Kiddush Levanah

The Sanctification of the Moon is recited under the open sky, facing east.

Psalms 148:1-6

Praise the L-rd. Praise the L-rd from the heavens; praise Him in the celestial heights. Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts. Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all the shining stars. Praise Him, heaven of heavens, and the waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the Name of the L-rd, for He commanded and they were created. He has established them forever, for all time; He issued a decree, and it shall not be transgressed.

Place your feet together and glance once at the moon before reciting the following blessing. Once the blessing is begun, do not look at the moon at all.

Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, Who with His utterance created the heavens, and with the breath of His mouth all their host. He gave them a set law and time, so that they should not alter their task. They are glad and rejoice to carry out the will of their Creator, the Doer of truth Whose work is truth. And He directed the moon to renew itself as a crown of glory to those who are borne [by Him] from birth,2 who likewise are destined to be renewed and to glorify their Creator for the name of the glory of His kingdom.

Blessed are You, L-rd, Who renews the months.

The following *paragraph(s) is said three times.

*Blessed is your Molder; blessed is your Maker; blessed is your Owner; blessed is your Creator.

*Just as I Dance toward you but cannot touch you, so may none of my enemies be able to touch me.

*Let fall upon them fear and terror; at the greatness of Your Arm, let them be still as stone.

*As stone let them be still, at Your arm’s greatness; Terror and fear, upon them let fall.

Say three times:

*David, King of Israel, is living and enduring.

The following greeting is exchanged three times:

*Peace unto you.

The other responds:

*Unto you peace.

Say the following line three times:

May there be a good sign and good fortune for us and for all Israel. Amain.

The voice of my Beloved! Here He comes, leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills. My Beloved is like a hart or a young deer; here He stands behind our wall, watching through the windows, peering through the crevices.

A song of ascents. I lift my eyes to the mountains—from where will my help come? My help will come from the L-rd, Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot falter; your guardian does not slumber. Indeed, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. The L-rd is your guardian; the L-rd is your protective shade at your right hand. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The L-rd will guard you from all evil; He will guard your soul. The L-rd will guard your going and coming from now and for all time.

Praise the L-rd. Praise G-d in His holiness; praise Him in the firmament of His strength. Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His abundant greatness. Praise Him with the call of the shofar; praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and flute. Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with clanging cymbals. Let every being that has a soul praise the L-rd. Praise the L-rd.

It was taught in the academy of Rabbi Yishmael: Even if Israel merited no other privilege than to greet their Father in heaven once a month, it would be sufficient for them. Abbaye said, “Therefore we must recite it standing.” Who is this coming up from the wilderness, cleaving to her Beloved? May it be Your will, L-rd my G-d and G-d of my fathers, to fill the defect of the moon, so that there be no diminution in it, and may the light of the moon be as the light of the sun, as the light of the Seven Days of Creation, as it was before it was diminished, as it is said: And G-d made the two great luminaries. May there be fulfilled in us the Scriptural verse which states: They will seek the L-rd their G-d and David their king. Amain

For the choirmaster, a song with instrumental music, a Psalm. May G-d be gracious to us and bless us; may He make His countenance shine upon us forever, that Your way be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. The nations will extol You, O G-d; all the nations will extol You. The nations will rejoice and sing for joy, for You will judge the peoples justly and guide the nations on earth forever. The peoples will extol You, O G-d; all the peoples will extol You, for the earth will have yielded its produce, and G-d, our G-d, will bless us. G-d will bless us; and all, from the furthest corners of the earth, shall fear Him.

It is incumbent upon us to praise the Master of all things, to exalt the Creator of all existence, that He has not made us like the nations of the world, nor caused us to be like the families of the earth; that He has not assigned us a portion like theirs, nor a lot like that of all their multitudes, for they bow to vanity and nothingness. But we bend the knee, bow down, and offer praise before the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, Who stretches forth the heavens and establishes the earth, the seat of Whose glory is in the heavens above, and the abode of Whose majesty is in the loftiest heights. He is our G-d; there is none else. Truly, He is our King; there is nothing besides Him, as it is written in His Torah: Know this day and take unto your heart that the L-rd is G-d; in the heavens above and upon the earth below there is nothing else.

And therefore we hope to You, L-rd our G-d, that we may speedily behold the splendor of Your might, to banish idolatry from the earth and false G-ds will be utterly destroyed; to perfect the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty. All mankind shall invoke Your Name, to turn to You all the wicked of the earth. Then all the inhabitants of the world will recognize and know that every knee should bend to You, every tongue should swear [by Your Name].

Before You, L-rd our G-d, they will bow and prostrate themselves, and give honor to the glory of Your Name; and they will all take upon themselves the yoke of Your kingdom. May You soon reign over them forever and ever, for kingship is Yours, and to all eternity You will reign in glory, as it is written in Your Torah: The L-rd will reign forever and ever. And it is said: The L-rd will be King over the entire earth; on that day the L-rd will be One and His Name One.