window if possible.[41][65] Halakhists dispute whether a blind person is obligated to recite the blessing.[66]

Timing

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It is traditionally recited only at nighttime.[41][67][68][69] Shlomo Goren ruled that in polar day conditions, one should recite it at 12:00 AM.[70]

The Rambam (followed e.g. by Hayim Vital) ruled that the blessing should be recited on the first night of the new moon.[71][32][41][20] 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.[72] However, according to most authorities one must wait until three[41][32][73] or seven[41][74][75] complete days after the molad, or appearance of the new moon.[76]

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).[41][77] Normative custom follows the second opinion (mid-month).[41] According to an alternate position in the Yerushalmi, the latest time is "half a cake".[78] Yosef Karo ruled that it can be recited until fifteen days after the molad,[41][79][80] 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.[41][81][82] Others say it can be recited until the sixteenth day of the month, as the waning of the moon is not yet recognizable,[41][83] unless a lunar eclipse (which always occurs mid-month) marks mid-month before that.[41][84]

Most halakhists follow Massechet Soferim in ruling that Kiddush levana should be recited at the conclusion of Shabbat,[85][41] although others prefer reciting it immediately whenever the new moon appears.[41][86] However, if waiting until the conclusion of the Sabbath will make it impossible to recite it before the tenth day of the month, all agree that it should be recited immediately.[41][87]

 
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,[32][88] while others have a custom to say it specifically before Yom Kippur.[41][89] 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.[41][32][88] Isserles also bans reciting it immediately after Tisha B'Av ends, considering the mourning period to still be in effect,[41][88] but most later halakhists only require one to postpone its recitation until after breaking their fast,[41][90] and others allow it to be recited immediately following the conclusion Tisha B'av.[41][91][49]

Kiddush levana is generally not recited on the eve of a Sabbath or festival,[41][32] unless it is the last opportunity to do so.[58][92] If a festival falls on Sunday, Kiddush levana is not performed on Saturday night.[88][58] Any additional passages normally recited by the community, beyond the Talmudic blessing, should only be included if the ritual is performed on Saturday night.[58][93]

Women

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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."[94]

Women are allowed to perform time-bound positive mitzvot, even though they are not obligated to,[95][96] and Rav Ashi (352-427) describes women reciting the Kiddush levana blessing in Babylonia.[97] 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,[43] but according to Jacob Zallel Lauterbach, "there is no reason for it".[13] Avraham Gombiner cited Horowitz in 1671,[98] and authorities beginning with Joseph Teomim (1787)[99] interpreted him as prohibiting women from participating in the ritual.[100][41][101] As of 2024, women do not recite Kiddush levana in mainstream Orthodox Judaism.[101][102]

Shlomo Kluger (1785-1869) disagreed with Horowitz's premise, explaining 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.[103][104] The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance advocates for following Kluger and allowing women to both recite Kiddush levana and lead men in the service.[104]

In non-Orthodox Judaism

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Conservative Judaism endorses the recital of Kiddush levana.[4] 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".[4] 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."[105]

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.[106]

Ritualwell, a website for progressive Jewish rituals, presents meditations for the new moon[107] and for the full moon.[108] Kiddush levana has also been used as the basis for academic art projects.[109]

Feminist versions

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In 1976, Arlene Agus included Kiddush levana in her women's Rosh Chodesh ceremony.[110] Geela-Rayzel Raphael and Margot-Stein-Azen published a feminist version of the ritual in 1998, including original poetry and music.[111] Another feminist version was created by the Kohenet Institute, addressed to a female Goddess.[112]

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Literature

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Several modern poems have featured Kiddush levana. Gabriel Preil alludes to the ritual in Notes on an Ancient Parchment.[113] Harriette Wimms composed a poem "on the occasion of [her] first Kiddush levana" titled Moon Mother.[114] Ruth Finer Mintz included a poem called "Kiddush Levana" in Traveler Through Time (1970).[115]

