Parshas Bo 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
החדש הזה לכם ראש חדשים ראשון הוא לכם לחדשי השנה ... (יב-ב)
The first mitzvah given to the Jewish people as a nation is the mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh, that Beis Din must sanctify and establish the new month through the testimony of witnesses who saw the new moon. This mitzvah signifies the Jewish people’s control over time, and establishes that the calendar is determined not by celestial cycles but by the declaration of the Beis Din. Indeed, the Gemara says that even when Beis Din made a mistake, and was mekadesh the new month in error, the calendar follows their decision. However, this quality of being “above time” has an added layer of meaning.
The Chasam Sofer zt”l explains that the moon symbolizes the Jewish people, who wax and wane throughout history. By granting us the authority to sanctify the month, Hashem taught us that even in times of diminishment, we possess the power to defy despair and find the strength to redouble our efforts to succeed. In this sense we are truly “above time.”
But how do we tap into this koach? From where do we get this strength? Perhaps the answer lies in the zechus that allowed us to leave Mitzrayim in the first place - "בני בכורי ישראל" - the fact that we are Hashem’s beloved children. As such, we never lose hope that in whatever situation arises, Hashem will always be there to help his Yiddishe kinder. This is the koach that is mechazek us always to push through whatever challenges or low moments we may be experiencing and get closer to our Father in Heaven. Notably, the letters of Parashas Bo (בא) also form the word av (אב), Father. For it was Hashem’s fatherly love for us that enabled us to climb out of the depraved morass that was Mitzrayim and merit the geulah, the redemption from bondage.
Such is the power of a Father’s love for His son that it can empower him so much as to extract him from the deepest depths of tumah and raise him up to the most sublime heights. This is our relationship with Hakadosh Boruch Hu.
May we all be zoche to feel Hashem’s deep love for us, and take chizuk in the fact that we have a Tatte who loves us and wants us so much to succeed, and through that, to taka be mischazek and shteig vaiyter in Torah and avodah.