Opening Psalm for Rosh Chodesh

Witnessing

Cypresses point to the night,
through clouds and beyond them.
We follow them up to the mountain
to stake our site.

We wait. The air is still.
The leaf, the branch, the bark–
our signposts in the darkness
of the hill.

And now the blade of night
gleams through the briars.
We gather twigs for the fires:
New Moon, old light.

Excerpted from The Book of Blessings: New Jewish Prayers for Daily Life, the Sabbath and the New Moon Festival; Harper, 1996; paperback edition, Beacon, 1999; copyright 1996 Marcia Lee Falk. The Book of Blessings includes an entire section of prayers for Rosh ChodeshThe new moon, which marks the beginning of the Jewish month. According to tradition, because women did not participate in the sin of the golden calf, they were given the holiday of Rosh Chodesh. It is customary for women not to work on Rosh Chodesh. eveEve, according to the book of Genesis, is Adam's wife, the first woman to be created. and Rosh Chodesh morning as well as KiddushThe prayer recited over wine on Shabbat, holidays, and other joyous occasions. Levanah. Used by permission of the author. www.marciafalk.com