New Moon

Although our present Hebrew calendar is mathematically calculated, in ancient Israel, the New Moon (and hence the new month) was declared by the Sanhedrin (rabbinic court). As the Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar, and each lunar month is roughly 28 1/2 days, the first sliver of the new moon might appear either during the day of the 29th day of the month, meaning the next day was the first of a new month, or, if it appeared after daybreak of the 30th of the old month, people would only see it at night, with the following day being proclaimed by the Sanhedrin as the first of the new month. Each month, therefore could have either 29 or thirty days.Witnesses would appear before the court, testifying that they had seen the first sliver of the new moon, and the judges would rise to their feet proclaiming "mekudash, mekudash" (It is sanctified, it is sanctified). Rabbi Natan relates this to our lives. All too often, we wait until things are perfect ("full") before we celebrate. But the rabbis of the Sanhedrin declared the month to be sanctified at the first sliver, fixing the day as a celebration, confident it will grow from there. When we see a turn for the better in our lives, even just a sliver, we need to know that things are on the upswing, declare it holy, and grow from there.