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Question of the Week:

Which famous American golfer is married to a
Jewish woman, and publicly denounced a
country club that refused to extend membership
to Jews?

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How, and why,
we observe
the beginning
of each
Jewish month.

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Rosh Chodesh has taken

on a special significance

as a women's holiday.

Chodesh and enjoyed a festive
meal on the day. Today, some
congregations in the United
States announce the holiday on
the preceding Shabbat, and
observant Jews do not hold
funerals on Rosh Chodesh, nor
will they fast — though a few
people retain the custom of not
eating or drinking the day before
Rosh Chodesh as a sign of
repentance.
The order of prayers recited on
Rosh Chodesh is also different.
Extra prayers are added, and in
the synagogue, the Torah is
read, as is done on a holiday.
In Yemen, Jewish women light
two candles, just as they do for
Shabbat, to mark the beginning
of every Rosh Chodesh.
But Rosh Chodesh probably
has gained its greatest popularity
because of its standing as a
women's holiday."
What's the connection?
According to tradition, Rosh
Chodesh was a gift to Jewish
women because they refused to
give up their jewelry to Aaron,
who was building the Golden
Calf. Exodus 32 recounts, "All
the people took off the gold
rings that were in their ears [to
give to Aaron]." In this case, the
"their" is specifically in masculine
gender.
Women began celebrating the
day by refraining from particular
aspects of work — specifically

.

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Since they are not to occupy themselves with mundane
chores on the holiday, some women join study groups, or
learn alone on Rosh Chodesh.

Elizabeth Applebaum
AppleTree Editor

I

f your mother, or wife, or
grandmother deserves a break,
tell her to look to the moon.
Each month, we observe a hol-
iday called Rosh Chodesh (liter-
ally, "head of the month") as a
new Jewish month begins. The
Gregorian calendar (the one
most popularly used to calculate
the day, month and year) is
based on the sun, but the Jewish

4

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calendar is based on the cycles
of the moon. It's a cause for cele-
bration, and especially among
females of all ages because
Rosh Chodesh has come to take
on particular significance as a
woman's holiday.
As with most Jewish holy days,
such as Yom Kippur, Rosh
Chodesh was established as a
holiday in the Torah. The very
first month — and thus the first
Rosh Chodesh of each Jewish
year — was what is now called

Nisan. Shemot 1 2: 1 -2 says,
"God said to Moses and Aaron
in the Land of Egypt, 'This month
shall be for you the beginning of
the months; it shall be for you the
first of the months of the year."
Until this time, there was no
sense of organization in terms of
months and years — no calen-
dar, so to speak.
In ancient times, the beginning
of the new month was consid-
ered a joyous occasion. Jews
did not do business on Rosh

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