Kiddush levana has also inspired prose fiction. Chaim Walder included a story titled "Kiddush Levana" in Kids Speak 3 (1994),[116] and the ritual forms a recurring motif in Haim Sabato's Adjusting Sights [he] (1999; trans. Hillel Halkin 2003).[117]

Art

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Starting in the 17th century, the ritual appeared in European woodcuts and engravings, and many illuminations survive from the 18th century Jewish illuminated prayerbook revival.[118] The iconography of these depictions is discussed by Naomi Feuchtwanger-Sarig in Thy Father’s Instruction (2021), pp. 204-210.[9] It appeared on many fin de siècle holiday cards, and on modern Russian and American postage stamps.[119] Notable modern artists have depicted Kiddush levana, including Joseph Budko, Emanuel Glicen Romano,[120] Hendel Lieberman,[121] Zalman Kleinman,[122] Zvi Malnovitzer,[123] Elena Flerova,[124] Boris Shapiro,[125][126] Reuven Rubin, Haim Goldberg, Tadeusz Popiel, Hermann Junker, and Artur Markowicz. A selection of out-of-copyright works is available in the gallery below.

 
An outdoor Kiddush levana poster (Mikveh Israel).

Kiddush levana letters

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Kiddush levana is traditionally recited outside, when the moon is visible and not totally covered by clouds.[41][32][127] Many synagogues post the text of the prayer in large type on an outside wall, for greater visibility. As such, the term "Kiddush levana letters" (Hebrew: אותיות קידוש לבנה, romanized: otiot kiddush levana) has developed to refer to any text written in unusually large letters.[128] By the First Aliyah, even secular Jews understood the term.[129]

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Art

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Manuscript illumination (1490-1600)

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    1490s illumination (Florence) by Giovanni di Giuliano Boccardi, "one of the last representatives of the golden age of Florentine renaissance illumination"
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    1589 illumination in the Nuremberg Miscellany (Oct. Hs. 7058)

Woodcuts (1525-1715)

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    1526 woodcut in the Prague Haggadah [he]
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    1593 woodcut
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    1601 woodcut (Venice).
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    1662 woodcut (Amsterdam).
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    1692 woodcut (Dyhernfurth).
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    1707 woodcut (Amsterdam).
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    1708 woodcut (Frankfurt am Main).

Engravings (1685-1750)

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    1687 engraving, watercolors
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    1726 engraving.
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    1738 sketch by Juspe Schmalkalden (Mainz), apparently after an engraving
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    1748 engraving by Gottfried Eichler

Revival illuminations (1712-1800)

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    18th century illumination
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    1717 illumination (Amsterdam)
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    1727 illumination by Nathan ben Samson of Mezhyrich.
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    1728 illumination by Nathan ben Samson of Mezhyrich
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    1728 illumination (Fürth).
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    1728 illuminated bentcher.
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    1736 illumination by Simhah Pihem Segal (Mannheim)
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    1744 illumination
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    1748 illumination by Jacob and Israel Shamash
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    1793 illumination (Fürth)
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    1795 illumination (Amsterdam)
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    18th-century illumination
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    18th-century illumination
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    18th-century illumination (damaged)
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    18th-19th century illumination

Postcards (1875-1925)

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    19th-century holiday card.
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    19th-century holiday card.
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    19th-century holiday card.
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    19th-century holiday card
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    c. 1910 holiday card
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    c. 1900 holiday card by Haim Goldberg (Austria)
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    1905 postcard by Tadeusz Popiel (Lviv)

Modern Art

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    Blessing of the New Moon by Alphonse Levy (1883)[130]
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    Painting by Hermann Junker (1838-1899)
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    1903 chalk drawing by Karl Pelzenhardt
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    Etching by Joseph Budko (1888-1940)
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    Kiddush levana (1923), a woodcut by Reuven Rubin.
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    1933 painting by Artur Markowicz

Photographs

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kiddush Levanah.

