One of the most elegant rituals of Jewish prayer is 'Kiddush Levanah,' said some time after the new moon outdoors when the Moon is visible. The liturgy connects the increase of the Moon to the restoration of Israel's monarchy, as well as the tradition that the Moon and Sun were once equally bright:
May it be Your will, G-d my L-rd and fathers' G-d, to complete the deficiencies of the moon, and may it be completely undiminished. Let the light of the Moon be like the light of the Sun, as was the case during the seven days of Creation, before the Moon's light was reduced... and bring to pass what is written: "They shall seek the L-rd their G-d and David their King, Amen!
I always wondered about other texts that connected moonlight to Israel's monarchy. The book 'A River Flows from Eden' by Melila Hellner-Eshed led me to one.
Before the Holy One Praised be G-d took Israel out from Egypt, G-d let Israel know through a hint that they would only achieve a monarchy after thirty generations... the Moon is a 30 day cycle, and your monarchy will be the 30th generation. The Moon begins to shine on the first of the month of Nisan, and increases until it's disk is full on the 15th, and then the Moon's light decreases until it is not visible on the 30th of Nisan. So to is the case with Israel. There were 15 generations from Abraham to King Solomon. Abraham began to shine... when King Solomon came, the disk of the Moon was full.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
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