Rosh Hodesh

Crescent moon and stars in a colorful, cloudy sky blending green, blue, and yellow hues.

The first of each Jewish month—the celebration of the new moon, its slender crescent barely visible in the night sky—is a day historically associated with women’s renewal and celebration.

In recent decades, Rosh Chodesh has become an occasion for Jewish women to gather for learning, ritual, and spiritual exploration, and to mark life passages. Rosh Chodesh groups, meeting monthly, offer a women’s space in time. (Some men’s gatherings have begun as well, sometimes associated with kiddush levanah, celebrating the coming full moon.)

Latest Rituals

A woman in dark clothing gazes into a water basin, seeing her own reflection in the rippling water.
“Still moments of fragrant chill, / crunch of golden leaves / call us to inner landscape…”
A close-up of a yellow autumn leaf with dark spots, backlit by warm sunlight, on a blurred background.
“You are not Bitter, / And you shrug the name away. / You do not complain.” You simply are.
A person walks away on a leaf-covered forest path during autumn, surrounded by trees.
“…Shekhinah can shine in nature and maintain Her omnipresence.”
A path with yellow leaves on the ground.
“Even the angels must bend down, melt the snow in their hands / to smell its sweet fragrance.”
Close-up of a white rose with dew drops on its petals.
At sunset the oryx finds water inside shrubs. // Magician of the desert, it links its straight horns to the sky.
Embroidered branch with green leaves and clusters of pink flowers on a light fabric background.
“The comfort of your presence The call of my being toward your light…”
A red heart shape painted on the cracked, textured surface of a tree trunk with moss patches.
This ritual focuses on transforming grief through creative expression
Crescent moon and stars over a tranquil lake with grassy hills, under a purple twilight sky.
“Let Av hold what hurts. / Let it draw us near.”
Tree branches with dense, green, sunlit leaves hanging down, creating a shaded, tranquil atmosphere.
“The wilderness ahead blurs into an unknowable future…”
Vast desert landscape with rocky formations and a distant horizon under a partly cloudy sky.

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

Get the latest from Ritualwell

Subscribe for the latest rituals, online learning opportunities, and unique Judaica finds from our store.

The Reconstructionist Network