See also

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References

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  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), attested already by Meir of Rothenberg (Minhagim p. 17), by the Tur OC 246 (c. 1340) and by David Abudarham 1:8:27 (fl. 1340). Rothenberg explains that "Jacob is etched in the moon" while Abudarham explains that "Jacob is compared to the moon". Rothenberg 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.
  1. ^ The Talmud refers to both "blessing" the new moon (b. Sanhedrin 42a) and "sanctifying" it (ibid. 10b). Only a few medievals (all Ashkenazic) use Kiddush levana, but the term became widespread across Jewry in the printing age. The Shulchan Arukh uses Birkat halevana, Kiddush levana, and Kiddush hachodesh. 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 c d Abramowitz, Mayer (1973). "Sanctification of The Moon: Ancient Rite of Rebellion". Judaism. 22 (1): 45–53.
  4. ^ a b c d Isaac Klein, A Guide to Jewish religious practice, New York : Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1979, pages 266-267.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b c Eli & Malka Touger, The Rebbe's Kiddush Levanah, on Chabad.org.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Hakohen, Mordecai (1984). "Kiddush hachodesh vekiddush levana". Areshet (in Hebrew) (4): 67–85 – via Otzar.
  9. ^ a b Feuchtwanger-Sarig, Naomi (2021-12-06). Thy Father’s Instruction: Reading the Nuremberg Miscellany as Jewish Cultural History. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 206. ISBN 978-3-11-041428-8.
  10. ^ a b Eisenstein, Judah David (1938). אוצר דינים ומנהגים ... מקורי ההלכות וטעמי המצוות ... (in Hebrew). New York. p. 60.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ^ a b "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 Beitzah 25b and Yoma 87a (with variants and medievals), from which it appears Maremar and Mar Zutra rode in sedan chairs to avoid the crowd.
  12. ^ "Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9:2:13". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  13. ^ a b c d e Lauterbach, Jacob Zallel (1911). "Birkat halevana". Otzar Yisrael vol. 5. p. 316.
  14. ^ The translation of the Blessing from Philip Birnbaum, Daily Prayer Book, New York : Hebrew Publishing Company, 1949, pages 561-562.
  15. ^ Compare discussion of a similar image (1589) in MS Nuremberg Oct. Hs. 7058 at Feuchtwanger-Sarig, Naomi (2021). Thy Father’s Instruction, p. 207.
  16. ^ Baadani, Netanel (2007). Friedman, Shamma (ed.). Hayu Bodeqin (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: HaIggun leFarshanut haTalmud. pp. 119-135.
  17. ^ "Sha'arei Torat Eretz Yisrael on Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9:2:13:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  18. ^ M. Berakhot (9:2) and b. Berakhot (59a).
  19. ^ See e.g. Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Berakhot 10:17, Sefer haMenucha ed. Eliezer Horowitz (1970), p. 348, Hagahot Maymuniyyot to Berakhot 10:Samekh in the name of his master [=Meir of Rothenburg?], Moreh Derekh (Israel Isserlein) #35, Mishneh Berurah 426:20, 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.
  20. ^ a b "פרי עץ חיים - ויטל, חיים בן יוסף, 1542-1620 - לוריא, יצחק (האר"י), 1534-1572 (page 185 of 262)". hebrewbooks.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  21. ^ Gartner, Jacob (1991). "Kiddush levana". Asuppot (in Hebrew). 5: 327–343.
  22. ^ Variant texts given in ed. Hager p. 336 and discussed in 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.
