Siman 426

We learn in Sanhedrin (42a): Anyone who blesses the month in its time—it is as if he receives the Divine Presence. It is written here: "This month," and it is written there: "This is my God and I will glorify Him." And the school of Rabbi Ishmael taught: Had Israel only merited to receive the presence of their Father in Heaven once a month—it would be enough for them. Abaye said: Therefore, we should say it standing. Behold, it is explained that kiddush halevanah is a great and awesome matter, like receiving the Divine Presence. And certainly there are great and awesome secrets in this, as the sages of Kabbalah have elaborated: that the matter of the diminishing of the moon and the matter of the sin of Adam HaRishon—they touch upon one another. And in the future to come, when the sin of Adam HaRishon is rectified—then the diminishing of the moon will also be rectified. And regarding that time it is said: "And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun."

In its simple sense, the reason we recite a blessing over the moon more than over all the stars—even though it is smaller than almost all the stars (except for Mercury)—is because it is closer to the earth than all the stars, as it is distant from the earth only approximately forty-three thousand parasangs. Through it, the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, is visible to our senses every single night from its perceptible movement and its circuit around the earth every month. Therefore it is called "yarei'ach," as it is written: "He made the moon [yarei'ach] for the appointed seasons," because it encircles the earth every month [yerach] of days, and its waning and fullness are perceptible. And Israel, who count by the moon, are compared to the moon: just as the moon has no light of its own essence, but only shines from the light of the sun, so too Israel have no light at all except for the light of the Holy One, blessed be He, which shines for us by means of the holy Torah, as it is said: "For a sun and a shield is Hashem G-d." And just as the moon darkens and shines, so too Israel, as we say in its blessing: "And to the moon He said that it should renew itself, a crown of glory for those borne from the womb, for they are destined to be renewed like it." And just as the moon, even in the days of its waning when it appears dark upon the earth, nevertheless shines toward its opposite side in the heavens as is known, so too Israel. And for all these reasons, Israel accepted this mitzvah with joy.

Therefore, one who sees the moon in its renewal recites the blessing: "Blessed… Who by His word created the heavens [shechakim]…". And the reason he called the firmament "shechakim" here is because we say in Chagigah (12b): "Shechakim" — in which millstones stand and grind manna for the righteous. However, Rav Yehuda, who says this statement regarding the blessing of the moon in Sanhedrin (42a), holds in Chagigah there that there are two firmaments: "Shamayim" and "Shemei HaShamayim." And it is possible that the two are "Rakia" and "Shechakim," and his intention is: that even though it is obvious that there are seven firmaments, nevertheless they are included in two. For in Tanakh we find only these two names for the firmaments: "Rakia" and "Shechakim," and they are "Shamayim" and "Shemei HaShamayim." And that which it says: "By His word He created shechakim, and by the breath of His mouth all their host" — is because David said so: "By the word of Hashem the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host." And it says: "A statute and a time He gave them, that they should not change their task." The "time" is all the days of the world, which are six thousand years, glad and joyful to perform the will of their Creator, as it is written: "He rejoices like a mighty man to run the course." And it uses the expression "gladness and joy," just as this expression is designated for Israel, as it is said: "Gladness and joy shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody." "Workers of truth whose work is truth" — this is the version of Rashi, and it refers to the sun and the moon, which do not change their task. And the Tosafot read "Worker of truth Whose work is truth," and it refers to the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who in truth and in justice diminished the moon. "And to the moon He said that it should renew itself…" — this is for the future to come, it will renew itself completely. And for the present time — it shall renew itself every month. And it is a sign for Israel who are "borne from the womb," for so said the prophet: "Who are borne from the womb." That is to say: borne with tribulations. And it concludes "Blessed… Who renews the months."

