Blessing Of The Month - Isreal

Blessing the New Month

This Shabbat is Shabbat Mevarchim ("the Shabbat that blesses" the new
month): a special prayer is recited blessing the Rosh Chodesh ("Head of
the Month") of upcoming month of Av (also called "Menachem Av," which
falls on Wednesday of next week.

Molad Times Times for the Jewish Years 5766-5770 (2006-2010)

When blessing the new month in the synagogue on the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh, it is customary to announce the time that the molad (birth of the new moon) occurs in Jerusalem, so that it can be kept in mind while saying the blessing. Traditionally, the time is announced in hours, minutes and chalakim -- e.g., "The molad will occur Sunday evening, eight minutes and seven chalakim after seven o'clock." A chelek is one 1080th part of an hour, or 3.33 seconds. In this table, we have noted the time of the molad in hours, minutes and seconds (e.g., 7:08:23 PM). We also noted the number of chalakim, for use in the traditional announcement. All times listed here are Jerusalem times, and are so announced in the synagogue regardless of location. For more about the molad, see What is the molad? at the bottom of this page.

Molad Times for 5767 (2006-2007) Molad for Month of Day of Week Secular Date Hebrew Date Time Tishrei Friday September 22, 2006 Eve of Tishrei 1, 5767 7:37:20 (6 chalakim) PM Cheshvan Sunday October 22, 2006 Tishrei 30, 5767 8:21:23 (7 chalakim) AM Kislev Monday November 20, 2006 Eve of Cheshvan 30, 5767 9:05:26 (8 chalakim) PM Tevet Wednesday December 20, 2006 Kislev 29, 5767 9:49:30 (9 chalakim) AM Shvat Thursday January 19, 2007 Eve of Shvat 1, 5767 10:33:33 (10 chalakim) PM Adar Shabbat February 17, 2007 Shvat 29, 5767 11:17:36 (11 chalakim) AM Nissan Monday March 19, 2007 Adar 29, 5767 12:01:40 (12 chalakim) AM Iyar Tuesday April 17, 2007 Nissan 29, 5767 12:45:43 (13 chalakim) PM Sivan Thursday May 17, 2007 Iyar 29, 5767 1:29:46 (14 chalakim) AM Tamuz Friday June 15, 2007 Sivan 29, 5767 2:13:49 (15 chalakim) PM Av Sunday July 15, 2007 Tamuz 29, 5767 2:57:53 (16 chalakim) AM Elul Monday August 13, 2007 Av 29, 5767 3:41:56 (17 chalakim) PM

