Rosh Chodesh, the Jewish celebration of the New Moon, is considered a holiday for women. As a part of the celebration of this holiday, women are exempt from working.
Why is it that in Jewish tradition women have a specific holiday dedicated to them?
Because of the honorable actions of the ancient Israelite women.
You will remember the midrash of how Miriam was responsible for the birth of her younger brother Moses. Moses' father, upon hearing the edict that Pharoah ordered all male Jewish babies to be killed, he decided to divorce his wife, so that they would have no more children. It is said that Miriam accused her father of killing the Jewish people, because he had decided that there would no longer be any male OR female children, which was worse than Pharoah's decree. Upon hearing that, Miriam's father did not divorce his wife, and instead Moses was born.
A parallel midrash states that Miriam's family was not the only family to face this situation. The majority of the male population in Egypt had lost hope of ever seeing a better life, and wanted to divorce in order to prevent the next generation from being born into slavery. The women, however, had faith that there would be better days ahead, and beautified themselves in order to entice their husbands to return to them. Later on in Parsha Shemot, the Rabbis tell us that the women of Israel donated their copper mirrors towards the building of the Mishkan - these would be the same mirrors they used to beautify themselves while in slavery in Egypt.
You will also remember the midrash of the actions of the men and women during the incident with the golden calf. It is said that the women did not want to participate in the building of the golden calf, and refused to give up their jewelry to be used to mold the idol. The men tried to take the jewelry by force, but the women resisted. In the end, the men had to give up their own precious metals for the making of the calf. In contrast, when Moses asked the people to provide precious metals for use in the making of the Mishkan, the women gladly gave their jewelry, the same jewelry their husbands wanted to use in the calf, to the cause.
As a result of the Israelite women keeping their faith in God and hope in the establishment of a true Jewish community, at the dedication of the Mishkan, the women received the holiday of Rosh Chodesh Nissan. The Rabbis conclude that the custom of women celebrating all Rosh Chodesh days as work-free holidays derived from this original declaration.
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