Illustration credit: Rivka Tsinman
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
Our parashah contains the first mitzvah given to Benei Yisrael: deciding when each new month begins with Rosh Hodesh.
(ב) הַחֹ֧דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֛ה לָכֶ֖ם רֹ֣אשׁ חֳדָשִׁ֑ים רִאשׁ֥וֹן הוּא֙ לָכֶ֔ם לְחׇדְשֵׁ֖י הַשָּׁנָֽה׃
This month shall be for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.
Why is Rosh Hodesh described as being לָכֶם (lakhem, for you)?
מָשָׁל לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁהָיוּ לוֹ אוֹצָרוֹת מְלֵאִים זָהָב וָכֶסֶף אֲבָנִים טוֹבוֹת וּמַרְגָּלִיּוֹת, וְהָיָה לוֹ בֵּן אֶחָד, כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהָיָה הַבֵּן קָטָן הָיָה אָבִיו מְשַׁמֵּר אֶת הַכֹּל, הִגְדִּיל הַבֵּן וְעָמַד עַל פִּרְקוֹ אָמַר לוֹ אָבִיו כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהָיִיתָ קָטָן אֲנִי הָיִיתִי מְשַׁמֵּר אֶת הַכֹּל, עַכְשָׁיו שֶׁעָמַדְתָּ עַל פִּרְקְךָ הֲרֵי הַכֹּל מָסוּר לְךָ.
כָּךְ הָיָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְשַׁמֵּר אֶת הַכֹּל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית א:יד): "וְהָיוּ לְאֹתֹת וּלְמוֹעֲדִים." כֵּיוָן שֶׁעָמְדוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מָסַר לָהֶם הַכֹּל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: "הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם."
It’s like a king who had a treasury full of gold and silver and jewels. The king had one child. While that child was young, the king took care of all the treasure. But when the child grew up, the king said:
“When you were little, I took care of all this. Now that you’re mature, I’m giving everything to you.”
At first the Holy Blessed One took care of time. We see this in the Creation story, where it says that the sun and moon (which God controls) “shall be signs for the set times” (Bereishit 1:14). But once Benei Yisrael matured, God handed it all over to them, as it says, “this month shall be for you.”
According to this midrash, when Benei Yisrael left Mitzrayim they achieved a kind of spiritual growth and God gave them control over time. New months do not begin all on their own. Rather, Benei Yisrael have to watch the sky and spot the new moon, and Rosh Hodesh can only begin when they say so. By deciding when new months begin, Benei Yisrael also decide when all the holidays will take place!
- What is special about control over time? What does this have to do with freedom from slavery?
- As you mature, what are some ways that you gain more control over how you spend your time?
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