And afterward they are accustomed to say: "Blessed is your Creator..." as a sign for Yaakov. And some begin: "Blessed is your Maker" according to the order of the worlds. And he dances three times toward it on his toes, and says: "Just as I... may there fall...", and in reverse three times. And they are accustomed to say: "David, King of Israel, lives and endures," and the intention is regarding the seed of David. For the kingdom of the house of David is likened to the moon, as it is written in Psalms: "His seed shall endure forever... it shall be established forever as the moon." That is to say: even though it is darkened—it will shine afterward. And afterward they say to one another: "Shalom aleichem...". "The voice of my beloved...", "My beloved is like...", "A song of ascents...", "Praise God in His sanctuary...", "The school of Rabbi Ishmael taught: Had [Israel] not...", and "May it be Your will" as written in the prayer books. Our teacher, the Rema, wrote: That therefore they are accustomed to say "David...", for his kingdom is likened to the moon, and is destined to be renewed like it. And the Assembly of Israel will return to cleave to the Holy One, blessed be He, similar to the moon which is renewed with the sun, as it is said: "For a sun and a shield is Hashem...". And for this reason they make celebrations and dances at the sanctification of the month, similar to the joy of a wedding. Thus far his words. And the essential part is the blessing, and it is what is indispensable. And as for the other matters, if he did not say them—it is not indispensable. (And he shall shake the edges of his garments.)

One may not sanctify the moon except during the actual night, at a time when it shines and one benefits from its light. And not before the night, for we require that its shine be recognizable upon the earth, which means that there is a shadow from it. At the time of the blessing, one straightens his feet, and casts his eyes toward the moon, and blesses while standing. There are those who wrote that one casts his eyes to gaze upon it only before the blessing, but at the time of the blessing he lowers his eyes and does not gaze at it. And so we practice according to the Kabbalah.

It is stated in Masekhet Soferim (beginning of chapter twenty): One does not bless over the moon except on the conclusion of Shabbat, when one is fragrant and in fine garments. This is the version of the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch, section 2. And some have the version: One does not bless over the moon until it is fragrant, meaning: that it should be dark, and one benefits from its light, as in the previous law (this is the version of the students of our teacher, Yonah, in the fourth chapter of Berakhot). And they do not have the version: "on the conclusion of Shabbat," for what is the relevance of the conclusion of Shabbat here? And even according to our version, the intention is not that it is an absolute requirement, but rather for mere enhancement if possible. And they wrote that when one sanctifies on the conclusion of Shabbat – there will be success (Magen Avraham, subsection 2).

Our teacher, the Rema, wrote: Specifically if the night of the conclusion of Shabbat is before ten days into the month—then we wait until the conclusion of Shabbat. But if it is after that—we do not wait until the conclusion of Shabbat, lest there be two or three or four cloudy nights, and the moon will not be seen, and the time will pass. And when we sanctify it on a weekday—one should wear fine clothes. Thus far his words. And for us during the winter months, and particularly in Cheshvan and Kislev—one should not wait until the conclusion of Shabbat. For in most years in our lands, clouds cover [the sky] all this time. And we also do not practice [wearing] fine clothes, for most often we sanctify in the courtyard of the synagogue after the evening prayer, and how shall he go to his home to change his clothes? For this is impossible, of course. And it seems more likely to me that the intention is not for expensive clothes, like the clothes of Shabbat and Yom Tov, but rather clean clothes, because he is receiving the presence of the Shekhinah. Therefore, it follows that with the clothes in which he prays—they are fine. For even for prayer one requires clean and proper clothes, as I wrote above in siman 91, see there.

He further wrote: One does not sanctify the moon before Tisha B'Av, nor before Yom Kippur. And on the night following Yom Kippur one sanctifies it, for then they are immersed in joy. But not on the night following Tisha B'Av, nor on any other fast day. Thus far his words. And the reason that one does not sanctify before Tisha B'Av is because they are immersed in the sorrow of the destruction. Therefore, a mourner during the seven days of mourning also should not sanctify, unless the time will pass, for then it is necessary to sanctify. And before Yom Kippur—because they are immersed in sorrow over the forgiveness of sins. And there are those who hesitate entirely regarding these delays, for we are concerned lest one die. Furthermore: the zealous perform mitzvot early (Eliyah Rabbah in the name of Beit Yaakov). And there are those who rejected this, for we are not concerned about death for a short period of time. And we do delay a mitzvah for the sake of hiddur (ibid.). However, in our countries where clouds are very frequent—it is not worthwhile to wait, and thus great ones have acted not to wait.

If the moon was not seen until the final night, and they are standing in prayer and the moon is seen, and it is likely that the time will pass by the end of the prayer, if they are in the midst of the recitation of Shema and the blessings of the recitation of Shema—they must interrupt, even in the middle of a section. And if they are able to finish until the break between sections—how good. And so too in a similar case—they must interrupt the reading of the Megillah (Sha'arei Teshuva in the name of the Noda BiYehuda). However, this is a remote occurrence, and there is no need to elaborate on this.