What is the molad? The Jewish calendar is lunar-based, with each month representing one lunar cycle -- the time it takes for the moon to complete one orbit around the earth. The molad is the time of the moon's "birth." There is a point in the moon's orbit in which it is positioned directly between the earth and the sun, making it invisible to anyone standing on earth's surface. The molad occurs when the moon has moved far enough from this position that a thin crescent of its illuminated surface becomes visible, marking the start of a new Jewish month. The time it takes for the moon to complete one orbit around the earth -- as calculated by sages and confirmed by astronomical observation -- is 29 days, 12 hours and 793 chalakim (there are 1,080 chalakim or "parts" in an hour, hence a chelek is 3.33... seconds). This represents the average time from molad to molad. The actual moment at which the moon becomes visible will vary slightly from the average molad, depending on the relative positions of the earth, moon and sun to each other at any given month, where on earth the observer is standing, the length of twilight at given seasons of the year, and other astronomical variables. For this reason the Jewish calendar is “tweaked” so that Rosh Chodesh -- the first of the month -- is as close as possible to the time in which the moon would actually be seen in Jerusalem if we were still relying on actual observation of the moon to establish the start of a new month (as was done until the 5th century C.E.). Also, because a month has to be made up of whole days, the Jewish month alternates between 29 and 30 days. This is why Rosh Chodesh will often occur a day or more after the average molad. The Times of our Lives on the significance of Shabbat Mevarchim Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Courtesy of MeaningfulLife.com A common way of regarding the calendar is as an expanse of 300-plus ordinary days "dotted" with festivals and dates of special import. To make this sea of days more managable -- and the special days easier to locate -- we chop up the year into twelve segments, calling each a "month." The Chassidic masters offer a different perspective. As they see it, the twelve months are twelve faces of the year, and the special dates in each month are simply intensifications of the month's quality. Seen this way, the festivals of the Jewish calendar are not islands of meaningfullness in a sea of vapid time, but expressions of the spiritual character of their respective months. The eight days of Passover represent an intensification of the quality of the month of Nissan, the month of redemption; Purim is a one-day eruption of the unbridled joy that characterizes the month of Adar; the awe of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur and the joy and unity experienced on Sukkot are expressions of various elements in the "coronation" of G-d as king of the universe, which is the theme of the month of Tishrei; and so on. In other words, the twelve months of the calendar are twelve time-qualities which flow into each other, each with its unique personality and character. The festivals are the peaks and plateaus of these time-qualities -- points at which a particular month’s properties achieve a greater intensity and emphasis. The Link The last Shabbat of each month -- which can be any day from 23rd of the month to the 29th -- is Shabbat Mevarchim HaChodesh, "the Shabbat that blesses the month." On this Shabbat, a special prayer is recited which names the coming month, identifies the day (or days) of its Rosh Chodesh ("head of the month") and beseeches G-d to "renew it... for life and for peace, for gladness and for joy, for deliverance and for consolation." According to Chassidic teaching, the "blessing of the month" evokes the flow of sustenance and spiritual energy for the coming month. Thus, the closing days of each month are a unique phenomenon -- a juncture in the terrain of time in which two time-qualities overlap. For example, a certain Shabbat may be the 25th of Av. As such, it is an integral part of the month of Av, a time-segment whose quality is "mourning and consolation": mourning over the destruction of the Holy Temple and the breakdown in our relationship with G-d that this represents, and consolation in the potential for renewal that lies in every regression. At the same time, it is also the Shabbat that "blesses" and calls forth the qualities of the coming month of Elul -- a month characterized by divine compassion and intimacy with G-d. The same is true of every Shabbat Mevarchim: rooted in one month and time-quality, it evokes the time-quality of the following month, stimulating the flow of spiritual energy that saturates the next of the twelve time-segments to comprise our calendar. The Lesson Therein lies a lesson in how we are to experience and utilize the various time periods of our lives. Often, we reach a point in our lives at which we are inspired to "turn over a new leaf": to reassess our past, and readjust, or even radically transform, our prior vision and approach to life. All too often, this is accompanied with a "break" from the past, a disavowal of all prior achievement. It is as if all we have done up to this point must be eradicated to give way to our "new" self. But as the monthly Shabbat Mevarchim teaches us, different and even antithetical qualities of time form a chain in which each link is an outgrowth of its predecessor. Yes, a new year, month, week, day, hour or moment must always provoke us to a new understanding, a new feeling, a new achievement: the very fact that we have passed from one time-frame to another means that we must exploit the new potential implicit in this new environment. At the same time, however, we must appreciate how each new moment is "blessed" by the moment before, which nourishes and enriches its very different neighbor with its own qualities and achievements. Tehillim - Psalms

1. The praises of a man are that he did not follow the counsel of the wicked, neither did he stand in the way of sinners nor sit in the company of scorners. 2. But his desire is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. 3. He shall be as a tree planted beside rivulets of water, which brings forth its fruit in its season, and its leaves do not wilt; and whatever he does prosper. 4. Not so the wicked, but [they are] like chaff that the wind drives away. 5. Therefore, the wicked shall not stand up in judgment, nor shall the sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish. A Yud Shevat Farbrengen 10 Shevat 5732 Some teach by writing books, others deliver lectures, still others regularly issue public letters, essays and commentary. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, widely regarded as one of the most influential teachers of our generation, did all of the above; but his primary medium of teaching was the farbrengen or Chassidic gathering. In the years 1950 to 1992, the Rebbe conducted an average of about 50 farbrengens each year, each of which lasted several hours, with many extending through the night. A farbrengen consisted of sichot ("talks"), each lasting an hour or more. Drawing on the week's Torah reading, an upcoming event of significance in the Jewish calendar, a passage from the Talmud or Kabbalah or a discourse of Chassidic teaching, the Rebbe would expound upon these timeless truths and then proceed to apply them to issues of contemporary social and ethical concern. Between the sichot, the thousands in attendance would sing Chassidic niggunim (melodies) and raise small cups of wine to which the Rebbe responded with the traditional blessing l’chaim ulivrachah! ("to life and blessing"). Presented here, courtesy of Jewish Educational Media, are three short film clips from a farbrengen conducted by the Rebbe on the 10th of Shevat, 5732 (January 26, 1972) -- the 22nd yahrtzeit of his predecessor, the sixth Lubvitcher Rebbe Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson (1880-1950), as well as the anniversary of the Rebbe's own formal assumption of the leadership of Chabad-Lubavitch on this date in 1951. The first segment contains a lesson from the "New Year for Trees" occurring five days later on the 15th of Shevat; the second segment catches a conversation during a break between sichot between the Rebbe and chassid telling the Rebbe about the birth of a granddaughter; the third segment shows the singing of the sacred Chassidic niggunim sung at the conclusion of major farbrengens. I wish to share this with each of you today . I find these studies interesting in seeing just what Isreal's people do in thier Holy Time In The Lord and to see how they do things differently that we do in United States. I sincernly hope it blesses each of you today. catcmo2006