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רָאשֵׁי חֳדָשִׁים

Roshei Chodashim: the Musaf of the new month

The Rosh Chodesh Musaf: the new month's offerings, and a request to bring them again.

Daven with it Read it here

Draft. This siddur is waiting for a rav's review. For a halachic question, ask your rav.

At a glance

When: Said on Rosh Chodesh.
Offering it recalls: 2 bulls, 1 ram, 7 lambs, 1 goat
Surprising fact: Same animals as a day of Pesach
Written out in: Machzor Vitry (France, around 1100) and the Rambam

The words

Hebrew, then English. Open "What it means" under any line for the explanation.

Start of the fourth of the seven blessings of the Rosh Chodesh Musaf Amidah. (On Shabbat Rosh Chodesh, say Atah Yatzarta instead.)
רָאשֵׁי חֳדָשִׁים לְעַמְּךָ נָתַתָּ, זְמַן כַּפָּרָה לְכָל תּוֹלְדוֹתָם,
The start of each month You gave to Your people, a time of atonement for all their generations,
What it means
You gave Your people the start of each month, a time of atonement for all their generations,
Shibbolei HaLeket (a medieval book of Jewish law and custom) quotes the author's brother on "to Your people." He ties it to Shemot 12:2, "This month is for you." The secret of the moon's cycle, he says, was handed to Israel and to no other nation.
Shibbolei HaLeket 176:2; Shemot 12:2
בִּהְיוֹתָם מַקְרִיבִים לְפָנֶיךָ זִבְחֵי רָצוֹן, וּשְׂעִירֵי חַטָּאת לְכַפֵּר בַּעֲדָם,
when they would bring before You offerings of favor, and sin-offering goats to atone for them.
What it means
The Gemara (the rabbis' long discussions of the Mishnah, the early collection of the Sages' rulings) has God say about the Rosh Chodesh goat: "Bring an atonement for Me, because I made the moon smaller." Shibbolei HaLeket calls this line a rewording of that, which is why it says "to atone for them." The Ribon HaOlamim prayer tells the moon story.
Shibbolei HaLeket 176:5; Chullin 60b
זִכָּרוֹן לְכֻלָּם יִהְיוּ, וּתְּשׁוּעַת נַפְשָׁם מִיַּד שׂוֹנֵא.
They would be a reminder for all of them, and the rescue of their souls from the hand of an enemy.
What it means
Kol Bo (a medieval collection of laws and customs) quotes a reading of "an enemy": the urge to do wrong, the foe that lies in wait to make a person sin. On that reading, the goat keeps Israel remembered before God so they can be saved from it.
Kol Bo 43:9
מִזְבֵּחַ חָדָשׁ בְּצִיּוֹן תָּכִין, וְעוֹלַת רֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ נַעֲלֶה עָלָיו,
A new altar in Zion You will set up, and the burnt offering of Rosh Chodesh we will bring up on it,
What it means
You will set up a new altar in Zion, and we will bring up on it the burnt offering of Rosh Chodesh,
Shibbolei HaLeket says this line is spelled out in the vision of Yechezkel (Ezekiel), in the reading from the Prophets that includes "In the first month, on the first of the month." There the new-moon offering is one bull and six lambs (46:6), not the Torah's two and seven. The Gemara reads that as the amount to bring when you cannot find the full number.
Shibbolei HaLeket 176:8; Yechezkel 46:6; Menachot 45a
וּשְׂעִירֵי עִזִּים נַעֲשֶׂה בְרָצוֹן, וּבַעֲבוֹדַת בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ נִשְׂמַח כֻּלָּנוּ,
and goats we will offer with favor, and in the service of the Temple we will all rejoice,
What it means
and we will offer goats with favor, and in the service of the Temple we will all rejoice,
Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (1700s), in his book Petach Einayim, suggests "all of us" means men and women: in the future, he says, Rosh Chodesh will be a festival for the men too. The hard question on women and Rosh Chodesh tells why the day went to the women.
Petach Einayim on Shevuot 9a; Tur, Orach Chaim 417
וּבְשִׁירֵי דָּוִד עַבְדָּךְ הַנִשְׁמָעִים בְּעִירָךְ הָאֲמוּרִים לִפְנֵי מִזְבָּחָךְ.
and in the songs of David, Your servant, that are heard in Your city and said before Your altar.
What it means
In King Chizkiyahu's day, "when the burnt offering began, the song of Hashem began" (Divrei HaYamim, also called Chronicles, II 29:27). Songs went with the offering. Shibbolei HaLeket adds: having mentioned the Temple, the prayer now mentions David, who gave himself for it.
