Some of the examination questions (bedikot-בדיקות) concern the time of the month. After discussing some of the issues surrounding what is an acceptable answer to this question, the Gemara on today’s daf TB Sanhedrin 42 goes on a tangent and discusses the ceremony Kiddush Levana (קידוש לבנה) or what the Gemara calls blessing on the month (mevarkhim al hkhdesh-מְבָרְכִין עַל הַחֹדֶשׁ).
“Rabbi
Aḥa bar Ḥanina says that Rav Asi says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says:
Until how many days into a new month may one recite a blessing on the
month, i.e., Birkat HaLevana? Until the flaw of the moon is
filled, when it no longer appears deficient. And until how many
days is that? Rav Ya’akov bar Idi says that Rav Yehuda says: Until
seven days of the month have passed. The Sages of Neharde’a say: Until
sixteen days of the month have passed.
“The Gemara
comments: And they both hold in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi
Yoḥanan that one can recite the blessing until the flaw of the moon is
filled. The dispute is that this one, i.e., Rav Ya’akov bar Idi, who
holds one can recite the blessing until seven days have passed, understands
Rabbi Yoḥanan to be referring to the day when the moon will be like
the string of a bow. Before that point the moon appeared merely as a bow,
and after seven days it appears like a half-circle, like a bow that has a
string. That one, i.e., the Sages of Neharde’a, who holds one can recite
the blessing until sixteen days have passed, understands Rabbi Yoḥanan to be
referring to the day when the moon will be like a sieve, i.e., a
full circle.” (TB Sanhedrin 41b-42a, Sefaria.org translation)
The Gemara never answers the question when may a person begin to recite this blessing. Based on different interpretations of our daf, the Sefardim and Ashkenazim have two different customs. The Sefardim recite this blessing beginning from the 7th day to the 15th day of the month while the Ashkenazim recite this blessing beginning from 72 hours after the molad- מולד(when the moon is not visible at all before it begins to wax) to the 15th day of the month.
The rabbis highlighted the importance of this ritual because it allows us to greet the Shekhina God’s divine presence. “And Rabbi Aḥa bar Ḥanina says that Rabbi Asi says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: With regard to anyone who blesses the new month in its proper time, it is as if he greets the Face of the Divine Presence. Alluding to this, it is written here concerning the sanctification of the new month: “This month shall be for you the beginning of months” (Exodus 12:2), and it is written there, where the Jewish people encountered the Divine Presence at the splitting of the sea: “This is my God and I will glorify Him” (Exodus 15:2). The term “this” is employed in both verses. The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: If the Jewish people merited to greet the Face of their Father in Heaven only one time each and every month, it would suffice for them, since in the blessing of the moon there is an aspect of greeting the Divine Presence. Abaye said: Therefore, we will say the blessing while standing, in honor of the Divine Presence.” (Sefaria.org translation)
“There is something mystical about the moon. Despite
its secondary status as a luminary, people have always been fascinated by its
silvery, luminous light and its precise cycle of waxing and waning. Indeed, the
months of the Jewish calendar follow the phases of the moon.
The sages of the Talmud write
that the renewal of the moon each month reminds us of the magnificent wonders
of G‑d’s
creation, as if the Divine Presence in our world, so often hidden, is coming
out to greet us.1 Because the moon has the most visible cycle
of all the stars and planets, we take the occasion of its renewal to make a
blessing in appreciation of the entire masterpiece of celestial orchestration.2
So, once a month, Jews open their prayerbooks to speak
of the moon. Upon seeing the soft, mellow light of the moon born again in the
night sky, we recite a special blessing and verses of praise called the
Sanctification of the Moon, or kiddush
levana (Heb. קידוש לבנה).” (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1904288/jewish/Kiddush-Levana-Sanctification-of-the-Moon.htm)
The berakha in its entirety is actually found on our daf. “אֶלָּא כִּדְרַב יְהוּדָה, דְּאָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה:
"בָּרוּךְ [וְכוּ'] אֲשֶׁר בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ בָּרָא שְׁחָקֵים, וּבְרוּחַ פִּיו כׇּל
צְבָאָם. חֹק וּזְמַן נָתַן לָהֶם שֶׁלֹּא יְשַׁנּוּ אֶת תַּפְקִידָם, שָׂשִׂים וּשְׂמֵחִים
לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹן קוֹנָם. פּוֹעֲלֵי אֱמֶת שֶׁפְּעוּלָּתָן אֱמֶת. וְלַלְּבָנָה אָמַר
שֶׁתִּתְחַדֵּשׁ עֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת לַעֲמוּסֵי בָטֶן, שֶׁהֵן עֲתִידִין לְהִתְחַדֵּשׁ
כְּמוֹתָהּ וּלְפָאֵר לְיוֹצְרָם עַל שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' מְחַדֵּשׁ
חֳדָשִׁים".
Rather, the full version of the blessing is the version of Rav Yehuda. As Rav Yehuda says: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who by His word created the heavens, and by the breath of his mouth all their hosts. He set for them a law and a time, that they should not deviate from their task. And they are joyous and glad to perform the will of their Owner; they are workers of truth whose work is truth. And to the moon He said that it should renew itself as a crown of beauty for those He carried from the womb, as they are destined to be renewed like it, and to praise their Creator for the name of His glorious kingdom. Blessed are You the Lord, Who renews the months.” (Sefaria.org translation)
s in every ritual over time and more additions were added to the above blessing. We pray just as the moon has been renewed so too may we be renewed as well. Every Orthodox complete prayer book would have the ceremony. The Conservative Movement's Siddur Sim Shalom does not include Kiddush Levana; however, their Siddur Lev Shalem does have an abbreviated service. I have to admit there are some lines in the traditional Kiddush Levana that speaks me which were omitted from Siddur Lev Shalem. Attached is a link for Kiddush Levana ceremony. https://opensiddur.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Kiddush-Levanah-R-David-Seidenberg-neohasid.org_.pdf
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