As the waxing moon shone in a dark sky, seven men gathered on Sunday for an ancient ritual in the grassy courtyard of Berkeley’s Jewish Renewal synagogue Chochmat HaLev.
Leaping, whooping and hollering as the ritual reached its apex, the men were engaging in Kiddush Levana, or “sanctification of the moon,” a Talmudic rite for sanctifying God.
“It is perfect. You are loved. All is clear. And I am holy,” the men chanted in unison, reciting a meditative phrase by the late Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, a Renewal co-founder.
Noah Phillips, a therapist and occasional Chochmat HaLev teacher — he led a Talmud class and a session on Jewish reincarnation during Shavuot last year — organizes Kiddush Levana as an exuberant monthly ritual and a place for intimate discussion about masculinity. The event is in its second year and is open to all masculine-identifying people.
“It’s this amazing thing where we channel blessing,” he said. “By directing it at the moon, which is this feminine principle, we’re putting ourselves into the mature masculine element.”
The evening started with participants sharing their struggles and successes from the last month. That was followed by the chanting from text put together by Phillips, with each person taking turns and reading a passage.
Their chanting got louder and louder, until it grew into a joyous frenzy, with everyone jumping and yelling with their arms pointed skyward. Then came handshakes and hugs, with each man enthusiastically greeting the other with “Shalom aleichem” and the responding “Aleichem shalom” — peace be with you.
The evening ended with arm-in-arm dancing and singing “David Melech Yisrael,” in praise of King David.
Participant Danny Kaplan described Kiddush Levana as a blend of Jewish ritual and men’s group.
“In the modern context of what it means to explore masculinity, I really like that those two things are interwoven together,” said Kaplan.
Another participant, Philip Epstein, said he returned to Judaism through psychedelics after feeling confined by rigid, traditionalist practices when he was young. He said he feels a connection to the ritual as a way to both grieve and evoke his late mother.
“She has appeared to me in the moon a few different times,” said Epstein, “usually with some kind of psychedelic or expanded state.” He said Kiddush Levana enables him to speak to his mother through the feminine gaze of the moon.
“It’s been really beautiful and painful,” he said, “but it’s given me a way to have this relationship.”