Our teacher, the Rema, further wrote: that one should not sanctify it on the conclusion of a Shabbat upon which a Yom Tov falls. Thus far his words. And all the more so that one should not sanctify it on Shabbat (Magen Avraham, subsection 7). And the reasons stated for this by way of halacha are not acceptable to the heart. The truth is that according to the law there is no concern in this at all, and there are only hidden reasons according to the Kabbalah. Therefore, it is obvious that if there are several more nights, it is simple that we do not sanctify on Shabbat. And if Shabbat is the final night, it is obvious that we sanctify. However, even if there is one more night, it seems that in our countries, which are presumed to be cloudy, they should sanctify on Shabbat. And several times we have performed such an act, and it happened that afterwards, on the conclusion of Shabbat, the clouds were covered. But this is simple, that if they sanctify on Shabbat, they should say only the blessing alone, and not the prayers and the verses. For it is certain that one must shorten as much as possible, and nothing is indispensable except for the blessing.

Until when may one recite the blessing over it? Until sixteen days from the day of the molad, and sixteen is not included. Thus ruled the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch, section 3. And in the Rambam, chapter ten of Berakhot, he also wrote: until sixteen, and his intention is: until and not including. For behold, in the Gemara there they said: until its deficiency is filled, and when the fifteenth day is completed—its deficiency is filled, and afterwards it begins to diminish. Therefore, our teacher, the Rema, wrote: that one should only sanctify until half of twenty-nine, twelve, 793 from the molad; for this is the time of the moon's cycle, as I wrote in siman 417. Therefore, at the half of this—its deficiency is filled. And he did not write this in the phrasing of "there are those who say," because he holds that the intention of the Tur and Shulchan Aruch is also thus, for they did not care to be precise regarding the extra hours. Furthermore: the extra hours only occur when the molad falls at the beginning of the day, which is a remote occurrence, and for the most part the molad will fall many hours into the day. If so, automatically when the half of twenty-nine, twelve, 793 concludes—the fifteen days conclude. And on the contrary: sometimes the fifteen days conclude, and yet the half of twenty-nine, twelve, 793 has not yet concluded, such as when the molad fell within the second half of the day. And in truth, it is impossible to be precise regarding a few hours, because then its diminution is not yet recognizable at all. Therefore, the Shas and the poskim were not precise regarding a few hours here or there. And regarding this, our teacher, the Rema, says that lekhatchila a person should be precise not to delay past the half of twenty-nine, twelve, 793. And there is no dispute in the halacha. (So it appears in my humble opinion. And with this, all that the Magen Avraham questioned in subsection 12 will be settled, see there. Examine it and you will find it simple.) (And that which the Tur wrote: "from the time of the molad"—his intention is not to a twenty-four hour period, as the Magen Avraham wrote, but rather as I wrote, that it is not from Rosh Chodesh.)

And I saw one who brought in the name of a certain great authority: that even on the sixteenth day from the molad—it is permitted to sanctify the moon (Sheyarei Knesset HaGedolah). And he explains that which they said in the Gemara "until the sixteenth"—as until and including. And there is one who brings a proof for this, for in the Gemara, Rav Yehuda and Nehardea disagree. For Rav Yehuda holds until seven days, and Nehardea until the sixteenth. And the halacha is like Nehardea. And if so, just as according to Rav Yehuda it was until and including, so too according to Nehardea (Eliyah Rabbah subsection 8). And this is no proof at all. For even in a single Mishnah, in statements adjacent to one other, we find that the first is "until and not including" and the second is "until and including." And it is in the nineteenth chapter of Kelim: A rope that extends from the bed—until five tefachim it is tahor. From five until ten—it is tamei, see there. And the Shas explains in Chullin (55a) that "five" is like that which is above, and "ten" is like that which is below, see there. And all the more so with two Amoraim. Furthermore: for we say explicitly at the end of the chapter "HaRoah Ketam," that all the measurements of the sages are to be stringent in this matter of "until and including" or "not until and including," see there. And if so, here it follows that a doubt regarding berachot is ruled leniently. And the stringency is due to the concern of a berachah levatalah. And particularly since this is against the logic that during the waning of the moon they should recite the berachah "Who renews the months." Therefore, Heaven forbid to rely on this against all our teachers, the Rishonim, and the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch. (And there are those who in Marcheshvan, when the moon is not seen due to the abundance of clouds in this month, and they say that it is found in Tanna DeBei Eliyahu that when the moon is not seen in Marcheshvan—it is a bad sign, and they wish to rely on this opinion. But "you shall be wholehearted with Hashem your G-d," and they should not enter into a berachah levatalah. And in truth, in Tanna DeBei Eliyahu it is not regarding the absence of the moon, but rather regarding an eclipse of the moon. And it is in Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Zuta chapter sixteen, see there.)

