Ya'aleh VeYavo
Added to the Amidah and to Birkat HaMazon. If forgotten in Shaharit or Minha, the Amidah is repeated; at night it is not.
Birkat HaMazonHolidaysThe new month · One or two days
Ya'aleh VeYavo, half Hallel, Musaf and Barkhi Nafshi: the Sephardic way to begin each month.
NextRosh Hodesh Kislev: Begins at sundown Monday, November 9 · ends at nightfall Wednesday, November 11, 2026
"This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2): the first mitzvah given to Israel as a people was to sanctify the new moon.
In Temple times the new month was declared by the court on the testimony of witnesses; since the fourth century we follow the fixed calendar of Hillel II. When a month has thirty days, Rosh Hodesh is two days: the 30th and the 1st of the next month.
The moon, which renews itself, is a sign of Israel: we too can always begin again.
In the synagogue
Added to the Amidah and to Birkat HaMazon. If forgotten in Shaharit or Minha, the Amidah is repeated; at night it is not.
Birkat HaMazonSephardim, following Maran, say the half Hallel of Rosh Hodesh without its blessing, because it is a custom and not a law of the Sages.
Psalm 104, "Bless the Lord, O my soul," is said on Rosh Hodesh.
The additional Amidah recalls the offerings of the new month.
Four aliyot
The daily, Shabbat and Rosh Hodesh offerings, in four aliyot.
Maftir from a second scroll.
Haftarah: Isaiah 66, "Hashamayim kis'i"
Through the month
On the Shabbat before, the new month is blessed in the synagogue, and in some communities the time of the molad is announced.
The blessing of the new moon is said outdoors on a clear night. Sephardim, following the Kabbalists, wait seven days after the molad, ideally on Motzaei Shabbat.
Tradition gave Rosh Hodesh to women, who refused to give their jewelry for the golden calf. Many women refrain from sewing and heavy housework on the day.
A nicer meal than usual, and extra charity in the morning.
Sephardic U media
Keep learning
Questions
No. Following Maran, Sephardim say the half Hallel of Rosh Hodesh without a blessing.
When the previous month has 30 days, its 30th day and the first of the new month are both Rosh Hodesh.
Yes. Many women keep a custom of refraining from sewing and heavy housework.
Sephardim wait seven days after the molad, and say it on a clear night until the middle of the month.