Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of a new month, was a prominent holiday in ancient Israel. In our day and age, when we can barely see the moon in our light polluted cities, the phases of the moon do not (forgive me) faze us. But back in the day, the waxing and the waning of the moon was one of the predominant events in the natural world.

Like all the major holidays and Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh deserves its own unique musaf. And one of the most unique features of this prayer is that right before the amidah is recited, someone will yell out “it’s a leap year,” or “it’s not a leap year.”

Here’s why: Central to this musaf is the following prayer: “Our G-d and G-d of our ancestors, renew our lives in this month for goodness and blessedness, joy and gladness, deliverance and consolation, sustenance and support, life and peace, pardon of sin and forgiveness of transgression (and atonement for wrongdoing). A careful reader will note that there are 12 requests (goodness, blessing, etc.) and then a 13th in parentheses, “atonement for wrongdoing.” The first 12 are for the 12 months of a normal year. The 13th is added during a leap year—please recall that a Jewish leap year doesn’t just add a day (like February 29) but rather an entire month (the 2nd month of Adar, called 2 Adar or Adar bet).

Why does this matter? What difference does it make if the world spins around one more time, or the moon goes through another cycle.? The meaning of it all I learned from a wonderful and wise woman, Mrs. Brown, the housekeeper of my next door neighbor in Savannah. I once asked her how she was, and she responded, with her thick southern drawl, “Well Rabbah, anothah daya, anothah chayance.” (In English: “Well Rabbi, another day, another chance.”) I’ve spent a lot of time with PhD’s of all flavors, but I’ve rarely heard a deeper insight. If you don’t live a life of divine service, then one day will blend into another. The great solar system clock will tick one more time. Big deal.

But every day is another chayance—a chance to serve G-d. So, too, our musaf is telling us that every single month has a gift attached to it. So when looked at as a whole, the year is one massive opportunity to shape the world with G-d’s help.

If we are lucky, we may get an extra day. If we are lucky and Jewish, we may get an extra month.

Don’t blow it.

Rabbi Robert L. Wolkoff