Thursday, March 28, 2024 -
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Rosh Chodesh — an important holiday for Jewish women

Chodesh, heralding the new month on the Hebrew calendar, signifies G-d’s first commandment to the Jewish nation and the initiation of the lunar-based Jewish calendar. Women, who were rewarded for refusing to participate in the Golden Calf rebellion chronicled in the Torah, have celebrated the holiday throughout the centuries. Rosh Chodesh groups like Moving Tradition’s “It’s a Girl Thing” are enjoying a resurgence in popularity throughout the US, Europe and Israel, due in part to the feminist movement. Orthodox Jews, who trace the foundations of this holiday to the Torah and midrashic texts, have never broken faith with Rosh Chodesh (“Head of the Month”). The moon’s centrality to Rosh Chodesh is undeniable, says Rivka Gross, a third-grade teacher at DAT for 12 years. “Sometimes the […]
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IJN Senior Writer | [email protected]