A Rosh Chodesh Addition – Sometimes

There is an interesting custom that many people observe: to add the words “V’kapparas pesha” to the Mussaf prayer on Rosh Chodesh during a leap year. The Elya Rabba explains that the standard Mussaf for Rosh Chodesh includes twelve requests, each corresponding to one of the twelve months. Since a leap year has an extra month, we add an additional request.

However, if we follow this reasoning, we should add the phrase “V’kapparas pesha” for each month of the leap year. Indeed, some individuals do have the custom to recite this addition throughout the entire leap year. Nevertheless, the more widespread practice is to only include these words until Adar Sheini, the leap month.

Furthermore, among all the potential additional requests we could make, why specifically choose “V’kapparas pesha”? Why ask Hashem to forgive our sins, specifically during a leap year?

The Torah Temima suggests that the source of the custom can be traced back almost 3,000 years. Achaz was a wicked king who strayed far from the path of righteousness. Achaz closed the doors of the Beis HaMikdash, preventing the Jewish people from worshiping and offering korbanos. He went so far as to build altars for idol worship, mimicking the architectural style of the Assyrian king and embracing the pagan practices of the surrounding nations. His reign was a dark period for the Jewish people, marked by spiritual decline and a disregard for the Torah. Idolatry was widespread.

In stark contrast to his father, Chizkiyahu emerged as a champion of Torah. He is considered by Chazal to have been the greatest king of all time in his piety and devotion to Hashem. The Midrash goes so far as to state that Hashem considered making Chizkiyahu Moshiach.

Chizkiyahu spearheaded a massive teshuva movement, calling the Jewish people to repent for their sins and return to Hashem. He urged them to rid themselves of their idols, to cast off the vestiges of paganism that had infiltrated their society. He instructed the Kohanim and Leviim to purify themselves, rededicate themselves to their sacred duties, and uphold the Beis Hamikdash’s sanctity.

Chizkiyahu wanted K’lal Yisrael to finally bring the Korban Pesach after all the years that the Beit Hamikdash was closed. However, there was a significant problem: Chazal decreed that idols have the same status as a dead body. Therefore, most of K’lal Yisrael, who had previously worshipped idols, were considered tamei due to contact with the idols. Chizkiyahu realized they would not be able to purify themselves in time to offer the Korban Pesach. As a solution, Chizkiyahu added a leap month, Adar Sheini, to the calendar. This gave everyone an extra month to purify themselves before Pesach in Nissan. (This account is recorded in Sanhedrin 12b.)

The Gemara notes that Chizkiyahu asked Hashem for forgiveness regarding this extra month. Some say it was because it was inappropriate to add an extra month for this reason alone. There is a well-known concept that the laws of tumah are waived for the tzibbur (community). Even if all of K’lal Yisrael were tamei, they could still bring the Korban Pesach. Chizkiyahu might have believed that such a waiver should only be relied upon if no other options existed, and in this case, he viewed adding an extra month as a valid option. However, he later recognized his error and sought forgiveness from Hashem.

The Torah Temima explains that this story illuminates our Rosh Chodesh custom with some help from other points from our Gemara. It mentions that Adar Sheini is the only extra month allowed to be added. Additionally, we cannot convene a court and add an extra month before Rosh Hashana, as Elul is too far from Adar Sheini. The populace might eventually forget that an additional month had been added. Furthermore, the Gemara states that once it is Nissan and Adar has passed, a new month may no longer be added.

Thus, Beis Din, starting from Rosh Hashana, can add a new month up to, but not including, Nissan. It is specifically during the Rosh Chodesh days that fall between those two dates that we add the phrase “V’kapparas pesha.” It is because Beis Din used to be able to add an extra month at that time. Moreover, we pray to Hashem to forgive us if a leap month was inappropriately added to the calendar, similar to how Chizkiyahu HaMelech prayed thousands of years ago.