Pirkei d' R. Eliezer, 45
When the Jews asked Aaron to make them a golden calf, Aaron said to them, "Remove the rings that are in the ears of your wives (Sh'mot 32:2)." The women, however, did not agree to give their jewelry to their husbands. Rather, they said to them: "Should we make a calf which is an abomination and has no power to save us? We will not listen to you!" Hashem rewarded them in this world that they keep Rosh Chodesh more than the men do. He also rewarded them in the world to come that they will be renewed like the Roshei Chodoshim, as the verse says: "Your youth shall be renewed to be [as light] as an eagle (Tehillim 103:5)."
Rabbi Jill Hammer
When the Israelites in the wilderness gave their most beautiful materials for the making of the mishkan (the dwelling place of God's presence, coming from the same word as Shekhinah), women donated more than men. The Torah says that “the men gathered upon the women”, implying that the women were more quick to come to give the Shekhinah their treasures. Therefore, women refrain from weaving, spinning, and sewing on Rosh Chodesh in honor of their generosity and zealousness (Rashi on Megillah 22b). In this story, women are the most enthusiastic givers to the mishkan, which represents the indwelling Divine Presence. This parallels women's association with the Shekhinah.
וא"ר אחא בר חנינא א"ר אסי א"ר יוחנן כל המברך על החדש בזמנו כאילו מקבל פני שכינה כתיב הכא (שמות יב, ב) החדש הזה וכתיב התם (שמות טו, ב) זה אלי ואנוהו
R. Aha b. Hanina also said in the name of R. Assi in R. Johanan's name: Whoever pronounces the blessing over the new moon in its due time welcomes, as it were, the presence of the Shechinah: for one passage states, "This month;" while elsewhere it is said, "This is my God, and I will glorify Him."
Now the Shechinah never departed from the tent of Leah or the tent of Rachel...The truth is that during the lives of Rachel and Leah the Shechinah hovered over them
--Zohar 1:175b
Discussion Questions:
1. The shechina is the feminine presence of God that is imminent in the world. A lot of Jewish texts portray a masculine God on high. How does thinking about a divine presence in the shechina sense of the word change how you think about the divine? Is it easier for you or harder? Why do you think the imminent idea of a God that exists in the world, not up above, is associated with femininity?
2. Have you heard of Rosh Chodesh before? Have you ever celebrated it before? What would it mean to celebrate it every month?
3. What does it mean that in Judaism we take time every month to focus on women when in secular society it is one month a year? What do think about the fact that Judaism had a time carved out for women stretching back when we've only had one recently in the US?
4. What connections do you see between the cycle of the moon and women? Why do you think Rosh Chodesh is for women?