We are not worshipping the moon
There are some people who object to the observation of the New Moon Festival (Rosh Chodesh), claiming that it is celebrating and worshipping the moon itself. This is a misunderstanding of the biblical purpose of the festival. I think it may be that such people are getting stuck on the name of the day. We are not celebrating the moon itself, we are celebrating the 1st day of the month. In Hebrew, the word for ’month’ and ’New Moon’ are the same: chodesh.
During the Massorite Talmidi celebration of the New Moon festival, it is explicitly stated that once we have observed the first sliver of the New Moon, we turn away from it, to demonstrate unequivocally to YHVH that we are not worshipping the moon.
Why the need to look out for the New Moon
The logic for the observance goes as follows: Torah specifies that the festivals (the ’appointed times’) are to be celebrated in specific months, and on specific days of those months. So how do we know when those months begin and end? How are we to know what the correct day of the month it is?
The answer is to look for the appearance of the first sliver of the New Moon. It is absolutely correct that it is merely an indication of time. In the rabbinic community, the calendar is entirely artificial, not related to anything at all in the real or even spiritual world. Festivals take place on days that the rabbis say they should, not on days that God has ordained for them to take place.
Where does God say that we have to look for the moon? In Gen 1:14, referring to the heavenly lights (the Sun and the Moon), God says, “let them be as signs for the appointed times, and for the reckoning of the days and the years.“ So how do we know that a new month has begun?
By looking for the sign that YHVH has given us: the New Moon.
Ps 104:19 tells us, “God created the moon for the appointed times [mo`edim]“.
The beginning of the Sabbath is determined by the setting of the Sun; similarly, the beginning of each month is determined by the appearance of the first sliver of the New Moon. In doing these things, we are not worshipping the Sun or the Moon; we are using them exactly as God has told us: as signs to determine the days and the appointed times.
Remember that the word for ’month’ and ’New Moon’ are the same in Hebrew. So if YHVH has ordained that, for example, the 10th day of the Seventh-month is to be the holiest day of the year (Yom ha-Kippurim, the Day of Expiations), then that day, that space in time, and ONLY that day, is holy (i.e. not the days either side of it). It is holy because YHVH has decided that it is holy, a day for YHVH’s Glory to come through from heaven to cleanse us. So to celebrate it on any day other than the one that YHVH has decided, such a day is NOT holy, so we will be missing the window during which the fullness of God’s Glory comes through. So how do we get the day right?
By looking for God’s sign that the month has begun!!
And what is that sign that YHVH has given us? The first sliver of the New Moon.
I can only reiterate: we are not celebrating the Moon; we are celebrating the 1st day of the month. This 1st day is a holy day, a day ordained and set apart for worship (2Chr 2:4, “on the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of YHVH our God, as ordained forever for Israel“; 2Chr 8:13, “offerings according to the commandment of Moses for the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the three annual festivals“; 2Chr 31:3, “the burnt offerings of morning and evening, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the appointed festivals, as it is written in the Torah of YHVH“).
Numbers chapters 28 & 29 go through all the holy days and appointed times in order: Sabbaths, New Moons, Unleavened Bread (pesach & matzot), Weeks (shavu’ot), Day of Shout & Trumpet (yom tru’ah), Day of Expiations (yom ha-kippurim), Booths (sukkot), and Day of Closed Assembly (yom shmini ha-‘atzeret). New Moon Day is an ’appointed time’, just like all the others.
Isaiah mentions them alongside Sabbaths: “From New Moon to New Moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says YHVH“ (Isa 66:23). The sacrifices on New Moon day are the same as for the Sabbath: “Then at the beginning of each of your New Moon days, you shall present burnt-offerings to Yahveh [and then the specific burnt-offerings are described]“ (Num 28:11; also Num 29:6, 1Chr 23:31).
Trumpets are blown on every New Moon day: “On your days of joy, at your appointed times, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall sound the trumpets…” (Num 10:10, similarly Ps 81:3-4).
How did the priests know when to offer the special sacrifices for the beginning of each month, and when to blow the trumpets?
By looking for the first sliver of the New Moon, the sign that YHVH has given us (Gen 1:14).
What was the New Moon festival for?
The New Moon day was a day of rest and feasting (suggested by 2Kgs 4:23, where it is mentioned with the Sabbath; also 1Sam 20:5-6, 20:24). In ancient times, when the tribes still existed, it was also a day when clans had their tribal gatherings.
It was counted among the ’appointed times’, and designated as one (Ezek 45:17)
It was a day of worship (Ezek 46:1-7, Isa 66:23) and a day of joy (Num 10:9-10; cf Hos 2:11)
People did not travel (suggested by 1Sam 20:18, David says he cannot attend the New Moon festival, the implication is that it would require travelling a considerable distance on that day).
People did not work or trade (Amos 8:5, where merchants complain that they are impatient for the New Moon day to be over, so that they can recommence trading again).
What are we celebrating? We are celebrating YHVH, as the Sovereign Ruler and Creator of Time – not the Moon. The blowing of trumpets on New Moons was to be a reminder of YHVH: “they shall serve as a reminder on your behalf before YHVH your God: I am YHVH your God.”
What we are restoring by restoring observance of the New Moon Day
In the rabbinic calendar, the months are calculated according to a complicated mathematical formula that has nothing to do with anything. By restoring the Festival of the New Moon (or alternatively, ’the Festival of the First Day of the Month’, if the word ’moon’ is such a sticking point), we are enabled to observe the festivals and holy days on the exact days that YHVH has decreed as holy. We are restoring the final piece in the puzzle of God’s true calendar.