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Chassidut on the Torah |
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The week of Bo, 5762 Overview Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16)
opens with the plagues of locusts and darkness. Then, Moshe warned Pharaoh of
the last plague, the death of the firstborn. G-d commanded the Jews to
designate a lamb as a pascal offering which would be slaughtered and its blood
put on the doorpost, a sign so that in that Jewish home, no firstborn would be
harmed. G-d commanded that Jews
not to do labor on the first and last days of the holiday, to eat matzahs, and
not to own any leavening. The Jews did as they were commanded, and the night of
Passover, the non-Jewish male and animal firstborns were killed. The Egyptians
sent the Jews away, bestowing upon them many riches. They hurried the Jews so
much so that the Jews’ dough did not have time to rise and remained unleavened
matzahs. Next are listed a few of the Passover laws for future generations.
Also mentioned, are laws of consecrating firstborn Jewish males and animals,
and the mitzvah of tefillin. Insights This week’s Torah portion includes G-d’s very first commandment for the Jewish people: the sanctification of the new month (see Sefer HaChinuch for an in depth explanation). Rashi comments on the first verse of B’reishis (Genesis), that G-d began the Torah with the story of creation until the Egyptian exodus, as opposed to beginning with this mitzvah, in order to demonstrate that He is the Creator of everything, and therefore it is His privilege to give the land of Israel to whomever He chose: the Jewish people. Nevertheless, we can still ask ‘Why is the first commandment something obscure—the sanctification of the moon?’ It must be that there is something especially significant, a basic foundation, in this mitzvah that made it the first one to be commanded. The Rebbe cites the Midrash on parshat Nasa, that G-d’s intention in the creation of the world was that He desired to create for Himself a dwelling place in the lower realms. This means that He wanted His sanctity to dwell even in this physical plane. How do we accomplish this task? By doing G-d’s commandments—by doing divinely inspired actions in a physical world—we are revealing His sanctity. Every time we use something physical to do a commandment, Chanuka candles, or challahs on Shabbat, or a coin for tzedakah, we draw down Divine energy upon our body, soul, and on the physical object itself, making a dwelling place for G-d in this plane. Now back to our case in point. What does making for G-d a dwelling place have to do with the sanctification of the new moon? In Tanya, (2/7) the Alter Rebbe makes an interesting distinction. The physical world, consists of two different elements: time and space. Different sources explain that time was created before space; the very first creation, and the prerequisite for everything else, is time. From this it is easy to understand why the very first commandment of the Torah was the commandment of sanctification of the moon. Jewish time is based on the 29 or 30 day lunar month. Years begin and end when the month is completed. The dates of holidays are all determined by the cycle of the moon. By our fulfilling the commandment of sanctifying the arrival of the new lunar month, we draw down Divine energy on the entire construct of time. This is the meaning of the blessing, “(G-d) sanctifies Israel and (the events at that) time”. Matter is conserved, even a soul can never die. The one commodity we can never hold on to is time. Let us try from now on to use every fraction of time to make this world a dwelling for G-d which will be revealed with the imminent redemption. How does this connect with the beginning of the Torah—that the Land of Israel was given to the Jewish people. This is to remind us that besides time, also physical matter must be instilled with holiness. By imbuing both time and space with holiness, we will hasten the fulfillment of the prophecy that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of G-d, as the waters cover the sea.” May it be now! Shabbat Shalom, Shaul |
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Ascent of Safed
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