When Is the Right Time to Recite Birkat Halevanah? Rabbi Avi Grossman Explains

Typical Jewish calendars list two particular z’manim for “the first time that one may begin to recite kiddush l’vana (or birkat hal’vana).” The first is referred to as minhag yerushalayim or minhag haperushim, or simply “the three-day minhag,” and the second time, to wait for seven days to pass from the start of the lunar month to recite the blessing, is attributed to the Shulhan Aruch. These two times are calculated as exactly either 72 hours or 168 hours after the average molad of each Hebrew month. These positions do not truly reflect those of our sages, nor of the Rishonim, and nor of the Shulhan Aruch. The usual shul calendars, like the Ittim L’vina calendar and the Tukachinsky calendar, mislead the public with regards to when the earliest time for saying the blessing really is. The issue is based on a number of fallacious calculations, including misapplying a chumra of the Pri M’gadim regarding an opinion of the Rema to an opinion of the Shulhan Aruch, and assuming that the Shulhan Aruch completely dismissed the halacha as described by the Talmud in favor of a later, kabbalistic opinion. The purpose of this article is to argue for a reevaluation as to how the typical calendars present these issues to the laymen and to call for a more accurate presentation of the z’manim as understood by Rishonim like Maimonides.

If you take a look at the usual Jewish calendars, you will find that every month two particular z’manim are presented for “the first time that one may begin to recite kiddush l’vana (or birkat hal’vana).” The first is based on the writings of the Vilna Gaon, and referred to as minhag yerushalayim or minhag haperushim, or simply “the three-day minhag,” and the second is attributed to Rabbi Yosef Karo, the author of the Beth Yosef and the Shulhan Aruch, who was usually referred to by the name of his former work. TheShulhan Aruch makes mention of waiting for seven days to pass (ostensibly from the start of the lunar month) to recite the blessing. These two times are calculated as follows: exactly 72 hours (3 times 24 hours) or 168 hours (7 times 24 hours) after the average molad of each Hebrew month, the molad that is announced in the synagogue before each Rosh Hodesh and used to calculate when each Tishrei is to start, thereby making it the basis for our set calendar.

It is my goal to show that these positions do not truly reflect those of our sages, nor of the Rishonim, and that Beth Yosef himself actually held like the majority of Rishonim, while his seven-day minhag is also misrepresented in the printed calendars. The usual shul calendars, like the Ittim L’vina calendar and the Tukachinsky calendar, mislead the public with regards to when the earliest time for saying the blessing really is. I have tried to speak to the publishers about this issue, but to no avail.

Rabbi David Bar Hayim maintains that the monthly recitation of birkat hal’vana should, in accordance with the plain meaning of the Talmud and the opinion of the rishonim, ideally be on Rosh Hodesh, and in the event that that cannot be done, as soon as possible thereafter. See here. His first proofs are the most elegant.

“Whoever recites the b’rakha over the new moon at the proper time (bizmano) welcomes, as it were, the presence of the Sh’khina” (Sanhedrin 42a). What does bizmano mean if not that one should strive to recite this b’rakha at the earliest opportunity? In a number of manuscripts, we find a variant reading – “Whoever recites the b’rakha for Rosh Hodhesh…” – which leaves no room for doubt as to R. Yohanan’s intention.

It should also be noted that throughout the rest of the Talmud, “z’mano” of the new moon is the night it is supposed to be sighted, i.e., the first night of the month. He also points out that

The Talmud Y’rushalmi (B’rakhoth 9:2) speaks plainly of reciting the b’rakha at the time of the moon’s reappearance (HaRo’e eth HaL’vana b’hidhusha). This is also the very deliberate wording of both Halakhoth G’dholoth and Riph (Chap 9 43b). This expression can only be understood as explained above.

This is also the language utilized by Maimonides and the Shulhan Aruch, and will become crucial when we seek to understand the opinion of the Beth Yosef. Rabbi Nahum Rabinovitch, the math professor turned Rosh Yeshiva, also told me that such is the halacha, and it is proper to make others aware of this. There is a group called the Israeli New Moon Society that keeps track of the sightings of the new moon and publishes online guides for amateurs who wish to spot the new moon. The society enjoys Rabbi Rabinovitch’s support, and he used the society’s founder’s diagrams in his own commentary on Maimonides’s Hilchot Kiddush HaHodesh.

This position should come as a surprise to many. In America, the prevailing practice is to wait specifically for after the Sabbath, while here in Israel most are used to hearing about the three-day or seven-day customs.

We should begin our discussion with the relevant Talmudic sources, YT Berachot 9:2 and BT Sanhedrin 42-43, which state that one has until the sixteenth of the month to recite birkat hal’vana. The running assumption of the rishonim and logic is that the assumed first time to recite the blessing is right at the beginning of the month, similar to the obvious point that if one were told to perform a commandment in the morning and that he had until 9am, then it would be understood that he can start doing it when the morning starts. After all, is he supposed to do it before the morning, while it is still the preceding night? This position is explicit in Rashi’s comments to the gemara, the Meiri’s explanation thereof, and in Maimonides’s codification of the law (Berachot, 10:16-17), but is also the only way to understand the halacha unless other considerations are introduced. A simple reading of the both Talmudim indicate without a doubt that the blessing is to be recited on Rosh Hodesh. Rabbi Kappah, in his commentary to the Mishneh Torah (ibid.), writes that this is and always was the Yemenite practice. Note also that this halacha makes no mention of the molad or of any calculation concerning the first time for reciting this blessing, because as one of the birkot har’iya, it only depends on seeing something.

I believe that Hazal instituted this blessing specifically for the first sighting of the moon because, once upon a time, the Jewish people joyously anticipated the first sighting of the moon. The Mishna in Rosh Hashana (chapter 2) describes how the Sanhedrin actually wanted to encourage competition among potential witnesses! Jewish life once revolved around the calendar, which itself was not predetermined. Thus, every month, Jews throughout ancient Israel and the Diaspora were involved in keeping track of the sighting of the new moon, as it affected when the holidays would be. Imagine not knowing during the first of week of Elul if the first of Tishrei was going to be on Thursday or perhaps on Friday some weeks later. It can have a major effect on everyone’s holiday plans.

However, most of the calendars do not take into account when the actual first sighting of the moon will be every month. Instead, they follow a different interpretation of a view cited in the Beth Yosef, thus presenting a first time for birkat hal’vana that is sometimes as many as three days after the actual first opportunity.