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Non-Chassidic Ashkenazic Kehillot recite Kiddush Levanah on Motza’ei Shabbat as long as three days have passed since the Molad (birth of the new moon). However, Chassidic and Sephardic Jews begin reciting Kiddush Levanah only after seven days have passed from the Molad.
Three Days vs. Seven Days
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 426:4) rules that one should not recite Kiddush Levanah until seven days from the Molad have passed. The Beit Yosef bases his ruling on a Kabbalistic work, Shaarei Orah, by Rav Yitzchak Jikatila. Although the Rama does not explicitly address this issue, the Mishna Berurah (426:20) notes that most Acharonim (including the Levush, Bach, Magen Avraham, and Taz) disagree with the Shulchan Aruch and permit reciting Kiddush Levanah after three days from the Molad have passed. This is hardly surprising since most Rishonim (including Rashi, Rambam, Rabbeinu Yonah, the Sma”g, and the Yad Ramah) do not require waiting seven days. Indeed, the Chayei Adam (118:14) and the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (97:10) present the three-day wait as the primary view. They merely note that some wait seven days.
Most Sephardic Jews follow the Shulchan Aruch (Rav Ovadia Yosef, Teshuvot Yabia Omer 6: Orach Chaim 38:1 and Teshuvot Yechave Da’at 2:24, following the Chida, Moreh B’Etzba 182, the Ben Ish Chai, Vayikra 2:23, and the Kaf Hachaim, Orach Chaim 426:61). Chassidic Jews adopt this approach as well, since it is rooted in the Kabbalah. Non-Chassidic Ashkenazic Jews, on the other hand, recite Kiddush Levanah after three days from the Molad have passed (Aruch HaShulchan, Orach Chaim 426:13).
The non-Chassidic Ashkenazic practice is well-based in the Rishonim. The Rambam (Hilchot Berachot 10:17), Rashi (Sanhedrin 41b s.v. Ad Kamah), and the Yad Ramah (Sanhedrin 42a) encourage reciting Kiddush Levanah without delay on the first day after the Molad. The Avudraham (Hilchot Berachot 8) and Talmidei Rabbeinu Yonah (Brachot 21a in the pages of the Rif, s.v. Neharda’i) write that one should wait until two or three days after the Molad. He explains that the moon’s light on the first day after the Molad is not “sweet” (referring to Kohelet 11:7) and we do not benefit from its light. He interprets Masechet Soferim (20:1) to mean that we should wait to recite Kiddush Levanah until the moon’s light is sweet.
Moreover, the Aruch HaShulchan (Orach Chaim 426:13) is shocked that the Shulchan Aruch forsakes the leading Rishonim, such as the Rambam and Rashi, and follows the Kabbalah regarding Kiddush Levanah’s start time. He notes that this is very much unlike Rav Karo’s typical method of Halachic determination.
The Debate’s Conceptual Basis
This question might hinge, in part, on a classic debate over which Halachic principle prevails - performing a Mitzvah at the earliest possible time or performing it more beautifully later. For example, Teshuvot Shevut Yaakov (1:34) questions as to which is the preferable way of taking an Etrog – taking an ordinary one at the earliest time (sunrise) or taking an extraordinarily beautiful Etrog that becomes available only later that day. The question is whether Z’rizim Makdimim L’Mitzvot or Hiddur Mitzvah is preferred.
The dispute regarding Kiddush Levanah’s earliest time might hinge on whether Z’rizim Makdimim L’Mitzvot outweighs Hiddur Mitzvah (see the Sha’ar HaTziyun 426:21). Reciting Kiddush Levanah on a “fuller” moon is more Mehudar, as the moon is more beautiful when it has “reached” half of its size. The Gemara (Shabbat 133b) urges the use of a beautiful Tzitzit, Shofar, Lulav, Sukkah, and Sefer Torah. Similarly, it seems preferable to recite Kiddush Levanah on a more beautiful moon. Nonetheless, the non-Chassidic Ashkenazic tradition values Z’rizim Makdimim L’Mitzvot over Hiddur Mitzvah. The Sephardic and Chassidic tradition, though, seems to value Hiddur Mitzvah over Z’rizim Makdimim L’Mitzvot. In addition, the Ben Ish Chai presents a Kabbalistic reason for waiting until seven days after the Molad.