Divrei HaYamim II 29:27; Shibbolei HaLeket 176:9
אַהֲבַת עוֹלָם תָּבִיא לָהֶם, וּבְרִית אָבוֹת לְבָּנִים תִּזְכּוֹר.
You will bring them everlasting love, and You will remember the covenant of the fathers for their children.
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁתַּעֲלֵנוּ בְשִׂמְחָה לְאַרְצֵנוּ וְתִטָּעֵנוּ בִּגְבוּלֵנוּ,
May it be Your will, Hashem, our God and God of our ancestors, that You bring us up with joy to our land and plant us within our borders,
וְשָׁם נַעֲשֶׂה לְפָנֶיךָ אֶת קָרְבְּנוֹת חוֹבוֹתֵינוּ, תְּמִידִים כְּסִדְרָם וּמוּסָפִים כְּהִלְכָתָם.
and there we will make before You the offerings we owe, the daily offerings in their order, and the extra offerings by their law.
What it means
The prayer said just before the daily offering passage in the morning makes the same kind of promise: "we will bring before You the daily offering to atone for us, as You wrote for us in Your Torah." Both then lead into the Torah's own verses.
Siddur Sefard, the prayer before Parashat HaTamid
אֶת מוּסַף יוֹם רֹאשׁ הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה, נַעֲשֶׂה וְנַקְרִיב לְפָנֶיךָ בְּאַהֲבָה כְּמִצְוַת רְצוֹנָךְ,
The Musaf offering of this day of Rosh Chodesh we will make and bring before You with love, as the commandment of Your will,
What it means
Why can Musaf be said any time that day? The Gemara answers: the Musaf offering was brought all day. Rabbi Yehudah, one of the Sages of the Mishnah, limits it to the first seven hours of the day, since he holds that is how long the offering could be brought.
Berakhot 26b
כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַבְתָּ עָלֵינוּ בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ עַל יְדֵי מֹשֶׁה עַבְדָּךְ מִפִּי כְבוֹדֶךָ כָּאָמוּר.
as You wrote for us in Your Torah through Moshe, Your servant, from the mouth of Your glory, as it is said:
What it means
Shibbolei HaLeket says that once you have said "from the mouth of Your glory," you have done your duty even if you skip the verses below. He bases it on a rule in the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 35a): once you say "and in Your Torah it is written," you no longer need to say the verses themselves. He adds: our custom is to say them.
Shibbolei HaLeket 176:10; Rosh Hashanah 35a
Bamidbar 28:11:
וּבְרָאשֵׁי חָדְשֵׁיכֶם תַּקְרִיבוּ עֹלָה לַייָ, פָּרִים בְּנֵי בָקָר שְׁנַיִם וְאַיִל אֶחָד, כְּבָשִׂים בְּנֵי שָׁנָה שִׁבְעָה תְּמִימִם.
And on the heads of your months you shall bring a burnt offering to Hashem: two bulls from the herd, and one ram, lambs in their first year, seven, without blemish.
What it means
And on the first days of your months you shall bring a burnt offering to Hashem: two bulls from the herd, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish.
The Ribon HaOlamim prayer tells why some also add these verses to the morning offering passage and others do not.
Shulchan Aruch and Rema, Orach Chaim 48:1
A summary, in the prayer's own words, of what Bamidbar 28:12-15 requires:
וּמִנְחָתָם וְנִסְכֵּיהֶם כַּמְדֻבָּר. שְׁלֹשָׁה עֶשְׂרֹנִים לַפָּר וּשְׁנֵי עֶשְׂרֹנִים לָאָיִל וְעִשָּׂרוֹן לַכֶּבֶשׂ, וְיַיִן כְּנִסְכּוֹ, וְשָׂעִיר לְכַפֵּר, וּשְׁנֵי תְמִידִים כּהִלְכָתָם.
And their grain offerings and drink offerings as specified: three tenths for the bull, and two tenths for the ram, and a tenth for the lamb, and wine like its drink offering, and a goat to atone, and the two daily offerings by their law.
What it means
And their grain offerings and drink offerings as specified: three tenths for the bull, two tenths for the ram, a tenth for the lamb, and wine like its drink offering, and a goat to atone, and the two daily offerings by their law.
"As specified" points to Parashat Pinchas, where each amount is written out. Shibbolei HaLeket reads it as "as it was spoken from God's own mouth." The prayer says only "wine like its drink offering." The Torah gives the wine: half a hin (a liquid measure) per bull, a third per ram, a quarter per lamb.
Shibbolei HaLeket 176:11; Bamidbar 28:14

How to say it

The custom is to take off tefillin before Musaf on Rosh Chodesh (Shulchan Aruch, the main code of Jewish law).

