The Chofetz Chaim was once in Warsaw on an Erev Rosh Chodesh, and he was looking to find a minyan for the tefillah of Yom Kippur Kotton. He asked a few chassidim if they say this tefillah, and they answered that it was not their minhag. The tzaddik persisted and asked why it was not their custom, and they answered because it was not their rebbe’s minhag. “Ah, said the Chofetz Chaim, “you remind me of a story that happened to me.”
“I was once on a train headed for a long journey, but there were no Yidden in sight to converse with. At the very first stop, I was happy to see a Yid and embarking the train. I asked him what his destination was, and I was pleased to hear that he would be getting off at the same station that I was. Now I could enjoy the company of a fellow Yid throughout my entire trip. But lo and behold, as we were getting closer to the very next stop, I noticed that my companion stood up and readied himself to get off.
“Reb Yid,” I asked, “didn’t you say that you are headed to the same place that I was? That is still quite a distance away. Why are you getting off at the next city?
“He explained that those who have the wherewithal to pay for a full ticket can allow themselves the luxury of taking a train ride to their destination nonstop. But he was a beggar who did not have the means to pay for a full ticket. So what does he do? He collects just enough money to get him to the first stop. Then he gets off and collects again, enough to get him to the next stop. He does this over and over again until he reaches his final destination.”
The Chofetz Chaim concluded, “Your rebbe is a great tzaddik. He has a great accumulation of zechuyos for himself to make it through the entire year… from one Rosh Hashanah to the next. But for regular Yidden like us, we don’t have as many credits to get us through the entire year. We must daven every Erev Rosh Chodesh and beg Hashem that He grant us another month of life, health, and parnossah that we may continue to serve Him. Every month is a new stop to get us to the next station.”
“On a day of your gladness, and on your festivals, and on your new moons you shall sound the trumpets…” (Bamidbar 10:10). Rosh Chodesh is compared to a Yom Tov. Fasting is prohibited, and it is a mitzvah to feast on Rosh Chodesh (Orach Chaim 419). Why is Rosh Chodesh special, and what is the nature of this celebration?
This Shabbos, we lein the final chapter in the series of the Four Parshiyos, “Hachodesh hazeh lochem.” There is something unique about every first, and this is the first mitzvah that we were commanded as a nation. What is so special about this mitzvah, and what overall message does it convey for our general relationship with Hakadosh Boruch Hu? Before we learn the lessons, we must first examine the precise language of the Torah in this mitzvah.
“Hachodesh hazeh lochem” (Shemos 12:2). What is the meaning of this month being “for you” and why couldn’t the Torah just have said this month will be the first in the order of the months? Secondly, it would seem that the posuk is redundant. “This month shall be for you the beginning of the months…” And then it repeats, “It shall be for you the first of the months of the year.”
Furthermore, the Gemara tells us that Hashem showed Moshe Rabbeinu what the moon looks like in its renewal and told him, “This you shall see and sanctify” (Rosh Hashanah 20a). Although we know through calculations of astronomy that the time for the new month is arriving, we must wait for the bais din to be “mekadeish” the new month, and before this process, it is not yet Rosh Chodesh. The mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 25b) tells us that if bais din and all of Yisroel saw the new moon, and the witnesses were examined, but bais din did not have a chance to say “mekudosh” before dark, it is not Rosh Chodesh until the next day.
Even if the bais din made a mistake in saying it’s Rosh Chodesh, their declaration is valid. Even more amazing is that bais din can add a day to the months on their own when they deem it necessary. For example, if they see that in chodesh Tishrei, Shabbos and Yom Kippur will occur on consecutive days, which could cause inconvenience to the community, they would add an extra day to the previous month, thus avoiding the problem. We see from all this that the Jewish calendar is dependent on the bais din.
There were those among the gentiles that scorned us by saying that for many centuries we were ignorant of the science of astronomy until we learned it from the Greeks. Their proof of this is that we wouldn’t know the arrival of the new month until the witnesses testified that they saw the new moon. But this, says Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch, is nonsense. For there were many times when it was cloudy, and the moon could not be seen. Obviously, when this occurred, we had to rely on the astronomical calculations. Furthermore, we find that Dovid was able to tell Yehonoson, “Behold, tomorrow is the New Moon…” (Shmuel I 20:5). It is clear from then that they knew the calculations. Why then was it necessary to go through the process of witnesses testifying, and depending on the bais din to declare the new month?
Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch explains: the purpose of the creation of the moon is explained in the Torah, “And they shall serve as signs and for moadim” (Bereishis 1:14). A moed is not merely a celebration, but a convocation, a meeting between two parties at a given time. The Mishkon was called Ohel Moed because it was a meeting place between Hakadosh Boruch Hu and us as it says: “It is there that I will set My meetings with you and I shall speak with you” (Shemos 25:22). But that meeting must take place out of love, not because we are compelled to do so, like a servant who must report to his master.
This is why a moed is not merely a day that repeats itself annually on the yearly cycle. Hashem wants it to be special by mutual consent. A holy day of get-together between Himself and His holy nation, Klal Yisroel. This is why the new month through which the moed will be determined is not solely dependent on the natural cycle of the moon. Rather, Hashem notifies us of the general time frame in which He would like to meet us. But the specific day He left up to us to determine so that we meet Him of our own volition, not because we are forced to do it.
About this, the Torah says: “these are the appointed festivals of Hashem, the holy convocations, which you shall designate as holy convocations” (Vayikra 23:4). It is the Bnei Yisroel that establish the special days of meeting.
But not only are the three regalim called moadim, but every Rosh Chodesh is called a moed. The point of this monthly convocation is to contemplate the renewal of the moon and to be inspired by it. Whenever the moon reunites with the sun to reflect a new light, we too should awaken ourselves to repentance to reunite with Hashem so that Hashem’s light will shine upon us, and we can illuminate the world with this holiness. According to one opinion in the Gemara, the name Esther is Persian for the moon. In light of what was said, she epitomized the reflection of the light of Hashem upon all the nations she ruled over.
This is why the Torah is repetitive in its language, for it speaks about two separate mitzvos. The first one, Hachodesh hazeh lochem, is to sanctify the beginning of the month upon the sighting of the new moon. The second is that the order of the months of the year should start with Nissan, the month when we were born as a nation, when Hashem redeemed us from slavery and took us out of Mitzrayim.
What we must take from all of this is that Rosh Chodesh is a very special day. It is not merely the first of the month, but rather a day of contemplation, elevation of our tefillos, and a time to come closer to Hashem. We should rejoice in the knowledge that Hashem desires our company, He wants to be close to us, and for this reason, He blessed us with a schedule full of days of convocation. This is expressed in the Mussaf of Rosh Chodesh, “He sanctifies Yisroel and the New Moons.” Like the new moon that renews itself, we too should undergo a renewal every Rosh Chodesh.
If this is true with every Rosh Chodesh, it is much more so with Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the head of all months. For this is the month in which Hashem redeemed us from Mitzrayim and we became a nation. If so, it behooves us to think about why we were redeemed and what we represent. To any other nation in the world, liberty means freedom of expression and freedom of the ability to do as one chooses. This is a far cry from what a Yid calls “cheirus.”
“Halilu avdei Hashem…” and not servants of Paroh. We rejoice at the fact that we were freed in order to be able to accept the Torah and become the purpose of Creation, serving Hashem and being a light to the nations of the world by being a living example of Hashem’s teachings. If so, we must make a cheshbon hanefesh whether we are utilizing this gift of cheirus to its fullest, and if not, how we can improve ourselves.
As these lines are being written, we are sitting on shpilkes in this war with Iran, anxious and fearful of the outcome. Will there be an overthrow of their murderous regime, drastically changing the face of the Middle East, or will this drag on without a decisive conclusion? This could lead to the amplification of protests from both the left and right of the political spectrum in the U.S., thus stifling a tremendous opportunity for change and removal of strife.
However, no matter the outcome, this is not our ultimate wish. We daven for the day when Hashem shows us open miracles and carries us on the “Wings of Eagles” to Eretz Yisroel. But for that to happen, we must prove ourselves worthy of it by living a life of ruchniyus, which will elicit the type of yeshuos where the entire world will recognize that we are the Am Hanivchar.