Rosh Hodesh

or Rosh Cho·desh

[ rohsh khoh-desh; Ashkenazic Hebrew rohsh khoh-desh; Sephardic Hebrew rawsh khaw-desh ]

noun

, Judaism.

1. the beginning of a new month in the Jewish calendar, celebrated in a specified manner during the morning service in the synagogue.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Rosh Hodesh¹

From Hebrew rōsh ḥōdhesh literally, “beginning of the new moon”

Example Sentences

At last month’s Rosh Hodesh prayer, activists holding umbrellas emblazoned with the slogan “When we pray, it soars” were physically assaulted by unidentified men who wrestled away the umbrellas, breaking some of them.

From Washington Post

“We say it on Rosh Hodesh, the first day of the month celebration. It’s part of the Passover Seder,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

The group has since returned 11 times a year to pray on Rosh Hodesh, the first day of the Hebrew month, an occasion embraced by Jewish feminists.

From New York Times