Rosh Chodesh – Hebrew for “head of the month” – is the monthly holiday that celebrates the arrival of the new moon, marking the start of a new month in the Jewish calendar. Because each lunar month is 29.5 days, the Jewish calendar “splits the difference”: some months are 29 days and others 30. When a month is 29 days, Rosh Chodesh is celebrated for one day – the first day of the new month. When a month is 30 days, Rosh Chodesh is celebrated for two days – the last day of the prior month and the first day of the new month. Jews are moon gazers. We look to the heavens to know if it’s a new month and even a new year. We start many of our favorite holidays when the moon is full and bursting with light – like the spring freedom festival of Passover and the fall harvest festival of Sukkot. And since the moon is a master of renewal, that inspires us: sometimes in our lives we surge, sometimes we shrink, but we know that each month, like the moon, we have a chance to find new strength and energy.