This Jewish Ritual Helps Me and My Family Slow Down

At the end of the school year, I had a very particular vision of summer.

There would be long, leisurely afternoons in the garden. My daughter would need little more than her imagination and some markers to entertain herself for hours. The baby would finally get his nap schedule down, and I’d get so much work done while he slept. 

A girl can dream, right? 

In reality, by 10 a.m., I’ve usually had at least two arguments about screen time, pulled multiple mystery objects out of the baby’s mouth (when did he start crawling so fast?!) and attempted to balance work deadlines with camp schedules.

I was foolishly optimistic at the beginning of the summer, hoping it would be a season of slowing down. Instead, it feels just as busy as the school year, only hotter. Which is why I was delighted to stumble across a Jewish practice I hadn’t encountered before: blessing the new moon.

I believe one of the most remarkable aspects of Judaism is the way it encourages us to notice things we might otherwise overlook. Jewish tradition is filled with brachot, blessings that invite us to pause and pay attention. There are blessings for bread and wine, blessings for experiencing something new, blessings for seeing a rainbow and even blessings for using the bathroom. The message is simple but profound: Gratitude is not reserved for life’s biggest moments. It belongs in everyday life, too.

When it comes to the moon, there are actually several rituals, with names like Kiddush Levanah and Birkat HaChodesh, which refer to slightly different customs and practices. What interests me, though, isn’t the halachic fine print, but the basic idea of pausing to welcome a new moon, and with it, a new Hebrew month. 

In a world where most of us spend our days staring at screens — and trying to get our kids to stop staring at theirs — that feels surprisingly radical.

This strikes me as the perfect family activity for summer. My daughter is staying up later anyway. The evenings are warm. The fireflies are out. Why not add “moon hunting” to the list of things we’re doing after dinner?

Children are natural observers of the world around them. They notice worms on the sidewalk, oddly shaped clouds and the first dandelion that pops up in the spring. My daughter can spot a rabbit from a moving car at a distance that seems almost supernatural. Kids are already paying attention to nature; adults are often the ones who have forgotten how. This Jewish ritual encourages adults to delight in what our children are doing simply by existing — a very Jewish practice in itself. 

What I love about the blessing of the moon is that it takes that instinct and gives it a Jewish framework. It reminds us that Judaism isn’t only something that happens in synagogues or around holiday tables. It’s something that happens all around us, even — especially — under the night sky.

The Hebrew calendar itself follows the lunar cycle. For thousands of years, the appearance of the moon has marked the passage of Jewish time. Yet it can be easy to lose sight of that connection, especially when we are already on edge from surviving the daily grind. Summer has a way of rushing by before I realize it’s gone. Perhaps that’s why the blessing of the moon appeals to me so much right now. It asks us to pause for a moment, step outside and notice something beautiful that has been there all along. Whether or not your family is religious in the traditional sense, looking up and talking about the new moon’s importance to Judaism — and the thousands of years of ritual around it — can be a lovely activity.

So sometime after the next new moon, when the first thin sliver of the waxing moon becomes visible, I’ll tuck the baby into bed, gather my daughter, and head outside. There may be complaints about bugs, debates about bedtime and requests for one last snack.

But for a few minutes, we’ll be standing together under the same sky, searching for the same crescent moon that generations of Jews have watched for before us. And in the midst of a season that rushes by, that small act of paying attention feels meaningful.

The moon will continue its journey whether we acknowledge it or not. Judaism, in its wisdom, simply gives us a reason to look up and appreciate it.

If you’d like to recite the formal blessing over the new moon, with your family or by yourself, here it is: 

“Praised are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who created (bara’) the skies with his word, and all heaven’s host with the breath of his mouth. He gave them appointed times and roles, and they never miss their cues, doing their Creator’s (konam) bidding with gladness and joy. He is the true creator (po’el) who acts faithfully, and he has told the moon to renew itself. It is a beautiful crown for the people carried by God from birth (Israel), who will likewise be renewed in the future in order to proclaim the beauty of their creator (yotsram) for his glorious majesty. Praised are you, O Lord, who renews new moons. (Sanhedrin 42a)”