Rosh Chodesh as Women's Holiday

The custom for women to refrain from certain or all creative labor on Rosh Chodesh, observed as a minor holiday granted as reward for refusing to donate jewelry for the Golden Calf. The scope of prohibited work varies significantly by community. From Palestinian Talmudic tradition the custom spread into medieval Ashkenazic communities (Tur OC 417; Machzor Vitry); Sephardic women generally observed a lighter version; it survives strongly in Yemenite and traditional Ashkenazic communities today.