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 423:4

The story

A rabbi who threw dirt at the moon

Rabbi Chiyya, a sage in the time of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi (the editor of the Mishnah), once saw the old moon hanging in the morning sky on the 29th of the month. That evening the court needed witnesses to spot the new moon. So he picked up a clump of earth, threw it at the moon and said: "Tonight we have to declare you new, and you are standing here? Go hide." The Gemara (the rabbis' discussions built on the Mishnah) tells the story. In those days a month began when witnesses saw the new moon and told the court.

Rosh Hashanah 25a; Rambam, Laws of Sanctifying the New Month 5:2

Almost every phrase has a verse behind it

Rabbi David Abudarham (a Spanish rabbi who explained the prayers, around 1340) finds a verse behind nearly every phrase of this paragraph. "Heads of months": "This month is the first of the months of the year for you" (Shemot 12:2). "A reminder for all of them": the trumpets on new moons, "and they will be a reminder for you before your God" (Bamidbar 10:10). "A new altar": the rules for the altar "on the day it is built" (Yechezkel 43:18). "Everlasting love": "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Yirmiyahu 31:3).

Abudarham, Rosh Chodesh; Shemot 12:2; Bamidbar 10:10; Yechezkel 43:18

Same animals as Pesach

On Rosh Chodesh the Musaf offering was two bulls, one ram, seven lambs and one goat. Turn to Bamidbar 28 and each day of Pesach has exactly the same list. A Shabbat Musaf is only two lambs. So the first of an ordinary month got the offering of a festival, even though the Shulchan Aruch (the main code of Jewish law) rules that work is allowed on Rosh Chodesh.

Bamidbar 28:9-24; Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 417:1

You heard these verses a few minutes ago

On Rosh Chodesh the Torah reading is the passage about the offerings. The Tur (a law code from Spain, 1300s) and Abudarham describe it: four people are called up, and the fourth starts at "Uvroshei chodsheichem" and reads to the end of the passage. Those are the verses this prayer quotes. After the reading come Ashrei and Uva LeTzion, and then Musaf. The Kiyor page explains the Gemara's teaching that reading the order of the offerings is counted "as if" they were brought.

Tur, Orach Chaim 423; Abudarham, Rosh Chodesh

Who wrote it?

No source we opened names an author. Two early written versions are in the Machzor Vitry (a prayer book from northern France, around 1100) and in the Rambam's order of prayer (Maimonides, the great medieval codifier, died 1204). The Machzor Vitry asks for the return differently: "bring us to Zion, Your city, with joyful song." The Rambam's version asks "bring us up to our land," closer to our siddur's "bring us up in joy to our land and plant us within our borders." So the wording has varied.

Machzor Vitry, Laws of Rosh Chodesh 232; Rambam, Order of Prayer 3:4

The last time Jews came back, the altar came first

This prayer asks for a new altar and a return to the land. The book of Ezra (which tells of the return from Babylon) says what the returning exiles did first: they built the altar and began bringing offerings on the first day of the seventh month, "though the Temple of Hashem had not been founded." The offerings they restored included those "for the new moons." The Gemara adds that a prophet who came up with them testified that offerings may be brought even when there is no Temple building.

Ezra 3:2-6; Zevachim 62a

Hard questions

The prayer asks God to set up a "new altar." What would be new about it?

The line reads: "A new altar in Zion You will set up, and the Rosh Chodesh burnt offering we will bring up on it." It sounds as if the old altar is gone for good and something different is coming.

But the Rambam (Maimonides, who died in 1204) writes that the altar stood in one exact spot that may never be moved. His proof is the verse "This is the altar for the burnt offering of Israel," and he adds that Yitzchak was bound at the Temple site. So "new" cannot mean a new place.

When the exiles came back from Babylon, they "set up the altar on its bases" (Ezra 3:3). The Gemara adds that one of the prophets who came up with them testified to the altar's exact place (Zevachim 62a).

