Segula of the Saba Kadisha of Radoshitz — a Rosh Chodesh Feast

Segula of the Saba Kadisha — a Rosh Chodesh Feast

One day, a mitnaged was a guest at a Rosh Chodesh seudah hosted by the Saba Kadisha of Radoshitz. He asked his guest: “Why do mitnagdim not hold a seudah in honor of Rosh Chodesh? After all, the Shulchan Aruch states that it is a mitzvah to prepare a meal in honor of Rosh Chodesh.” (The Mishnah Berurah says that although eating bread is not obligatory, one who does so is praised.) When the tzadik received no answer, he said that he would like to suggest a reason. When mitnagdim perform a mitzvah, they place that mitzvah in their collection of mitzvot; and when they commit an aveirah (sin), they place it in their collection of aveirot. A Hasid, however, is always concerned that perhaps he has sinned somewhere or failed to perform a mitzvah for the sake of Heaven. Chazal say that since we do not have a Mizbe'ach (altar) today to atone for our sins, the table atones for them. Different korbanot atone for different sins, while the Rosh Chodesh korban atones for sins that no one even knows about. Putting all this together, as the tzadik explained, we can understand why Hasidim especially love preparing special dishes in honor of Rosh Chodesh. This explanation inspired the mitnaged so deeply that he became a devoted Hasid of the Saba Kadisha. Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk also taught that if a woman fulfills the mitzvah of having a meal on Rosh Chodesh, she will certainly have children. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov writes that she will not only give birth, but will also merit raising them with joy and deriving nachat from them. (blog post “ZhutAvos”)