By Mordechai Papoff. Just before the last of the ten plagues, Hashem announced to Moshe a new proclamation. “This month shall be for you (“Hachodesh hazeh lochem”) the head of the months; the first of the months of the year” (Shemos 12:2). Rashi explains “Hachodesh Hazeh” as referring to the mitzvah of proclaiming a new month at its beginning. Alternatively, he reads it as establishing the month of Nisan, where they stood, as the start of the year; Iyar the second, and so on. Hence, this verse introduces either the concept of the Jewish month, or that of the Jewish year.
This is the first commandment given to Klal Yisroel, states Rashi in his first comment on Breishis. Indeed, the Medrash wonders why the Torah begins with Creation and not with this mitzvah (see Rashi there for explanation). Instead, it describes the First Day, concluding with, “And it was evening and it was morning, one day” (1:5). The commentators note the change of language here from the following days: “The second day… the third day.” Why doesn’t the verse here read, “the first day”?
The Ramban offers a technical differentiation. “First” implies coming before something else; since at that time there wasn’t yet a second day, it couldn’t be called “first.” Instead, the verse tells us, “one day.”
Perhaps the Ramban alludes as well to a fundamental thought. The forthcoming days of Creation were merely counted from the first, while the first comprised the creation of the concept “day.” Proclaims the Torah: “One day!”
We thus see that the opening verses of the Torah teach us of the notion of “day,” and the first mitzvah that Klal Yisroel received was of the “month.” These two entities, both components of tracking time, actually exist in different spheres. The day is dictated solely by the movements of the sun. The month, however, is established by the Jewish people – the High Court in Jerusalem – based on lunar cycles.
Symbolically, therein lies the difference between the Jews and the other nations of the world. “Yisroel calculates its calendar according to the moon; the Gentiles, to the sun” (Sukka 29a). What does the sun signify in Jewish thought? It is the “King of Nature,” declares the Maharal. Thus, in Koheles it is used to refer to worldly affairs. “There is nothing new under the sun” (1:9). “What gain is there for man in all his labors that he toils under the sun” (1:3). Shlomo Hamelech addresses those who live only within the guidelines and dominion of the physical world – the non-Jews, who formulate their calendar based on the sun.
Klal Yisroel, however, exists within a framework above the rules of nature. With Torah and mitzvos, it can create new things – Torah novellae (Rashi) and spiritual achievements. There certainly is gain for his toil. We are not “under the sun.” The Vilna Goan explains the mitzvah of sukka with this thought. Sitting in a shelter from the sun, in the “shade of emuna” (Zohar), we demonstrate that we are not subject to the regular rules of nature.
Hashem relates to the Jewish people in supernatural ways, and our months are decided by our Sages – even to influence nature itself. The Talmud Yerushalmi (Nedorim 6:8) declares that if the Rabbis announce a leap year – a second month of Adar – it likewise affects age-related bodily changes. (See also Niddah 38a.)
The second idea expressed here also shows this. Jews don’t begin their year from its organic start – Tishrei – but from Nisan, when Hashem revealed to the entire world that His Nation enjoys miraculous Divine Providence, with the Exodus from Egypt. Thus, this verse teaches us that Klal Yisroel lives on a different plane of existence from the rest of the world.
This mitzvah is the first one given to the Jews as a nation, and the first of the commandments relating to the Exodus. The sanctification of the months is a powerful display of Hashem’s fondness toward us. He deposited in our hands the ability to formulate the calendar, and with it the holiness of the festivals and other times. We praise Hashem in the festival prayers, “He Who sanctifies Yisroel and the festive seasons.” The Gemara (Brochos 49a) interprets this as, “He sanctifies Yisroel who sanctify the festive seasons,” by their establishing the months. Additionally, the calendar affects nature itself, as mentioned. This is Hashem’s introduction to the Exodus and the new status of Klal Yisroel: You are a trusted and beloved “partner” with Hashem in creation of time-related holiness, and physical realty itself.
There is another side of the coin; this relationship goes both ways. The 12 days of Rosh Chodesh were to have been Festivals, relates the Tur, but the Sin of the Golden Calf nullified that status (Siman 417). What does the Golden Calf have to do with Rosh Chodesh?
What, precisely, was the nature of that Sin? The Beis Halevi explains that it was the problem of following one’s own logic, contrary to Hashem’s will. The Eirav Rav influenced them to seek a spiritual force to guide them, but since the Calf was forbidden, it constituted idolatry. This deficiency reduced their status as representatives of Hashem in the world. Until then, as they followed Hashem with complete submission and faithfulness, Rosh Chodesh shined as a symbol of our especial place in the universe – a veritable festival. But when they mixed in their own calculations of propriety and their servitude to Him became thus flawed, it was reflected in the decrease of holiness of those days. (Indeed, since women didn’t participate in the Sin, they retain a degree of those festivals – see the Tur and Poskim.)
This adds a depth to the law regarding the parshiyos of Parah and Hachodesh. Of the Four Parshiyos, these two must be read on succeeding weeks, which sometimes makes for an off-week before Parah. The Parah Adumah served as atonement for the Golden Calf (Rashi, Bamidbar 19:22). It is the classic “chok,” a statute from Hashem without our understanding – and the rectification of the sin caused by their fabricated considerations. This returned them to the elevation personified by the mitzva of Chodesh: unbiased nullification of one’s own designs when carrying out Hashem’s mission in the world.
A message hidden in the juxtaposition of Parah and Chodesh could be the importance of the two principles they teach us. Chodesh reveals the affection Hashem shows toward us and the power He invests in us, in both spiritual and physical areas. However, we need to be worthy of this status by serving Him submissively, without adding in our own ideas, just as we fulfill the mitzvah of Parah Adumah.
This, then, is the lesson we take with us from Hachodesh Hazeh Lochem into the Pesach season. Know your prominence in Hashem’s eyes, and be certain to be deserving of it, by serving Him faithfully. Adapted by M. Papoff 054-845-1543נתרם ע”י ר’ שלמה ווייס