Kiddush levana, also known as Birkat halevana, is a Jewish ritual and prayer service, generally observed on the first or second Saturday night of each Hebrew month. The service includes a blessing to God for the appearance of the new moon and further readings depending on custom. In most communities, ritual elements include the shalom aleikhem greeting and jumping toward the moon, with some also incorporating kabbalistic practices.
The oldest part of Kiddush levana, the blessing, is described by the Talmud. Other elements were introduced by Massechet Soferim in the 8th century, although their ultimate origin is obscure. In the years since, different Jewish communities have incorporated various quotations from the Bible and Talmud, liturgical compositions, and mystical customs into their version of the ritual. In the Ashkenazic rite it is an individual recitation, but a cantor may lead in Mizrahi communities. In Orthodox Judaism, it is almost exclusively reserved for men, but non-Orthodox Kiddush levana may involve men, women, or both.
Kiddush levana has featured in popular artwork, poems, jokes, stories, and folklore. Tunes based on its liturgy, especially "David Melekh Yisrael Hai veKayyam" and "Siman Tov uMazel Tov Yehei Lanu ulkhol Yisrael", have spread far beyond the original ritual. Marcia Falk has called it Judaism's most "colorful and intriguing" liturgy, while to Shai Secunda it is "one of the most peculiar and mysterious".Secunda, Shai (2011). "Did you say magic?". Segula. 3: 64.
Since the 15th century, Kiddush levana has been "a highly visible target for rationalist critiques, both Jewish and non-Jewish". Generations of the Authorised Daily Prayer Book expurgated all ritual elements,Singer, Simeon (1904). Authorised Daily Prayer Book. 7th ed., London. p. 292. Retrieved January 14, 2025 - via Internet Archive. Includes only the blessing itself.Hertz, Joseph H. (ed.) (1960). The Authorised Daily Prayer Book. Rev. ed., 9th printing. pp. 994–995. Retrieved January 8, 2025 - via HebrewBooks. Includes the blessing itself and verses from Psalms, eliminating all other elements.Drazin, Israel (2008). "The Origin of the 'Sanctification of the Moon'". Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind. pp. 235–245. and some other 20th-century prayerbooks ignored it entirely. Isidor Grunfeld complains, "I do not know why this beautiful prayer has been omitted from Singer's Prayerbook, which is generally used by English Jews." Hirsch, Samson Raphael (1967). Horeb. Vol. 1. p. 167. By the 1970s, it was widely described as defunct,Klein, Isaac (1979). A Guide to Jewish religious practice. New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America. pp. 266–267. Retrieved January 27, 2025 - via Internet Archive. In 2016, the same author published a follow-up focusing on roundness in Judaic tradition: "Roundness and Redemption: A New Spin on Latkes". CCAR Journal. 63 (4): 146–152. Retrieved January 9, 2025 - via Internet Archive. although it soon began to regain Orthodox popularity. Retrieved January 19, 2025 - via JSTOR. In 1992, Chabad announced a campaign to popularize its observance.Touger, Eli & Malka. "The Rebbe's Kiddush Levanah". Chabad.org. Retrieved January 9, 2025. The intention may have been to further messianic ambitions; see Wolf, Shalom Duber (Fall 2022). Kiddush levana (in Hebrew). pp. - n. 16. Retrieved July 16, 2025 - via Chabad.info.
As of 2024, Kiddush levana is included with ritual elements in all mainstream Orthodox prayerbooks, including recent editions of the Authorised Daily Prayer Book.Davis, Eleanor (March 2024). Renewing the New Moon: Kiddush levanah and Progressive Judaism. Leo Baeck College (MA thesis). p. 49. It is endorsed by Conservative Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, and Jewish Renewal. Although Kiddush levana remains controversial within Reform Judaism, it has recently been endorsed by Dalia Marx, Sylvia Rothschild, and other Reform leaders. Since 1976, many non-Orthodox women's groups have adopted Kiddush levana, and non-Orthodox masculine versions began appearing circa 1993. The ritual has been adapted for use in same-sex weddings,Greenberg, Steven (2009). "A Jewish Ritual of Same Sex Union?". in Authorizing Marriage?. pp. 99–101. Retrieved 28 January 2025 – via KolSasson.net. Ibid. (2013). "Restoring the Moon: The Ritual of Kiddush Levanah". Sh'ma. 40/671. p. 13. Compare ibid. (2004). "Restoring the Moon: The Ritual of Kiddush Levanah". Wrestling with God. pp. 55–56. Retrieved March 23, 2025 – via Google Books. The same author published "A Marvelous Night for a Moon Dance: Reflections on Kiddush Levana". Spirit and Story. Retrieved 1-28-25. coming-out ceremonies, Brit bats, and the 2024 solar eclipse. It continues to evolve.
