Rosh Chodesh - Four Aliyos (Continued)

Q. Why do we call up four aliyos on Rosh Chodesh (Cont'd)?

A. The Gemara (Megillah 22b) states that Chazal instituted four aliyos on Rosh Chodesh because there is extra time for reading the Torah, since Rosh Chodesh is a day when melacha is restricted. Many commentators are bothered that although we find a restriction on women doing melacha on Rosh Chodesh there does not appear to be any restriction for men. Why then did they institute four aliyos?

Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zt”l suggested the following in the name of his father Rav Moshe Soloveitchik, zt”l.

The Talmud Yerushalmi (Pesachim 4:1) writes that the day that a person offers a korban is considered a holiday and one must refrain from doing melacha (certain work-type activities). When a person offers a korban, it is as though he is standing before Hashem and at such a time, it is improper for him to busy himself in trivial matters. The Yerushalmi asks that since the Korban Tamid (daily sacrifice) is brought every day on behalf of all Jews, we should never be allowed to work! The Yerushalmi answers that since this is not possible, each day a delegation (known as anshei ma’amad) was sent to the Beis Hamikdash to watch as the Korban was brought. These representatives stood before Hashem in our place, and only they were forbidden from doing melacha.

When the Beis Hamikdash stood and the Korban Musaf was brought on Rosh Chodesh, indeed men who would enter the Beis Hamikdash and were standing before Hashem were forbidden from doing melacha. Similarly, Jewish women merited through their refusal to participate in the golden calf and their wholehearted participation in the building of the Mishkan (which was erected on Rosh Chodesh) to this level of standing before Hashem as the korban musaf is brought (even though they are not physically present). Although today we no longer bring the korban musaf, and we cannot enter the mikdash and stand before Hashem as the korban is brought, we still read four aliyos, since Rosh Chodesh is intrinsically a day of bringing Korbanos and therefore by definition one of limited work, even though for men today there is no practical application of this restriction. (See Turei Even (Megila 22b) for a similar explanation.)

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