  23. ^ "Tractate Soferim 20". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  24. ^ "Halakhot Gedolot 1:135". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  25. ^ "Mishneh Torah, Blessings 10:16". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  26. ^ Sefer haMenucha ed. Eliezer Horowitz (1970), p. 348.
  27. ^ "Shibbolei HaLeket 167:4". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  28. ^ "Ohr Zarua, Volume II 456:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  29. ^ "Machzor Vitry, Order of Motza'ei Shabbat 202". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  30. ^ "Tur, Orach Chaim 426:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  31. ^ "Bet Yosef, Orach Chaim 426". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g h i Joseph Jacobs and Judah David Eisenstein, New Moon, Blessing of the, in Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901-1906.
  33. ^ 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 and Yacov Balsam, "Kiddush Levana" in Hakirah 8 (Summer 2009), pp. 11-16.
  34. ^ 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.
  35. ^ of Binga, Zelikman (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.
  36. ^ "Leket Yosher, Volume I (Orach Chayim) 69:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
  37. ^ "Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 426:2". www.sefaria.org. 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."
  38. ^ a b c חלאוה, בחיי בן אשר אבן; הורביץ, ישעיה בן אברהם (1871). “ספר” קיצור שני לוחות הברית: עם מהדורה בתרא ... הנהגות טובות וישרות ... (in Hebrew). דפוס י"מ באקשט. p. 118.
  39. ^ 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.
  40. ^ 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.
  41. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Encyclopedia Talmudit Volume 4, entry ברכת הלבנה, "Birkat ha-lavanah" (viewed on Bar Ilan Responsa Project).
  42. ^ Yisrael Meir Kagan, Biur Halacha 426, d.h. u-mevarekh me'umad.
  43. ^ a b Horoṿits, Yeshayah (1649). ספר שני לוחות הברית: אמרות טהורות מפנינים יקרות חבור על שתי תורות בכתב ובפה מסיני מסורות (in Hebrew). Benvenishti. pp. 140v.
  44. ^ Mordecai Yehuda Leib Sachs, Minhagei Eretz Yisrael (1953), p. [19].
  45. ^ הוראה, רבני בית (2021-04-07). "קדיש אחרי ברכת לבנה". דין | שאל את הרב (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-12-15.
  46. ^ "יהדות, שיעורים, זמנים". אתר ישיבה (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-12-15.
  47. ^ Baumgarten, Elisheva (2014-11-07). Practicing Piety in Medieval Ashkenaz: Men, Women, and Everyday Religious Observance. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 63, 247. ISBN 978-0-8122-4640-7.
  48. ^ Tishby, Isaiah (1980). "[Pseudonymous Quotations of 'My Teacher' in Ḥemdat Yamim]". Tarbiz (in Hebrew). 50: 468–471.
  49. ^ 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.
  50. ^ 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.
  51. ^ Shoshan, Eitan (2013). Birkat Ish (in Hebrew). p. 477b.
  52. ^ Merḳerlibikh, Mikhaʾel ben Avraham; אברהם, מכאל בן (1718). סדר תפלה (in Hebrew). Al yede ha-meḥoḳeḳ Hirsh ben Ḥayim mi-Pyorda.
  53. ^ "Weekday Siddur Chabad, Kiddush Levanah". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
  54. ^ Shoshan, Eitan (2013). Birkat Ish (in Hebrew). p. 486-491
  55. ^ 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.
  56. ^ Schedrin, Vassili (2016-11-14). Jewish Souls, Bureaucratic Minds: Jewish Bureaucracy and Policymaking in Late Imperial Russia, 1850-1917. Wayne State University Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-8143-4043-1.
  57. ^ Cite error: The named reference :13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  58. ^ a b c d Richard B. Aiken, Kiddush Levana on OUTorah.
