The Rosh Chodesh Circle is a women's group that celebrates the New Moon through kiddush, saying tehkines, sharing a meal, and studying. We meet as close to or on Rosh Chodesh as possible (the head of the Jewish month).
We meet in the Lichtenstein Guest House (2 doors south of the synagogue...it's a green house with a sign).
Our next circle will be on: October 16th, 2012 at 6:30pm
Other scheduled Rosh Chodesh Events (all at the Lichtenstein Guest House):
November 15th, 2012 at 6:30pm
January 13th, 2012 at 6:30pm
February 10th, 2013 at 6:30pm
March 11th, 2013 at 6:30pm
April 9th, 2013 at 7pm
May 9th, 2013 at 7pm
August 6th, 2013 at 7pm
It is traditional for women to get together on Rosh Chodesh, welcome in the new month, and limit their labor tasks in honor of the day. Our circle will usually light a candle for the month, listen to a new Jewish artist on CD, bond, have a sweet nosh, read some tekinnes (ancient women's prayers) and stitch with purpose. Other women come to read Rosh Chodesh poems and help our meditation on the day. You don't have to know how to stitch if you wish to participate - we can teach you! However, the goal is to stitch as a group. You can bring your own crochet, knitting, sewing, or quilting projects. If you don't have any projects in progress, you can participate in this year's double "stitch-vah": making blankets (from felting and cutting old wool sweaters) to donate on a regular basis to programs that support the homeless. Also, we will have felted wool sweaters for the purpose of making chic felted bags to raise money for the current tzedakah project of Achot. See umjc.net/achot for more details on their current tzedakah project. Check the Events Calendar for dates and times and plan ahead for Rosh Chodesh. This day is a beautiful day for women to rejoice in the cycle of the moon and the passing of Jewish time. Come and be a part - this day is for you!
Rosh Chodesh Meditation
Teach us to number our days,
Then we shall gain a heart of wisdom. Tehillim 90:12
G-d of life, who regulates the course of time,
You have divided it into great and small periods,
Into years, months, and days.
These passages teach us how time rushes by
In swift, uninterrupted flight
And with every onward movement carries us nearer
To the end of all earthly existence - into eternity -
And that fleeting time, once gone,
Will never reverse its course
Despite all our wishes and ardent desires for its return.
Therefore we must use it
As long as we can still call it ours
And waste not even the least bit of it --
Lose no hours by useless deed or practice,
For you, O G-d, will on some future day,
Call us to account for how we spent our lives.
We must carry out our works and complete them
As time lays them out before us.
If we contemplate them too much and hesitate,
Then the stream of time tugs them past us,
And all that remains are empty hindsight and regret.
Whatever we begin and undertake,
Whatever we struggle with and strive for --
May they be healing and G-d-pleasing works,
Expressing our highest convictions on earth,
Worthy of beings who were made in the image of G-d.
Therefore, O Heavenly Protector, I pray to you
For understanding and wisdom that I may use my time
In ways that are a blessing to me, to my loved ones,
And to my fellow human beings --
That I may use every hour, every moment of my life,
In wise action and effort, in valuable work and study,
For the ennoblement of my heart, for the preparation
And cultivation of my soul -- for eternity.
O Compassionate One, who has always guided and shielded me,
Continue to grant Your gracious protection to me and my loved ones.
May the coming month be a month of peace and joy for us.
Preserve our health and lives,
Soften and lighten our grief,
Increase our pleasure in life,
Bless the works of our hands,
And grant us, in the fullness of your grace,
All that we may need
And all thay may be good for us. Amen.
An excerpt taken from Hours of Devotion - Fanny Neuda's Book of Prayers for Jewish Women by Dinah Berland, pg. 59 - On the New Moon, Schocken Books