Development
The Talmud includes many blessings for the occasion of observing natural phenomena, but only the blessing over the moon has expanded into an elaborate service.Goodrich Freer, Ada (1903). "Some Jewish Folklore from Jerusalem". Foklore. 15: 187. Retrieved November 26, 2025 - via Google Books. Arian (1979) pp. 97–98. Shpigel, Boaz (1997). "Hachodesh hazeh lakhem". Daf Shevui #178. Merkaz leLimudei Yesod beYahadut. Retrieved January 22, 2025 – via Wayback Machine. Wolf, Shalom Duber (Fall 2022). Kiddush levana (in Hebrew). p. . Retrieved July 16, 2025 - via Chabad.info. Fishbane, Simcha (May 27, 2025). "Selenolatry and Judaism: The Sanctification of the Moon prayer". Canadian Society for Jewish Studies (Unpublished draft). pp. 7-8. Cf. Baadani, Netanel (2012). Friedman, Shamma (ed.). Hayu Bodeqin (in Hebrew). pp. 131, 135. Retrieved January 22, 2025 - via HaIggud leFarshanut haTalmud Kiddush levana is generally understood to have resulted from the special importance provided to the moon by the rituals associated with declaring a new calendar month, which date back at least to the Second Temple period. Some scholars say that Kiddush levana evolved under their influence,Y. Berakhot 9:2 attributes a relevant ruling to Rabbi Yose (2nd century), although b. Sanhedrin 42a repeats the same in the name of Rav Assi (3rd century). The Sefer haOreh 1:172 quotes Rabbi Joshua (2nd century). Exodus Rabbah II (ch. 15) reports: "What blessing is recited upon seeing the moon? In the time when Israel declared calendar months, some of the rabbis would say . . ." Modern scholars who believe Kiddush levana was introduced before the fixing of the calendar include ; Robinson, Ganana (1975). The Origin and Development of the Old Testament Sabbath. pp. 74–75; Chelst, Dov (May 1990). "It Began Many Moons Ago" in Hamevaser 21:6, pp. 4–5; Brody, Robert (1998). The Geonim of Babylonia and the Shaping of Medieval Jewish Culture. p. 119; Ydit, Meir (2007). "Moon, Blessing of the". Encyclopedia Judaica. 2nd ed. Vol. 14. Macmillan Reference US. p. 468; Eidelheit, Gadi (2014). "Kiddush hahodesh vekiddush halevena" (in Hebrew). Qovetz shenati. Hamerkaz hakehilati. pp. 91–100. One specific theory is expounded in Schwarz, Jacob D. (1906). The New Moon Benediction. Hebrew Union College (Thesis). Retrieved January 20, 2025 - via HUC Library. while others say it was intended to replace these rituals, abandoned after the Hebrew calendar was fixed in the 4th century.Weisstein, Moshe Shmuel (1897). Derekh emunah (in Hebrew). p. 246. (1960). "Kiddush hachodesh vekiddush levana" (in Hebrew) . Torah she-be-al peh. 2: 89–103. . Reprinted several times in other periodicals, slightly abridged. (1980). Kevutzei yahad (in Hebrew). pp. 77–80. (1995). Mo'adei yisrael bitkufat hamishnah vehatalmud. pp. 40–41 (in Hebrew). Shpigel, Boaz (1997). "Hachodesh hazeh lakhem" (in Hebrew). Daf Shevui #178. Merkaz leLimudei Yesod beYahadut. Retrieved January 22, 2025 - via Wayback Machine. Lau, Binyamin (1998). "Kiddush Levanah – the Development of a Bracha". ORT.org. Archived on Wayback Machine on April 23, 1999; accessed January 22, 2025. Brody, Shlomo (March 7, 2008). "Ask the Rabbi: Baffling Blessing: What is Behind the Sanctification of the Moon." The Jerusalem Post. p. C39. ; Fishbane, Simcha (May 27, 2025). "Selenolatry and Judaism: The Sanctification of the Moon prayer". Canadian Society for Jewish Studies (Unpublished draft). p. 8 n. 24, "Professor B. Brown has suggested to me that the reason for the blessing for the moon is connected to the destruction of the Jerusalem temple and the end of the court’s sanctification of the new month".