Pinchas: Chapter 103

"And in the beginnings of your new moons"

Synopsis

The Faithful Shepherd says that just as on the new moon a portion must be given to the Other Side, a woman must give her fingernails and a little of her hair to the Other Side; this protects her from evil. The sages of the Mishnah had said that in previous times when the people were sanctifying the new moon they would kindle flares on the tops of the mountains so that God could see the moon and sanctify it. Malchut is sometimes a crown for God, sometimes a throne for Him to sit on, and sometimes a footstool for His feet. Moses explains why the moon is called 'white'; he says that the moon is from the side of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, so it changes from dark to light and back again.