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☞   Rosh Ḥodesh Marḥeshvan (מַרְחֶשְׁוָן)

This is an archive of prayers and songs written for, or relevant to, Rosh Ḥodesh Marḥeshvan, the eighth month in the Jewish calendar.

Explaining the etymology of the name, Shlomo Zuckier writes at the Lehrhaus, “Like most Jewish months, Marḥeshvan adopts a Babylonian or Canaanite name, as the Yerushalmi tells us (see y. Rosh Hashana 1:2: אמר רבי חנינה שמות חדשי’ עלו בידם מבבל.) Those names usually have a particular, often seasonal meaning, like the Canaanite name for this month, “Bul” (the meaning of this name, which appears in the Bible, is controversial). But the Akkadian-Babylonian name Marḥeshvan that we know and love is a lot more boring. Marḥeshvan (מַרְחֶשְׁוָן) is an alternate version of the phrase Werach Shamnu (ורח שמנ), generated by the fluidity between the labials M-מ and W-ו in two places. Both versions mean, very simply, “the Eighth Month” (in Hebrew represented as ירח שמיני), as Marḥeshvan is, indeed, the eighth month when counting from Nisan!”

Click here to contribute a public reading you have written or selected for Rosh Ḥodesh Marḥeshvan.

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For prayers composed for Rosh Ḥodesh in general, visit here.

For public readings selected for Rosh Ḥodesh, visit here.

בִּרְכַּת הָאִילָנוֹת | The Blessing of Flowering Fruit Trees in the Spring Season

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Shared on ב׳ בניסן ה׳תשע״א (2011-04-05) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Pesaḥ, the Dry Season (Spring & Summer), Rosh Ḥodesh Nisan (נִיסָן), Rosh Ḥodesh Iyyar (אִיָיר), Rosh Ḥodesh Tishrei (תִּשְׁרֵי), Rosh Ḥodesh Marḥeshvan (מַרְחֶשְׁוָן)
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When the spring (Aviv) season arrives, a blessing is traditionally said when one is in view of at least two flowering fruit trees. In the northern hemisphere, it can be said anytime through the end of the month of Nissan (though it can still be said in Iyar). For those who live in the southern hemisphere, the blessing can be said during the month of Tishrei. . . .

Blessing for Rosh Ḥodesh Ḥeshvan, by Kohenet Ilana Joy Streit

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Shared on ל׳ בתשרי ה׳תש״פ (2019-10-28) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Rosh Ḥodesh Marḥeshvan (מַרְחֶשְׁוָן)
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A prayer for the month of Marḥeshvan (a/k/a Ḥeshvan) on Rosh Ḥodesh Marḥeshvan in the autumn season. . . .

תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מִבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ מַרְחֶשְׁוָן | Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Marḥeshvan (1877)

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Shared on ל׳ בתשרי ה׳תשע״ח (2017-10-19) — under the following terms: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license
Categories: Shabbat Məvorkhim, Rosh Ḥodesh Marḥeshvan (מַרְחֶשְׁוָן)
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To the best of my ability, this is a faithful transcription of the תְּחִנָה לְשַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חוֺדֶשׁ מַרְחֶשְׁוָן (“Tkhine for Shabbat Mevorkhim Rosh Ḥodesh Marḥeshvan”) which appeared in תחנות מקרא קודש (Teḥinot Miqra Qodesh, Widow and Brothers Romm, Vilna 1877). English translation adapted slightly from Techinas: A Voice from the Heart “As Only A Woman Can Pray” by Rivka Zakutinsky (Aura Press, 1992). –A.N. Varady . . .