  59. ^ Yisrael Meir Kagan, Biur Halacha 426 d.h. Ela explicitly says that it can be recited without a Minyan, and the idea to preferably recite it at the conclusion of the Sabbath is brought by Yosef Karo, Shulchan Aruch OC 426:2 as good practice but not essential.
  60. ^ "יד כל בו - לידא, דוד בן אריה ליב, 1630-1696 (page 378 of 718)". hebrewbooks.org. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  61. ^ Avraham Gombiner, Magen Avraham OC 426:4.
  62. ^ Yisrael Meir Kagan, Biur Halacha 426, d.h. kodem Tishah Bav.
  63. ^ Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin, Minhagei Maharil, Hilchot Rosh Chodesh 9
  64. ^ Yisrael Meir Kagan, Mishnah Berurah 426:21.
  65. ^ Yisrael Meir Kagan, Sha'ar Ha-tsiyun 426:25.
  66. ^ Marx, Tzvi C. (2003-08-29). Disability in Jewish Law. Routledge. pp. 195–196. ISBN 978-1-134-46840-9.
  67. ^ Minhagei Maharil, Hilchot Rosh Chodesh 9
  68. ^ What is the earliest time one may recite Kiddush Levana? on OUTorah.
  69. ^ Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan in Mishnah Berurah 426:2 rules that it can be recited only after nightfall. However, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in Yabia Omer OC 5:36 rules that it can be recited a little before nightfall if one benefits from the light of moon.
  70. ^ Domb, Cyril; Bleich, J. David (2003). "Mitzvot in the Polar Regions". Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought. 37 (2): 100–108. ISSN 0041-0608.
  71. ^ Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Berakhot 10:17.
  72. ^ Per Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's understanding of Maimonides Mishneh Torah Hilkhot Berakhot 10:17 in Igrot Moshe OC 1:143.
  73. ^ Yisrael Meir Kagan, Mishnah Berurah 426:20.
  74. ^ Dovid Zaklikowski, Kiddush Levana: Sanctification of the Moon on Chabad.org.
  75. ^ Yosef Karo, Shulchan Aruch OC 426:4.
  76. ^ See Ari Cohen, 'The beginning of the time of birkat ha-levanah', in Tehumin 16 (1996), pages 51-58 for an in-depth analysis of the earliest time for reciting this blessing.
  77. ^ Sanhedrin 41b-42a.
  78. ^ 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".
  79. ^ Shulchan Aruch 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.
  80. ^ Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin, Minhagei Maharil, Hilchot Rosh Chodesh 9 also rules this way.
  81. ^ Moshe Isserles in Shulchan Aruch OC 426:3
  82. ^ G-D (2003-11-07). "SANCTIFICATION OF THE MOON / KIDDUSH LEVANAN". Archived from the original on 2003-12-03. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
  83. ^ Chaim Benveniste, Sheyarei Keneset Hagedolah, Izmir 1671, OC 426:2.
  84. ^ Yosef Karo, Bet Yosef OC 426.
  85. ^ Masekhet Soferim 20:1 (in some editions 19:10). Yosef Karo, Shulchan Aruch OC 426:2.
  86. ^ Joel Sirkis, commentary of the Bach to Arba'ah Turim OC 426. Saadya, student of the Vilna Gaon [he] in Maaseh Rav 159 also records that this was the practice of the Vilna Gaon.
  87. ^ Moshe Isserles, Rama in Shulchan Aruch OC 426:2.
  88. ^ a b c d Moshe Isserles, Rama in Shulchan Aruch OC 426:2.
  89. ^ Mordecai Yoffe, Levush ha-chur 426:4.
  90. ^ Yisrael Meir Kagan, Mishnah Berurah 426:11.
  91. ^ Judah Ashkenazi, Ba'er Hetev 426:4.
  92. ^ Yisrael Meir Kagan, Mishnah Berurah 426:12.
  93. ^ Yechiel Michel Epstein, Aruch HaShulchan OC 426:10.
  94. ^ Rosen, David M.; Rosen, Victoria P. (2000). "New Myths and Meanings in Jewish New Moon Rituals". Ethnology. 39 (3): 263–277. doi:10.2307/3774110. ISSN 0014-1828. Compare Waldman, Rose. “Women’s Voices in Contemporary Hasidic Communities.” Shofar, vol. 38, no. 2, 2020, pp. 38, 54.
  95. ^ Talmud Bavli, Sukkah 28a.
  96. ^ Daat Encyclopedia, entry Mitzvat Aseh sheha-zeman geramah.
