Backyard Pomegranate in California, JHD
Although most of my updates are about adding new Gateways (content pages) and Pathways (posts), Wellsprings is also a bit like a garden that needs regular trimming, and planting to keep it thriving. Today I’ve updated the listings of retreat centers and outdoor adventure programs, and added some information on Urban Adamah, a Jewish farm in Berkeley, California, to pathway post about community gardens.
I watched a lot of moon videos to find you one that evokes a meditative feeling in a natural setting. Enjoy this new vid
eo in the Gateway of the Moon.
Thank you to the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem for permission to repost Melila Hellner-Eshed’s in-depth exploration of the development of an 
ancient Jewish legend about the moon. Previously I was only linking to this fascinating article, but now you can read the whole thing here on Wellsprings, illustrated with great moon photos and a painting by Marc Chagall. Enjoy!
Creative Commons photos are linked back to their original sites so that you can explore the work of that photographer. Remember, you can see photo credits on hover, except for the large “Featured Images” for each post, which are credited and linked (where applicable) at the foot of each post.
More Moon Lore: Gateway of the Moon
הַחֹ֧דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֛ה לָכֶ֖ם רֹ֣אשׁ חֳדָשִׁ֑ים רִאשׁ֥וֹן הוּא֙ לָכֶ֔ם לְחָדְשֵׁ֖י הַשָּׁנָֽה׃
This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.
Rosh Hodesh, also spelled Rosh Chodesh (“Ch” as in “Bach”), is the celebration of the new Hebrew month, an ancient festival finding renewal among contemporary Jews.
Its a moon song
Bubbling up and over me
Darkness, sets my spirit free.
Rosh Hodesh, enchanted time to hallow the month
וַיַּ֣עַשׂ אֱלֹהִ֔ים אֶת־שְׁנֵ֥י הַמְּאֹרֹ֖ת הַגְּדֹלִ֑ים אֶת־הַמָּא֤וֹר הַגָּדֹל֙ לְמֶמְשֶׁ֣לֶת הַיּ֔וֹם וְאֶת־הַמָּא֤וֹר הַקָּטֹן֙ לְמֶמְשֶׁ֣לֶת הַלַּ֔יְלָה וְאֵ֖ת הַכּוֹכָבִֽים׃
God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule by day and the lesser light to rule by night, and the stars.
The Torah depicts Sun and Moon being created together on the Fourth Day* of Creation. But the Midrash, an ancient genre that includes imaginative “back stories” of the Torah, depicts a legendary struggle for dominance in which the moon wanted to have a greater role.
If you enjoy the nature photography on Wellsprings of Wisdom, I invite you to follow Wellsprings on Instagram. All of the photos(and videos) there are my personal work–or should I say, play? I share them in the hope of helping people to see the world with new eyes, to appreciate the beauty of our natural world (and some of our human creations) and our capacity to enjoy it all as a divine gift.
The New Moon tonight signals the beginning of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan חֶשְׁוָן begi
ns tonight. (This is the month with no holidays, right after Tishre תִּשְׁרֵי which has the most holidays.) In honor of Rosh Hodesh, the celebration of the New Month, enjoy a beautiful song, Rosh Hodesh Moon, by Rabbi Geela Rayzel Raphael. It’s the second post in the new Gateway of the Moon.
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