"When about to sanctify the new moon, one should straighten his feet (as at the Shemonah-esreh) and give one glance at the moon before he begins to repeat the ritual blessing, and having commenced it he should not look at her at all. Thus should he begin—'In the united name of the Holy and Blessed One and His Shechinah, through that Hidden and Concealed One! and in the name of all Israel!' Then he is to proceed with the 'Form of Prayer for the New Moon;' word for word, without haste, but with solemn deliberation, and when he repeats—
"'Blessed is thy Former, blessed is thy Maker, blessed is thy Possessor, blessed is thy Creator.'
"He is to meditate on the initials of the four divine epithets which form 'Jacob,' for the moon, which is called 'the lesser light,' is his emblem or symbol, and he is also called 'little' (see Amos vii. 2). This he is to repeat three times. He is to skip three times while repeating thrice the following sentence, and after repeating three times forward and backward: thus (forward)—'Fear and dread shall fall upon them by the greatness of Thine arm; they shall be as still as a stone;' thus (backward)—'Still as a stone may they be; by the greatness of Thine arm may fear and dread fall on them;' he then is to say to his neighbor three times, 'Peace be unto you,' and the neighbor is to respond three times, 'Unto you be peace.' Then he is to say three times (very loudly), 'David, the king of Israel, liveth and existeth!' and finally, he is to say three times—
"'May a good omen and good luck be upon us and upon all Israel! Amen.'"
RABBINICAL ANA
It was said of Rabbi Tarphon, that though a very wealthy man, he was not charitable according to his means. One time Rabbi Akiba said to him. "Shall I invest some money for thee in real estate, in a manner which will be very profitable?" Rabbi Tarphon answered in the affirmative, and brought to Rabbi Akiba four thousand denars in gold, to be so applied. Rabbi Akiba immediately distributed the same among the poor. Some time after this Rabbi Tarphon met Rabbi Akiba, and asked him where the real estate which he had bought for him was situated. Akiba led his friend to the college, and showed him a little boy, who recited for them the 112th psalm. When he reached the ninth verse, "He distributeth, he giveth to the needy, his righteousness endureth forever."
"There," said Akiba, "thy property is with David, the king of Israel, who said, 'he distributeth, he giveth to the needy.'"
"And wherefore hast thou done this?" asked Tarphon.
"Knowest thou not," answered Rabbi Akiba, "how Nakdimon, the son of Guryon, was punished because he gave not according to his means?"