Abudarham (a Spanish commentator on the prayers, 1300s) finds the source of this line in Yechezkel's vision of a rebuilt Temple: "These are the laws of the altar on the day it is made" (Yechezkel 43:18). Shibbolei HaLeket (an Italian book of law from the 1200s) also sends the line to Yechezkel, to the passage that begins "In the first month, on the first of the month" (Yechezkel 45:18).

There is a catch. Yechezkel's list for the new moon is one bull, six lambs and a ram (Yechezkel 46:6). The Torah's list, the one our prayer quotes, is two bulls, seven lambs and a ram (Bamidbar 28:11). The Gemara answers: Yechezkel teaches that if you cannot find two bulls you bring one, and if you cannot find seven lambs, six (Menachot 45a). It also says the book of Yechezkel, whose words seemed to contradict the Torah, would have been hidden away if not for Chananya ben Chizkiyah, who sat in an upper room with 300 jugs of oil and explained them (Chagigah 13a).

No source we opened says outright what "new" means in this line. One way to fit them together: the altar will be newly built, on the same spot, as it was after Babylon. That is a reading, not a quote from any of them.

Mishneh Torah, The Chosen Temple 2:1,Ezra 3:3,Zevachim 62a,Abudarham, Rosh Chodesh 14,Yechezkel 43:18 and 46:6,Shibbolei HaLeket 176:8,Bamidbar 28:11,Menachot 45a,Chagigah 13a

Why does a prayer for the first of the month ask to be rescued from an enemy?

Near the start, the prayer says the offerings "would be a reminder for all of them, and the rescue of their souls from the hand of an enemy." Rosh Chodesh is not a war day. So who is the enemy?

Abudarham (a Spanish commentator on the prayers, 1300s) gives two answers. One comes from the Torah. Bamidbar 10:9 says that when Israel goes to war against "the foe who attacks you" and blows trumpets, "you will be remembered before Hashem your God and saved from your enemies." The next verse says that on festivals and at the start of your months you blow trumpets over the offerings, and "they will be a reminder for you before your God." Abudarham matches "a reminder" to the second verse and "rescue from an enemy" to the first.

The other answer he brings from others: the enemy is the urge to do wrong. In his words, it is the foe that attacks, hates and lies in wait. The Kol Bo (a medieval book of customs) quotes an earlier scholar with the same reading and ties it to the goat. The sin offering is a reminder before Hashem, so that we are saved from "the foe who attacks" and waits to make a person sin.

Notice that the prayer says "their souls." Abudarham offers the second reading as what "some explain" and does not argue with it. The sources leave both readings standing: an enemy outside, and one inside.

Abudarham, Rosh Chodesh 14,Bamidbar 10:9-10,Kol Bo 43:9

Why do many women treat Rosh Chodesh as a half-holiday?

Nothing in this prayer is about women, but Rosh Chodesh has a custom that is. The Shulchan Aruch rules that work is permitted on Rosh Chodesh, and that women who refrain from work then are keeping "a good custom." The Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles, who added Ashkenazi practice to it) adds that if a place avoids some jobs and not others, you follow the local custom.

Where does it come from? The Tur says it is already in the Talmud Yerushalmi (the Gemara of the Land of Israel): "These women who do not do work on the first of the month, it is a custom." He then gives two reasons.

The first is from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (a midrash that retells the Torah's stories). When Aharon asked for gold earrings, the women refused to give theirs to their husbands for the golden calf. So the men gave their own: the midrash notices that the verse says the people took off the rings "in their ears," not "in their wives' ears." God rewarded the women: they would observe Rosh Chodesh more than the men.

The second reason, which the Tur heard from his brother, is this: the twelve Rosh Chodesh days match the twelve tribes. After the tribes sinned with the calf, those days were taken from them and given to their wives, as a sign that the women had no part in that sin.

Two cautions. The Torah's own telling does not say the women refused. Shemot 32:2 says Aharon asked for the rings of "your wives, your sons and your daughters," and verse 3 says "all the people" took off the rings in their ears. The refusal comes from the midrash. And the practice is a custom, not a command: the Shulchan Aruch says outright that work is allowed.

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 417:1,Tur, Orach Chaim 417,Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 45,Shemot 32:2-3

Sparks

Short ideas from the Chassidic masters, the Kabbalah and the Mussar teachers.

Rav Kook

Your soul gets renewed like the moon

Rav Kook (the first Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel, who died in 1935) uses this exact phrase. He says the new months are a time of atonement because the souls of Israel are renewed the way the moon is: its face is covered, and then its light comes back. Now read "a time of atonement" again.