The Moroccan Practice
Rav Shalom Messas (Teshuvot Shemesh U’Magen 3:55) records the Moroccan Jewish practice of waiting until the seventh day after the Molad, except when there is an opportunity to recite Kiddush Levanah on Motza’ei Shabbat beforehand.
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 426:2; based on his understanding of Masechet Soferim 20:1) prefers reciting Kiddush Levanah on Motza’ei Shabbat, after we have emerged from Kedushat Shabbat and are still wearing our best clothing. In many communities, there is a larger crowd to recite Kiddush Levanah on Motza’ei Shabbat. Thereby, one beautifies Kiddush Levanah’s recital, even if one said it before seven days have passed.
Moreover, Rav Mordechai Lebhar argues that the Shulchan Aruch’s preference to recite Kiddush Levanah on Motza’ei Shabbat applies even if it is earlier than the seventh day from the Molad. The Chayei Adam (118:14) and Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (97:10) similarly rule that even those who wait seven days to say Kiddush Levanah should say it on Motza’ei Shabbat when it arrives before seven days from the Molad.
However, Rav Chaim David HaLevy (Teshuvot Aseih Lecha Rav 4:33) follows the Chida that one should not recite Kiddush Levanah even on Motza’ei Shabbat unless seven days have passed. Rav HaLevy permits Kiddush Levanah on the seventh evening from the Molad, even though seven full days had not passed. However, he noted that Minhag Yerushalayim is to wait until seven full days have passed, as recorded in Rav Amram Aburabiah’s Netivei Am (Orach Chaim 426). Rav Ovadia Yosef agrees (following the Nehar Mitzrayim, Hilchot Rosh Chodesh 4) that one need not wait on the seventh night when it falls on Motza’ei Shabbat, even if it is a few hours short of seven full days from the Molad.
Non-Chassidic Ashkenazim and the Mozta’ei Shabbat Preference
The Rama (Orach Chaim 426:2) instructs waiting through ten days from the Molad to say Kiddush Levanah on Motza’ei Shabbat. However, the Mishnah Berurah (426:20) notes that several Acharonim, including the Vilna Gaon, recommend against delaying until Motza’ei Shabbat once seventy-two hours from the Molad have passed. The Mishnah Berurah concludes that one who follows this view has grounds upon which to rely, especially in regions where it rains year-round. The Aruch HaShulchan (Orach Chaim 426:8) concludes that in an area where it rains very frequently, one should not delay saying Kiddush Levanah. He notes that many Gedolim act accordingly. Rav Hershel Schachter agrees with this view in areas such as London and Seattle, where it rains frequently, but Rav Mordechai Willig observes that this view is not commonly followed.
Conclusion
Rav Shmuel Khoshkerman reports that Sepharadim (as are Chassidim) are particular to recite Kiddush Levanah only after seven full days from the Molad. In fact, Rav Yitzchak Yosef (in a responsum printed in Rav Yonatan Nacson’s MiMizrach Umi’Maarav page 270) rules that a Sephardic Jew should recite Kiddush Levanah alone after the seven full days have passed from the Molad, rather than to recite it three days after the Molad with a Minyan.
However, in special circumstances, even Sephardic Jews may recite Kiddush Levanah before the seven days have passed. For example, Rav Zecharia Ben Shlomo (Orot HaHalacha page 670) urges Israeli soldiers to recite Kiddush Levanah at the earliest opportunity, as soon as three full days from the Molad have passed. He is concerned that unexpected events may later prevent the soldiers from reciting Kiddush Levanah. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (cited in Nishmat Avraham Orach Chaim I:426:3) says that sick people who may not have a chance to say Kiddush Levanah later may say it after three days, even though they normally wait seven days from the Molad. Rav Mordechai Willig similarly rules that the same applies to medical residents or other professionals who work exceedingly long hours and may miss Kiddush Levanah if they do not seize the opportunity as soon as possible, even before Motza’ei Shabbat.
Similarly, Rav Pinchas Sabichi, a leading student of Rav Ovadia Yosef, told me that Sepharadim may recite Kiddush Levanah earlier than seven days if we are concerned that many will miss its recital if we wait. Indeed, the Aruch HaShulchan (Orach Chaim 426:13) notes that waiting until the seventh day is not practical in an area where it rains year-round.