In our Torah portion “Bo,” we find the first commandment given to the Jewish nation, which is the commandment of sanctifying the month – i.e., determining the beginning of the month according to the new moon.
According to biblical commentator Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki), it would have been appropriate for the Torah to begin with this commandment. However, the Torah precedes the commandments with the chronological structure of the world, including a description of the act of creation, the lineage of the forefathers, and the story of the Egyptian enslavement and miraculous redemption – to prove to the world the providence and sovereignty of God over all parts of creation and the giving of the Land of Israel to the Jewish people.
The commandment of sanctifying the month, which God chose as the first commandment to be given to Israel alongside the redemption from Egypt, is not merely a technical instruction for those who establish the calendar on how and when to determine the new month, but this portion contains a central principle that is deeply embedded in the Jewish experience.
The Jews and the moon
King Solomon, in the “Song of Songs,” when describing God’s love for the people of Israel, expresses the beauty of the people in God’s eyes like the moon: “Who is this coming up like the dawn, beautiful as the moon…” (“Song of Songs” 6:10).
The beauty of the moon lies in its nature. Each month, the moon diminishes until it disappears. Its light fades and is barely seen, but then it is reborn; gradually it grows until, in the middle of the month, the moon is always full, radiant, and beautiful.
“The people of Israel is compared to the moon” (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 42a) because the Jewish people have the ability to reinvent themselves after darkness and disappearance. The sun is always large and strong, it has no ups and downs, it will never diminish or disappear. It is indeed great but does not renew itself, unlike the moon, which is reborn and grows.
In our portion, God tells the people of Israel just before the redemption, before their establishment as the chosen people: “This month shall be to you” (Exodus 12:2).
This renewal – it is yours, and this will characterize you at all times and in all situations.
In recent weeks, the hearts of millions of Jews around the world have been beating in unison. Some light has rekindled after the darkness of the past year in which the people of Israel experienced so much grief and darkness. A whole nation is holding its breath in anticipation of hostages returning home. This is the joy of a loving people.
It is very difficult to rejoice fully, as we await the return of all our brothers and sisters who are in darkness. We grieve and are heartbroken over the loss of beautiful young lives. Indeed, the moon does not yet shine perfectly, but amid the darkness of the night it brings with it a soft, quiet, and peaceful light. A light of renewal and joy.
However, in the future, in the era of redemption, the light will be strong and eternal like the light of the sun, and then the people of Israel will experience pure, unceasing joy. When the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, as recited every month in the “Kiddush Levanah” prayer upon seeing the moon growing in the first half of the month: “And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord binds up the breach of His people and heals the wound of His blow” (Isaiah 30:26). ■
The writer is rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites.