Rosh Chodesh

A monthly marker

The Hebrew word chodesh carries two senses at once: a month, and the first sliver of a new one. Rosh Chodesh, head of the month, is the day or days set aside when a Hebrew month turns. Hebrew months run for 29 or 30 days, and this decides how long the holiday lasts. After a 29-day month there is a single day of Rosh Chodesh. After a 30-day month there are two: the closing day of the old month and the opening day of the new. The month of Tishrei begins with Rosh Hashanah, so its Rosh Chodesh is also the Jewish new year.

Announcing the month

In synagogue, the coming month is announced on the Shabbat before it begins, a Shabbat known as Shabbat Mevarchim. The announcement comes after the Torah reading, just before the scroll goes back into the ark. The name of the month and the weekday it will begin on are given out. Some congregations also read out the molad, the moment the new moon is said to be born, with its date and hour. Rosh Chodesh Tishrei is left out of this announcement. Long before any printed calendar, the month was fixed by testimony: witnesses who had seen the new moon reported to the Sanhedrin, which declared the month in a rite called kiddush hachodesh, then sent word to communities near and far.

Prayers and readings

On Rosh Chodesh, Yaaleh V'Yavo is inserted into the Ritzeh blessing of the Amidah. The morning service includes half Hallel, Psalms 113 to 118 with two paragraphs left out; on Rosh Chodesh Tevet, which falls in Chanukkah, the full Hallel is said instead. The Torah portion is Numbers 28, describing the offerings brought at the new moon. A further service, Mussaf, recalls those Temple sacrifices, and its central blessing opens with the words Roshei Chadashim. Many recite Psalm 104 afterwards. When Rosh Chodesh lands on Shabbat, the readings change: the Torah portion is added to, the haftarah is replaced, and Mussaf uses a version called Ata Yatzarta that mentions both the Shabbat and the new month.

The question of work

The Torah does not forbid work on Rosh Chodesh, and the Talmud allows it. Even so, the day once carried more weight. Some biblical passages describe it as a time when business stopped and people gathered for worship and feasting. An inscription from the Arad ostraca, written around 600 BCE, tells a commander to send goods on the first of the month but to put the delivery in writing only on the second, as if writing itself were barred that day. In the Second Temple period some sources treat it as a day of rest. Later rabbis explained the change: while the Temple stood, an offering was made for the whole people, and a person does not work on a day when their own sacrifice is brought.

Women and the moon

The Jerusalem Talmud records that women stayed away from work on Rosh Chodesh, a practice that rests on custom rather than law. Rashi listed the tasks they gave up: spinning, weaving and sewing, the crafts women had brought to the building of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. The Shulchan Aruch calls it a fine custom. A midrash in Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer tells why: the women refused to hand over their earrings for the golden calf, and as a reward they were given the new moons to observe more carefully than men, and the promise of renewal in the world to come. In modern times, women's Rosh Chodesh groups meet to study, pray and make art. Miriam's cup, filled with living water, began in a Boston group in the 1980s.

How Rosh Chodesh is kept

The day begins with the new month. On the Shabbat before, the coming month is named in synagogue. On Rosh Chodesh itself, worshippers add Yaaleh V'Yavo to the Amidah, say half Hallel, read the new-moon passage from Numbers and stay for Mussaf. Some also recite Psalm 104. In the evening or on a Saturday night soon after, Kiddush Levanah is said outdoors under the moon, often after waiting three or seven days from the molad. Many households sit down to a special meal and add Ya'ale Ve-Yavo to the grace after meals. Women who follow the old custom take a rest from work.

When and where

Rosh Chodesh comes at the start of every month of the Hebrew calendar, at the new moon. It lasts one day when the month just ended had 29 days, and two days when it had 30. Because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, the date moves against the Gregorian calendar, so the same Rosh Chodesh falls in a different month each year.

Rosh Chodesh belongs to Jewish communities everywhere, and is kept wherever there is a synagogue. It began in the land of Israel, where the Sanhedrin once declared the new month and sent the news out to Jewish communities abroad. Today it is observed in Israel and in Jewish communities elsewhere, in synagogues, homes and women's groups.

What Rosh Chodesh means

Rosh Chodesh marks renewal. The moon disappears and returns, and the midrash promises that women who keep the day will themselves be renewed, like the moon. For those who observe it, the day is a small doorway in time: a pause for prayer, a meal shared, a moment to notice that a month has passed and another has opened. Kiddush Levanah, said under the moon, makes that sense of return visible.

Days Rosh Chodesh is marked

Questions people ask about Rosh Chodesh

See also

PassoverA Jewish spring festival celebrating freedom from slavery with ritual mealsYom KippurThe holiest day in Judaism, dedicated to fasting, prayer and atonementRosh HashanahThe Jewish New Year marked by shofar horn blasts, prayer and sweet foodsSukkotA seven-day autumn Jewish festival of temporary booths, harvest prayers and hospitality

Good reading and sources

• Rosh ChodeshJewish Virtual Library, Article
• Rosh ChodeshJewish Virtual Library, Article

• Rosh Chodesh on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.