Kiddush Levanah () is a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

ritual, performed outside at night, in which a series of prayers are recited to bless the new moon.

History

The source of the Kiddush Levana is in the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...

: : Rabbi Yochanan taught that one who blesses the new moon, in its proper time, is regarded like one who greets the

Shechinah Shekhinah, also spelled Shechinah ( Hebrew: שְׁכִינָה ''Šəḵīnā'', Tiberian: ''Šăḵīnā'') is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God, as it were, in a plac ...

(Divine Presence). The prayer, by its nature, is typically said outside at nighttime. 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" has developed to refer to any text written in unusually large letters.

Timing

The Kiddush levana ceremony is performed on the first sighting of the new moon - performance at this time is deemed בזמנה - in its proper time, with some opining that only then is the blessing said while standing. Among the Mekubalim, Rabbi Chayim Vital likewise adopted the view of the ceremony being done on the first night of the new moon.For various kabbalah reasons, see: http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=49521&st=&pgnum=185 However, the popular custom is to wait three complete days after the occurrence of the

molad ''Molad'' (מולד, plural ''Moladot'', מולדות) is a Hebrew word meaning "birth" that also generically refers to the time at which the New Moon is "born". The word is ambiguous, however, because depending on the context, it could refer to th ...

, or appearance of the new moon, with some waiting even seven days. The latest time for Kiddush Levanah is mid-month, i.e., fourteen days, eighteen hours and twenty-two minutes (some authorities extend this limit to fifteen full days) after the molad.

Ritual

It is customary to say Kiddush Levanah at the conclusion of Shabbat. The moon must be visible and not totally covered by clouds and the ceremony is normally performed outside. While it is customary to say the prayer with the large crowd after the Saturday evening

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

, or at least with a minyan, it can be also said without a ''minyan'' and in the middle of the week. In places where cloudy or rainy weather is very common, many people will recite the blessing as soon as they see the moon for the first time after the "three days". In the month of

Tishrei Tishrei () or Tishri (; he, ''tīšrē'' or ''tīšrī''; from Akkadian ''tašrītu'' "beginning", from ''šurrû'' "to begin") is the first month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year ...

, it is usually delayed until after the conclusion of

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

; others have a custom to say it specifically before Yom Kippur. In the month of Av, it is traditionally postponed to following the fast of

Tisha B'Av Tisha B'Av ( he, תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב ''Tīšʿā Bəʾāv''; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism, on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian E ...

, as the beginning of the month is a time of mourning and the prayer should be said in a spirit of joy. If a holiday falls on Sunday, Kiddush Levanah is delayed until after that day. It is customary to say additional passages that were added to this blessing in the 16th century by Rabbi Yitzhak Luria. These are Kabbalistic verses and it is difficult to understand their deeper meaning.

References

External links

Text of Kiddush Levanah
{{Shabbat Hebrew calendar Jewish blessings Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law

History

Timing

Ritual

See also

References

External links