THE PERPETUAL BORN-AGAIN
Bo - Hachodesh
On Rosh Chodesh Nissan, while Bnei Yisroel were still in Mitzrayim, on the threshold of the Geulah, Hashem transmitted the first Mitzvah.
The first Mitzvah was not one of the fundamentals of our faith, such as the belief in Hashem or Shema - the oneness of Hashem. Rather, it was a directive to the Beis Din to declare and sanctify the new moon and thereby determine the months of the calendar.
Surely a Mitzvah such as the belief in Hashem would be more ap-propriate as the first commandment? What is so unique about the Mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh that it was given first? And what is the connection between the calendar and the Geulah?
Our calendar is based on the cycle of the moon. The word Chodesh used for month, comes from the word Chadash, new. The renewal of the moon, the first crescent when the sun shines once again on its surface, marks the start of each month.
Prior to this Mitzvah, the calendar was based on the sun. In the monthly movements of the sun, there is no apprent change. There is no birth and renewel.
The Sfas Emes explains the centrality of this Mitzvah as follows: The verse of Hachodesh can be read as "this renewal (Chodesh) shall be to you". The Mitzvah exhorts us to emulate the moon and its newness. Indeed it is because we resemble the moon that we count by the moon.
In Torah law, after a lapse of 30 days something becomes old and status-quo. For example the blessings recited on seeing certain things such as the ocean, or a friend are only said if one has not seen them in the last 30 days.
The Molad – the birth of the new moon, takes place every 29 days, 12 hours and 793 parts of an hour. The moon is in a constant cycle of renewal, never reaching a state of inertia represented once the 30 day threshold is crossed.
Complacency is the ultimate form of slavery, one which is not imposed upon us by others but self-inflicted. Statements such as ‘sorry, that is just who I am’ or ‘this is my level of observance, I don’t need to do any more’ are tell-tale symptoms of an inner Pharaoh.
Like the moon, Hashem is telling us that we cannot become fixed in our ways, particularly concerning our spiritual development. To experience true freedom we must be like the moon, the perpetual born-again, exercising our choice to supersede the constraints of stagnancy.
There is always room for improvement, always more to learn and constant room for growth.
By internalising and living out the moon’s message, going beyond ourselves to achieve constant growth and spiritual renewal, we achieve personal Geulah.
Our collective personal redemptions will be the catalyst for the ultimate Geulah when we will merit the ultimate experience of newness as described by the prophet Yishayahu in the special Haftorah reading for Rosh Chodesh.
Then we will experience the Shamayim HaChadashim ve-Haaretz HaChadasha – the new (higher) order of heavens and earth, permeated with the open revelation of Hashem within our world.
The first Mitzvah was not one of the fundamentals of our faith, such as the belief in Hashem or Shema - the oneness of Hashem. Rather, it was a directive to the Beis Din to declare and sanctify the new moon and thereby determine the months of the calendar.
Surely a Mitzvah such as the belief in Hashem would be more ap-propriate as the first commandment? What is so unique about the Mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh that it was given first? And what is the connection between the calendar and the Geulah?
Our calendar is based on the cycle of the moon. The word Chodesh used for month, comes from the word Chadash, new. The renewal of the moon, the first crescent when the sun shines once again on its surface, marks the start of each month.
Prior to this Mitzvah, the calendar was based on the sun. In the monthly movements of the sun, there is no apprent change. There is no birth and renewel.
The Sfas Emes explains the centrality of this Mitzvah as follows: The verse of Hachodesh can be read as "this renewal (Chodesh) shall be to you". The Mitzvah exhorts us to emulate the moon and its newness. Indeed it is because we resemble the moon that we count by the moon.
In Torah law, after a lapse of 30 days something becomes old and status-quo. For example the blessings recited on seeing certain things such as the ocean, or a friend are only said if one has not seen them in the last 30 days.
The Molad – the birth of the new moon, takes place every 29 days, 12 hours and 793 parts of an hour. The moon is in a constant cycle of renewal, never reaching a state of inertia represented once the 30 day threshold is crossed.
Complacency is the ultimate form of slavery, one which is not imposed upon us by others but self-inflicted. Statements such as ‘sorry, that is just who I am’ or ‘this is my level of observance, I don’t need to do any more’ are tell-tale symptoms of an inner Pharaoh.
Like the moon, Hashem is telling us that we cannot become fixed in our ways, particularly concerning our spiritual development. To experience true freedom we must be like the moon, the perpetual born-again, exercising our choice to supersede the constraints of stagnancy.
There is always room for improvement, always more to learn and constant room for growth.
By internalising and living out the moon’s message, going beyond ourselves to achieve constant growth and spiritual renewal, we achieve personal Geulah.
Our collective personal redemptions will be the catalyst for the ultimate Geulah when we will merit the ultimate experience of newness as described by the prophet Yishayahu in the special Haftorah reading for Rosh Chodesh.
Then we will experience the Shamayim HaChadashim ve-Haaretz HaChadasha – the new (higher) order of heavens and earth, permeated with the open revelation of Hashem within our world.