This new moon (Ha’chodesh Hazeh)
shall be to you the head of months (This week’s Torah
portion - 12:2).
Moses found difficulty with the renewal
of the moon...G-d therefore showed him with His finger the
moon in the sky and said to him, “You will see a moon
like this and you will then sanctify [the month].”
Now how did G-d show it to Moses? Did He not speak to him
only by day? …Rather, this chapter was said to Moses
just before sunset, and He showed him [the moon] when it
became dark (Rashi, from Midrash Mechilta. Talmud Menachot
29a)
Why did Moses have a problem
with the moon’s renewal?
And what did G-d show
him? If there was a moon in the sky, Moses could have looked up and seen it
on his own. And if there was no moon yet – which is more likely because the
new moon was just being born – what exactly did G-d show him? How can a new
moon be seen with the naked eye?
Various reasons for Moses’
difficulty are posited by the sages. Some explain that Moses was unclear as
to the exact criteria necessary to determine when we must sanctify the new
moon. Others suggest that Moses was unsure how to determine whether he was
actually seeing the new moon or perhaps the final stages of the old moon.
But all these explanations seem inadequate for several reasons: Moses, who
was quite an educated man, could have figured out, like any astronomer, the
factors that constitute a new moon. Why did he need G-d to show it to him?
Clearly, Moses was disturbed by something that only G-d could resolve. Additionally,
as mentioned, the new moon does not yet have any shape and form, so what exactly
did Moses see?
The mystics explain that
Moses was struggling with some of the fundamental dilemmas of existence as
they are reflected in the birth of the new moon (see Ohr HaTorah on this chapter,
vol. 8 pp. 2902). Here we will focus on the psychological and personal application
of this strange episode – which illuminates one of the most profound challenges
in life: How to deal with pain and loss.
But first, another practical
question. Why is the mitzvah of sanctifying the new moon told to Moses as
a prelude to the redemption of the Jews from Egyptian bondage? What connection
is there between the moon’s renewal and the Egyptian Exodus?
The waxing and waning
moon reflects the ups and downs of life and history. The waning moon represents
difficult times; periods that get darker and darker, like the fading moon.
But just as the moon disappears, when all seems bleak and lost, we experience
rebirth, newfound life – a new moon has been born.
The long Egyptian exile
was the first documented instance of institutionalized oppression perpetrated
by one nation against another. Multitudes of Jews were killed, tortured or
worked to death in forced labor. The moon was dark indeed.
By commanding Moses to
sanctify the new moon G-d was in effect imparting to Moses the power of renewal:
Just as the moon is reborn right after its disappears, so too will the Jewish
people experience a renaissance following their darkest moments.
Moses, however, was disturbed.
He was happy to hear that the time of redemption – the birth of the new moon
– had arrived. But he was bothered by the fact that when things get so dark,
to the point that the moon emits no light at all, how can mortal man hold
on? How do we gather strength when we don’t see any glimmer of hope? If we
don’t have the energy to see it through, we can be consumed and destroyed
by the darkness, and then never reach the new light…
Philosophically, Moses
understood that a mortal human being will never fully fathom the mystery of
pain and suffering. He also understood and believed that the “end story” was
that we will endure and prevail over all our adversaries. Indeed, the Egyptian
oppression forged a nation with enormous power, an eternal nation. The
more they were oppressed, the more they proliferated and grew.
But Moses was disturbed
because he knew that this was not enough. Moses in effect was saying: “If
you want man to grow through the dark challenges, You, G-d, must give us the
power of hope – the strength to see it through and forge ahead despite the
inability to see the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’.”
G-d agreed. In response,
G-d “pointed His finger” and showed Moses something that is otherwise impossible
to see: The birthing itself. The point when the darkness turns into light,
the exact moment when the seeds of suffering yield the fruits of greatness
When we cry over a disappointment
or loss we feel pain and sorrow. We (and others) may understand that “those
that sow in tears will reap in joy” (Psalms 126:5). But while we weep and
taste our bitter tears, we cannot at the same time see the joy that will come.
The seed by its very nature conceals its future fruit.
G-d therefore divulged
to Moses the mystery of transformation, how darkness turns into light. And
He revealed it as the sun was setting. Usually G-d spoke to Moses during the
day. But in this instance G-d wanted to show Moses that even darkness yields
light. He therefore spoke to him just before sunset, and He showed him the
moon as darkness was falling.
This vision of Moses has
a perpetual effect for all generations to come – to give us the power to make
it through any challenge, no matter how difficult.
All birth in this world
comes only after a moment of darkness. Growth is always preceded by a void.
Creativity is a child of frustration. But when things seem bleak we get demoralized,
and that in turn makes things far worse. If only we were able to see the birthing
to come we would be able to endure the hardest times. The problem is that
we cannot see from beneath the rubble the light ahead.
So once in history a man
was shown the moment of rebirth. Once in history the invisible became visible.
That one vision has given
us strength throughout history, as our lives have waxed and waned like the
moon, to see it through. Even as we have stood at the abyss, at the brink
of extinction, something deep inside us reminded us that all is not lost.
Where does such conviction
come from? How does a mother have strength to fight for her child even when
all doctors have given up hope? What power did the Jews have when they were
herded into the gas chambers to sing “Ani Maamin” (“I believe”)? How is it
possible that against all odds, in situations that were absolutely hopeless,
a nation has not just survived but thrived?
This enormous, superhuman,
power is rooted in Moses’ vision one lonely night in Egypt. As he looked up into
the skies Moses saw nothing. The moon had completely disappeared. But then
G-d pointed his finger and directed Moses to look closer: Hachodesh hazeh
– here, look at the secret of rebirth, here I show you the moment that no
man has ever seen and no man will ever see – the moment of transition, when
one state is about to end only to open up a new state. Here is the invisible
intersection where dark meets light, pain meets joy and exile meets redemption.
Birth means something
new. We therefore can never actually see the exact moment when the old becomes
new. But Moses did see – once for all times. G-d showed Moses the new moon
at its moment of rebirth, and said to him: "When the moon is reborn,
mark the beginning of a new month."
As we now read the story
of Exodus, the “book in which Israel goes from darkness to light” – the story
of process, the process of loss and renewal, of suffering and growth, the
process of death and birth – we can gather in our own lives much fortitude
from the events that took place 3319 year ago.
When the next new moon arrives, go outside and look up into the sky. If we
look hard enough perhaps we may get a glimpse of what Moses
saw. But even if we can’t, our very gaze into the
dark heavens, looking, searching, yearning, for the sliver
of the new moon’s birthing, carries immense power
– strength that can help us though any challenge.
* * *
Question for the Week: What does
the moon mean for you?
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