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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Religions & Faiths > Judaism

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  #1  
Old 28-10-2010, 01:17 PM
green
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moon ritual

i know there is a Jewish monthly moon ritual, can anyone help- explain?
especially would love to know where it came from and why is it done?
and while at it, why there is no sun ritual or is there?


G
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  #2  
Old 28-10-2010, 04:02 PM
A Glass named Esther
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There are many natural phenomena that Jews make a blessing for. One of them is Kiddush Levanah the "sanctification of the Moon" which takes place every month when the Moon renews. Of course we are not praising the Moon but the Creator.

More information on Kiddush Levanah

Another blessing that we have is Birchat HaChama the "blessing of The Sun".
Reposted from askmoses.com:

"The Short Answer:Birkat Hachamah is a special prayer recited once every twenty-eight years. The Talmud explains that at these times the Sun returns to the position that it had when the Universe was first created."

The year before last year, 5769, we just had a blessing for the sun. This one was especially important and unique as it was on the day before Passover (erev Pesach)... just as it was when we left Egypt in the days of Moses! This event will not happen again in our history.

More information on Birkat Hachamah

I am conviced that on erev Pesach 5769 G-d revealed a miracle.

Last edited by A Glass named Esther : 28-10-2010 at 09:40 PM.
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  #3  
Old 28-10-2010, 04:27 PM
7luminaries 7luminaries is offline
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Green...every month there is a Rosh Chodesh service...to celebrate the new month (new moon cycle). The Jewish calendar year is lunar, though most festivals are also tied to particular seasons of the year.

Here's a good explanation of the why's & the significance (below).
Cheers!
7L
http://www.ou.org/chagim/roshchodesh/default.htm
Significance of Rosh Chodesh

(Material below is adapted from Mesorah Publications' Stone Edition of the Chumash)

"This is the very first commandment given to the nation as a whole, an indication that the concept of Rosh Chodesh, or the New Moon, is very meaningful. Moreover, a thousand years later in Eretz Yisrael, during the period of Syrian-Greek persecution that culminated in the miracle of Chanukah, Rosh Chodesh was one of only three commandments whose observance the oppressors prohibited. The other two forbidden commandments were the Sabbath and circumcision; that Rosh Chodesh was on a plane with those central observances is sufficient indication of its great significance."

"This can be understood on two levels. As will be noted below, only the court can proclaim Rosh Chodesh based on the testimony of witnesses who observed the re-appearance of the moon, and upon this proclamation, the Jewish calendar is based. Unless the new months can be proclaimed, there is no calendar, and without a calendar, there can be no festivals. Thus, if the Syrian-Greeks had succeeded in eradicating the observance of Rosh Chodesh, they would have succeeded in eliminating large numbers of other mitzvot, as well."

"On a deeper level, Rosh Chodesh symbolizes renewal, the ability of the Jewish People to rise up from oblivion and restore itself to its past greatness. Just as the moon disappears at the end of each month, but returns and grows to fullness, so Israel may suffer exile and decline, but it always renews itself - until the coming of the Messiah, when the promise of the Exodus and the Revelation at Sinai will be fulfilled, never to be dimmed again."

"This essential characteristic of Jewish history was first exhibited in Egypt, when, in the simile of the Sages, the nation had fallen to the forty-ninth level of impurity - one level above spiritual extermination - only to renew itself so breathtakingly that after seven weeks it was able to stand at Mount Sinai and experience prophecy."

"This concept of Jewish renewal was what the Syrian-Greeks attempted to eradicate by ending the observance of Rosh Chodesh. Instead, the Jewish People rose up in defense of the Torah and the Temple, and their triumph is commemorated through Chanukah, the festival of renewal."

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  #4  
Old 29-10-2010, 09:20 PM
green
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thank you both.

Eshter, thank you for teaching me about the birchat hachama. never heard of that before. everyday we learn something new :)

also thank you both for all the info and the links which i will soon go to read.


G
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  #5  
Old 29-10-2010, 10:33 PM
Spiritlite Spiritlite is offline
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This is fascinating thankyou for starting the topic.
Spiritlite.
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  #6  
Old 01-11-2010, 11:18 AM
green
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yes, spiritlite i also find this topic fascinating,

as glass said, the idea is to thank the creator, but still the ritual is for the moon, and as i come to learn to the sun as well. now the moon ritual is interesting as in wicca, we also have a moon ritual (s) and in many non monotheistic religions there are moon ritual(s). and it is interesting why or howcome this ritual did find its way into Judaism. and yes, again i know people will tell me it is God whom we pray here and give thanks and the moon is only one more creation of God, but still it is an important creation as it has its own ritual.

just rumbling my thoughts- sorry.


G
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