Mevarchim Hachodesh - Blessing the New Month (Part 2)
“The greatest darkness comes just before dawn –
but most people give up one minute before the light.”
Ba’al Shem Tov
Mevarchim HaChodesh opens with a heartfelt prayer: May it be Your Will, Hashem, our God and the God of our forefathers, that you inaugurate this month upon us for goodness and for blessing. May You grant us long life, a life of peace…
Each Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh the Shaliach Tzibur and the congregation announce together that the following week will herald in a new month. Mevarchim HaChodesh is recited on Shabbat because so many of the community are present in Shul and that way everyone will be aware of which month is approaching and on which day, or days, Rosh Chodesh will occur. It is, in a sense, a technical issue – so that everyone be mindful and prepare accordingly for the upcoming Rosh Chodesh . Although the underlying reasons for Mevarchim HaChodesh are practical, the Tefillot themselves are beautiful and evocative, replete with all the blessings that a person could possibly desire. And, as such, they should be savored and recited with great anticipation.
Within our Tefillah we ask Hashem to grant us long life – Chaim Aruchim. The Ponvizher Rav questions why we ask for long life each month. After all, Jewish months are either twenty-nine or thirty days long. It does not seem as if one can really describe one single month as “Chaim Aruchim”. The Ponvizher Rav offers a characteristically thought-provoking and uplifting answer:
The definition of “Chaim Aruchim” is not necessarily the amount of time that a person lives in this world. “Chaim Aruchim” can also be measured according to what a person achieves in the time they spend here. True, the maximum Jewish month is thirty days, but there is no limit to the amount of spiritual reward that a person can achieve in the space of one month!
That is what we mean when we beseech Hashem for “Chaim Aruchim”: we are asking for success in filling the new month to overflowing with mitzvot and good deeds. With Torah and spiritual growth. With drawing closer to our Father in Heaven. By doing so, we truly transform the new month into a source of “Chaim Aruchim”.
Rabbi Shraga Feivel Frank (1843-1886) was only forty-three years old when he was taken from this world. And yet, Rabbi Frank was someone who lived a long and illustrious life according to the Ponvizher Rav’s definition of “Chaim Aruchim”. Rabbi Frank was a very close Talmid of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter and was also one of the wealthiest people in Lithuania. He owned one of the largest leather factories in Eastern Europe and had an extensive portfolio of apartments, most of which were rented out to poor Jewish families for much less than the going rate.
Every Rosh Chodesh, Rabbi Frank’s estate manager would do the rounds to collect the monthly rent. Unbeknownst to his manager, however, on the day before Rosh Chodesh Rabbi Frank would visit those who were so needy that they were not able to pay even the nominal rent that he charged them, and before he left he would surreptitiously slip under the tablecloth an envelope filled with enough money to cover the amount owed. When his manager came the next day to collect the rent, the family was able to pay on time in a dignified manner.
Indisputablely, Rabbi Frank lived in this world for a comparatively short period of time. But equally indisputable is that his selflessness and concern for others ensured that each month that he lived was truly a month of “Chaim Aruchim”!
To be continued…