וראשי חדשים הם זמן כפרה לישראל, שנפשותיהם של ישראל מתחדשות כמו שהלבנה מתחדשת

Rav Kook, Olat Re'iyah, on the Rosh Hashanah Musaf

Maharal

A fresh start is hard to picture

The Gemara says Moshe found three things hard to grasp until God pointed with a finger, and one was the new moon. The Maharal (Rabbi Yehudah Loew of Prague, who died in 1609) explains why. Something new comes after nothing, so it does not connect to what came before. That makes it feel far from the way the world normally continues. A real new beginning is hard to imagine.

וההתחדשות הירח, הוא רחוק מן מציאות, כי חדוש הדבר אחר ההעדר

Maharal, Gur Aryeh on Vayikra 11:1; Menachot 29a

Chassidut

Why Israel counts by the moon

The Sefat Emet (Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter of Ger, a Chassidic leader who died in 1905) quotes a midrash: the nations count by the sun, Israel by the moon. His reason is that Israel hold on to the renewal of time, and they stand above ordinary time and nature. So Israel were given the moon, and with it the power to draw out the life in every part of each month, since they sanctify the month.

במדרש שבני ישראל מונין ללבנה ואומות לחמה

Sefat Emet, Parashat HaChodesh, 5635 (1875)

Chassidut

The moon has no light of its own

Rabbi Natan of Breslov (the main student of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, a Chassidic master who died in 1810) says the moon is a picture of faith. It has no light of its own, only what it receives from the sun. Faith is the same: it is where your own mind cannot reach, so you lean on what you received from your ancestors and the righteous. He says it is repaired mostly by crying out from the heart, and that is why Rosh Chodesh was set as a time of atonement.

שאין לה אור מעצמה כי אם מה שמקבלת מהשמש

Rabbi Natan of Breslov, Likutei Halakhot, Laws of Rosh Chodesh 6

Halacha

The practical laws. For a final ruling, ask your rav.

Why do I take off my tefillin before Musaf?

The Shulchan Aruch (the main code of Jewish law) says the custom on Rosh Chodesh is to take them off before Musaf. The Shulchan Aruch HaRav (by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Chabad Rebbe) gives a reason: where Musaf's Kedushah says Keter, "a crown they give You" (as in Sefard), you should not be crowned with tefillin.

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 25:13, 423:4; Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Orach Chaim 25:41

Do girls have to say Musaf?

Most authorities say no, but she may. Peninei Halakhah (a modern guide by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed) rules women are exempt from Musaf on Shabbat, festivals and Rosh Chodesh, though ideally one weighs the stricter view, and one who prays it earns merit. The Mishnah Berurah (a law commentary, around 1900) reports a split: the Tzlach (Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, 1700s) says exempt, the Magen Gibborim says obligated. The Kaf HaChaim (a Sephardic law commentary, early 1900s) says women's custom is to pray it like Shacharit.

Peninei Halakhah, Women's Prayer 2:1 and 2:9; Mishnah Berurah 106:4; Kaf HaChaim, Orach Chaim 286:7

I missed Musaf. Can I say it later?

Only on the same day. The Shulchan Aruch (the main code of Jewish law) says Musaf should not wait past about an hour after midday, but its time is all day. If the whole day passes, there is no make-up prayer. The Mishnah Berurah (a commentary on daily law) explains: Musaf mentions the day's offering, and an offering has no make-up.

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 286:1 and 108:6; Mishnah Berurah 286:3; Peninei Halakhah, Prayer 18:9

My siddur has slightly different words here. Who is right?

Follow your own custom. The Magen Avraham (a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Avraham Gombiner, 1600s) notes that some say "zikaron lechulam hayu," some "yihyu," and some "lechulenu," and that no custom should be changed. The Arukh HaShulchan (a law code from around 1900) adds that some say "se'irei chatat" (goats for a sin-offering) and some "chata'ot" (sin-offerings), and that each person says it by his or her own custom. Siddur Sefard has "yihyu" and "chatat."

Magen Avraham 423:3; Arukh HaShulchan, Orach Chaim 423:5; Siddur Sefard, Rosh Chodesh Musaf

What if Rosh Chodesh falls on Shabbat?