From when is it permitted to sanctify the moon? The Rambam in chapter ten of Berakhot, law 17, wrote: If one did not recite the blessing over it on the first night, he may recite the blessing over it until… its deficiency is filled. Thus far his words; it is explicitly explained that even on the first day from the molad, one can recite the blessing. And so wrote Rashi in Sanhedrin ibid., and this is his wording: If one did not recite the blessing today, he should recite the blessing tomorrow until the seventh… until the sixteenth, see there. And the students of our teacher Yonah wrote at the end of the fourth chapter of Berakhot that on the second or third day, one can recite the blessing. But on the first day, due to its smallness, the light is not sweet, and one does not derive benefit from it. And there are those who wrote after three days (Bach). And one must wonder about our teacher, the Beit Yosef, in section 4, who wrote: One does not recite the blessing over it until seven days have passed over it. Thus far his words, and he wrote in his great book that so wrote R. Y. Gikatilla, see there. And it is a wonder: how did he set aside the opinion of our teachers and seize a solitary opinion? And this is not his way. And they further questioned him: for in the Gemara there is one who holds that after seven days one may not sanctify, and how is it possible to say that it would be forbidden to sanctify beforehand (Bach and Taz subsection 3)? Therefore, the great Acharonim agreed that after three days one can recite the blessing without any hesitation, and so we practice. (And the Beit Yosef established his words here according to the sages of Kabbalah. And they explain in the Gemara that they do not disagree, and the one who said "until the seventh" refers to the beginning; and the one who said "until the sixteenth" refers to the end. That is to say: from the seventh until the sixteenth. And even now many practice so, and it is good in lands where clouds are not common. But in our lands, and particularly in the months of Marheshvan and Kislev, it is difficult to practice so. Examine and you will find it light.)

Our teacher, the Rema, wrote: that one does not sanctify the moon under a roof. Thus far his words, and the reason is not known to us. There is one who wrote the reason: so that no impurity shall form a tent over him (Magen Avraham, subsection 14, in the name of the Maharil). And there is one who wrote: that they go out to the street, in the manner of a person who goes out to greet the king (ibid. in the name of the Bach). However, all this applies where it is possible. But if he has some ailment, or if it is difficult in this place to stand outside and sanctify, or if he is sitting at a gathering—he opens the window and sanctifies in his house, and sees the moon through the window. And thus the Maharshal did as an act for himself (ibid.). There is one who wrote that one who sees the moon through glass—one should not recite the blessing over it (Be'er Heitev, subsection 1, in the name of Devar Shmuel). And it is a wondrous thing: for we established that regarding nakedness behind a glass lantern—it is forbidden to recite Keriat Shema facing it, because it is called "seeing," as I wrote above in siman 75. And since it is called "seeing"—behold, he sees the moon. And indeed, the great authorities disagreed with this (as the Sha'arei Teshuva wrote in subsection 11). There is one who wrote that a blind person—is obligated to sanctify the moon (Magen Avraham at the beginning of this siman in the name of the Rashal). And it must be said that he compares this to the blessing of "Yotzer Or," which a blind person recites, as I wrote at the end of siman 69. However, the language of "one who sees"—does not fit well for a blind person, for behold, he does not see. And so I found one of the great authorities who questioned this (the Gaon Rabbi Akiva Eiger in the name of the Rikash). And women are not accustomed to the blessing of the moon, for it is a positive time-bound commandment, and they are exempt. And even though in several positive commandments they are accustomed to fulfill them, such as shofar, and lulav, and sukkah—nevertheless, in this they are not accustomed. And in the Gemara there, it implies explicitly that in their days women would also recite a short blessing: "Blessed is He who renews the months," see there.