Maybe something in your life isn’t going well. You’re struggling with a relationship; you’re unemployed or you hate your job; you can’t seem to lose weight and get in shape. Whatever the issue is, Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of a new month in the Jewish calendar) reminds us to NEVER give up, because things can get better. Perseverance and optimism are keys to simcha (Jewish joy), which we can learn by thinking about Rosh Chodesh and the cycles of the moon.
On Thursday and Friday we will celebrate Rosh Chodesh Adar, the first days of the new month of Adar (the month in which Purim falls). The Jewish calendar is primarily lunar-based, meaning that each Jewish month starts with the appearance of the new moon.
The Jewish people are actually compared to the moon in the Midrash (Shmot Raba 15). What does that mean and what can the comparison teach us about happiness?
In Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D.’s excellent Artscroll book, Simcha: It’s Not Just Happiness, he explains that collectively the Jewish people are like the moon because sometimes we seem shrunken and things look dark, but we know that we will once again return to prominence and shine brightly.
In contrast to the sun, which is constant, the moon is cyclical, its light waxing and waning. This pattern corresponds to Jewish history. We have had times when we were at our zenith, and other times when we were at our nadir…when we are at our nadir, we do not lose hope of a brighter future. We understand that our reality is cyclical, very much like the moon (page 129).
Things can get better!
Rosh Chodesh is a special time for women, because they acted righteously during one of those dark times for the Jewish people. In Megillah 22b, Rashi quotes a Midrash that says when the Nation of Israel was busy fashioning a golden calf to idolize, the men approached the women and asked them to donate their gold jewelry to the cause.
During one of Israel’s darkest hours, the women helped shine some precious light by refusing to donate and participate in idol worship.
The Jewish Woman section of Chabad.org makes another interesting point. Rosh Chodesh reminds us that the Nation of Israel is eternal. And that eternity will be preserved by Jewish women, who, like the moon, have been gifted with the power of renewal.
Happy Rosh Chodesh!
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