  97. ^ Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 42a.
  98. ^ Avraham Gombiner, Magen Avraham beginning of OC 426.
  99. ^ Teomim, Joseph ben Meir. "Peri Megadim Eishel Avrahamת Orach_Chayyim 426.2" (in Hebrew).
  100. ^ See Harʼel Devir "Birkat Ha-levanah for women", in Tehumin 39 (2019), pages 409-414 for an in-depth analysis of the question of women reciting kiddush levana.
  101. ^ a b Kiddush Levana - Women on OUTorah.
  102. ^ Goldstein, Yaakov. "Are women to recite Kiddush Levana?". Shulchanaruchharav.com.
  103. ^ Shlomo Kluger, Ha-elef lekha Shelomo OC 193 and Shlomo Kluger, Chokhmat Shelomo OC 426:1.
  104. ^ a b Elitzur A. and Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, Guide for the “Halachic Minyan”, 5768 (2008), page 11.
  105. ^ An Illustration of Kiddush Levanah, May 20, 2016.
  106. ^ David E. Levy, Kiddush levana : creating holy space for men : a curricular guide, dissertaion at Hebrew Union College, 2010.
  107. ^ Ruth Lerner, Meditation for the New Moon.
  108. ^ Judith Rose, A New Moon/Full Moon Meditation.
  109. ^ Noa Ginzburg, "Kiddush Levana, The Moon Is Your Handheld Mirror." (2019).
  110. ^ Arlene Agus, "This Month is for You: Observing Rosh Hodesh as a Woman's Holiday," The Jewish Woman: New Perspectives, ed. Elizabeth Koltun (New York : Schocken Books , 1976), pp. 91-92.
  111. ^ 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.
  112. ^ Siddur haKohanot. pp. 216–217.
  113. ^ Feldman, Yael S. (1986-12-31). Modernism and Cultural Transfer: Gabriel Preil and the Tradition of Jewish Literary Bilingualism. Hebrew Union College Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-87820-140-2.
  114. ^ Siddur haKohanot p. 83.
  115. ^ Mintz, Ruth Finer (1970). Traveler Through Time. J. David. ISBN 978-0-8246-0108-9.
  116. ^ Walder, Chaim (1994). Kids Speak: Children Talk about Themselves. Feldheim Publishers. pp. 58–63. ISBN 978-0-87306-830-7.
  117. ^ "תיאום כוונות - הרב חיים סבתו / יהודית בר-יש"ע גרשוביץ". www.daat.ac.il. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  118. ^ Chicago, Jewish People's Institute of (1919). Report of the General Director. p. 50.
  119. ^ Singer, Saul Jay (2021-06-02). "The Story Behind Kiddush Levana". Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  120. ^ "Emanuel Glicenstein Romano - Modernist Watercolor Painting Judaica Kiddush Levana Blessing New Moon". 1stDibs.com. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  121. ^ ""Kiddush Levanah" by Hendel Lieberman, gouache on board | Leviim Gallery". leviimart.com. 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  122. ^ "Kiddush Levana by Zalman Kleinman | Leviim Gallery". leviimart.com. 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  123. ^ "Zvi Malnovitzer (b. 1945) Kiddush Levana (Blessing of the New Moon)". 8 May 2001.
  124. ^ "KIDDUSH LEVANA". The Betzalel Gallery. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  125. ^ "Lot 301 - "Kiddush Levana" by Boris Shapiro, Oil on Canvas | Appelauction". Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  126. ^ "Boris Shapiro "Kiddush Levana" - Rishon Art Gallery". Museum of Jewish Art. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  127. ^ Moshe Isserles, Rama in Shulchan Aruch OC 426:4.
  128. ^ Ronen Shnidman, Word of the Day: Otiyot Kiddush Levana, Haaretz, May 10, 2013.
  129. ^ Reif, Stefan C. (2024-12-30). Jewish Manuscripts, Prayers and Scholars: An Anthology of Historical, Linguistic and Liturgical Essays. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 123. ISBN 978-3-11-157764-7.
  130. ^ The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Funk and Wagnalls. 1912.
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