WORD OF THE MONTH

A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... 

This Shabbat we bench Rosh Chodesh (Menachem) AV

ROSH CHODESH MENACHEM AV Y'H'YEH B'YOM SHABBAT KODESH HABA A'LEINU V'AL KOL AMO YISRAEL L'TOVA
The Molad will be FRI (July 20th) 20h 37m 14p
HAMOLAD Y'HI'YEH B'YOM SHISHI, SHLOSHIM VASHEVA DAKOT V'ARBA'A ASAR CHALAKIM ACHAREI SH'MONEH BA'EREV

In Rambam notation: Shabbat • 2h • 680 chalakim

On the clock: FRI July 20, 9:17pm (Israel Summer Time) 

Actual (astronomical) molad: FRI July 20, 10:45:30pm (Israel Summer Time)

(The last two times can (should) be converted to the reader's local time. E.g. in Fort Lee, New Jersey, the Molad as announced translates into clock time as 2:17pm Eastern Daylight Time)

"Let it not come into the counting of months" (Iyov 3:6) 

Some had the minhag not to bless the month of Av. Today, we definitely do announce it and bless it.