Then Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh share one middle blessing in Musaf. The Shulchan Aruch (the main code of Jewish law) rules that the fourth blessing combines both days and closes "who sanctifies Shabbat, Israel, and Rosh Chodesh." The Tur (a law code by Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, 1300s) says it begins Atah Yatzarta. On a weekday, as here, the blessing closes "who sanctifies Israel and Rosh Chodesh."

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 425:3; Tur, Orach Chaim 423:1 and 425:1

Why do some people fast the day before Rosh Chodesh?

Some do, as a custom, not a requirement. The Mishnah Berurah (a central commentary on daily law, around 1900) says some fast that day, and some add a short service of repentance prayers at Mincha called Yom Kippur Katan, "little Yom Kippur." The reason: like the Rosh Chodesh goat, the day atones for the month, as Musaf says "a time of atonement for all their generations." Someone who starts should say the first time that it is not a permanent promise. Those who do not fast should still use the day to repent.

Mishnah Berurah 417:4; Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 97:1

Sources

Show the 10 sources quoted on this page

Machzor Vitry, Laws of Rosh Chodesh 232
ראשי חדשים לעמך נתת זמן כפרה לכל תולדותם בהיותם מקריבין לפניך זבחי רצון ושעירי חטאת לכפר בעדם
Heads of months You gave Your people, a time of atonement for all their generations, when they bring You offerings that please You and goats as sin offerings to atone for them.
Rashi on Shemot 12:2
והראה לו באצבע את הלבנה ברקיע ואמר לו כזה ראה וקדש
God showed him the moon in the sky, pointing with a finger, and said to him: See it like this, and sanctify.
Rosh Hashanah 25a
רבי חייא חזייא לסיהרא דהוה קאי בצפרא דעשרים ותשעה שקל קלא פתק ביה אמר לאורתא בעינן לקדושי בך ואת קיימת הכא זיל איכסי
Rabbi Chiyya saw the moon still standing in the sky on the morning of the 29th. He picked up a clump of earth and threw it at the moon. He said: This evening we need to declare you new, and you are standing here? Go hide.
Abudarham, Rosh Chodesh 14
ויש מפרשים זמן כפרה לכל תולדותם כי עולת ראש חדש היתה באה לכפר על תולדות ימי החדש וזהו שאומ' אחר כן תשועת נפשם מיד שונא דהיינו יצר הרע הצורר והשונא והאורב
Some explain "a time of atonement for all their offspring" this way: the Rosh Chodesh burnt offering came to atone for what the days of the month produce. That is why the prayer then says "the rescue of their souls from the hand of an enemy," meaning the urge to do wrong, the foe that attacks, hates and lies in wait.
Bamidbar 10:9
וכי תבאו מלחמה בארצכם על הצר הצרר אתכם והרעתם בחצצרות ונזכרתם לפני ה׳ אלהיכם ונושעתם מאיביכם
When you go to war in your land against the foe who attacks you, and you sound the trumpets, you will be remembered before Hashem your God and saved from your enemies.
Kol Bo 43:9
ופירש גם כן מיד שונא מיד יצר הרע כי הוא הצר הצורר ואורב להחטיא
The scholar the Kol Bo is quoting also explained "from the hand of an enemy" as from the urge to do wrong, because it is the foe that attacks and lies in wait to make a person sin.
Yechezkel 43:18
אלה חקות המזבח ביום העשותו להעלות עליו עולה ולזרק עליו דם
These are the laws of the altar on the day it is made, for bringing burnt offerings on it and throwing blood against it.
Rambam, Laws of the Chosen Temple 2:1
המזבח מקומו מכוון ביותר ואין משנין אותו ממקומו לעולם
The altar's place is exact, and it is never moved from its place.
Chagigah 13a
אלמלא הוא נגנז ספר יחזקאל שהיו דבריו סותרין דברי תורה מה עשה העלו לו שלוש מאות גרבי שמן וישב בעלייה ודרשו
Were it not for Chananya ben Chizkiyah, the book of Yechezkel would have been hidden away, because its words contradicted words of the Torah. What did he do? They brought up to him 300 jugs of oil, and he sat in an upper room and explained it.
Tur, Orach Chaim 417
ואיתא בפרק מ"ד מפרקי דר' אליעזר לפי שלא רצו נשים ליתן נזמיהן לבעליהן במעשה העגל לכך נתן להן הקב"ה שכרן שיהו משמרות ר"ח יותר מהאנשים
It says in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 44 in the Tur's numbering): because the women did not agree to give their earrings to their husbands for the golden calf, God gave them their reward, that they would observe Rosh Chodesh more than the men.

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