Kiddush levanah, the mitzvah of blessing the new moon each month, has been faithfully performed by the Jewish people for centuries.  The essence of the mitzvah is the recitation of a special brachah that we say, outside the shul, under the new moon which must be visible at the time.  Like most all of our mitzvoth, this one is laden with meaning and symbolism.  It can also be understood on two essentially different levels:  the niglah, or revealed level and the nistar, or hidden, kabbalistic level.  At present, we’ll discuss the more basic revealed understanding and leave the more esoteric dimensions for another time.

    The source for the mitzvah of kiddush levanah is found in the Gemara that states “whoever blesses the moon in its time, it is as if he has greeted the Shechina—God’s presence.” The Gemara then continues to say, and “if Yisrael only merited to greet the Shechina one time a month, that would be enough.” Rashi explains this cryptic phrase to mean that this mitzvah of kiddush levanah, of greeting God’s Holy Presence by way of blessing the new moon, is so important that if a Jew would merit to do just this mitzvah and no other, even only once a month, it would be enough to bring him merit and stand him in good stead.

    The Maharsha, Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer Edels (1555 – 1631) explains the special connection between blessing the moon and greeting the Shechina. He relates that when we had the Beit Hamikdash, in all its splendor and glory, people would visit to pray and bring sacrifices. In doing so, they would experience the intense spiritual elevation of being mekabail pnei HaShechina, of seeing and greeting the Shechina.  Today, however, without the Beit Hamikdash, we can no longer experience this spiritual high.  What we can do though, by acknowledging the new moon each month, is to remind ourselves that just as the moon waxes and wanes over time so too, do we as a people wax and wane. Indeed, this idea that Bnei Yisrael’s destiny is analogous to the cycles of the moon is illustrated in the words of the kiddush levanah brachah, itself.  We say in the bracha, “the moon should renew itself as a crown of splendor for those who are destined to renew themselves like it.”

     Hence, we gain assurance each month that although we are in exile now, we know that it’s just a matter of time before we, like the moon, will be restored to our former glory.  This will happen when moshiach comes and returns us to our land.  At that time, the Beit Hamikdash will be rebuilt and we will again experience the spiritual elevation of greeting the Shechina as we offer our sacrifices.  That’s why for the Maharsha, blessing the moon is like greeting the Shechina, for it recalls to mind this entire process.

    The halachot of kiddush levanah reflect and reinforce this idea that we are greeting the Divine Presence.  For instance, the halacha tells us that the blessing should only be said in a clean place which is outside and not under any roof or overhang.  This is analogous to the protocol employed when greeting a king of flesh and blood.  One would certainly select a place that is befitting the honor of the king.  All the more so when we recite the kiddush levanah and greet the King of Kings.

    So we see that even on the revealed, macroscopic level the lessons and meaning of Kiddush levanah are very powerful.  We’ve seen how it gives the Jewish people encouragement and hope each and every month that their redemption is assured and that their destiny is for greatness.  As we gaze at the heavens, we are reminded that the guarantor of that destiny is none other than God, Himself, the Creator and Master of the Universe.  May He speedily bring it to fruition and may we all merit to be able to share in that great joy as we greet the Shechina in our rebuilt holy city of Yerushalayim.