Parshas Bo 5761 Renewal By Rabbi Joshua (triennially known as The Hoffer) Hoffman With gratitude to the Almighty for sustaining me and a prayer that He continue to do so, this week's message marks the completion of three years of Netvort. Thanks to my readers for their comments, questions and suggestions, and a special thanks to my editor for his continued assistance. In memory of my mother, Yoninah bas Zevi Hirsch, whose yahrzeit will be this coming Tuesday, the thirteenth of Shevat. The Pesach Haggadah, in discussing the mitzvah of "vehigadeta levincha" - "and you shall tell it to your son," - which is the mitzvah of relating the experience of the redemption from Egypt on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan - asks, perhaps the mitzvah begins from the beginning of the month? An answer is given in the Haggadah, but the question itself needs to be understood. Why would it occur to us that this mitzvah should begin on the first day of Nisan? Didn't the redemption begin on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan, when the Israelites left Egypt? Rabbi Aharon Soloveichik explained that the purpose of the redemption was the giving of the Torah to the nation, and that process began, not at Mt.Sinai, but in Egypt, with the giving of the first mitzvah to the nation, that of the obligation to sanctify the new Moon ('Kiddush ha-Chodesh'). This mitzvah, as recorded in our parsha, was given on the first say of Nisan, and, therefore, that is when the redemption really began. For this reason, we may have thought that the mitzvah of relating the redemption begins on that day, and the author of the Haggadah had to adduce proof that it does not. What remains to be understood is, what is the connection between redemption and the mitzvah of the sanctification of the New Moon, and, moreover, why is this the first mitzvah given to the nation as a collective? The Sefas Emes writes that the idea behind the mitzvah of Kiddush ha-Chodesh is that of renewal, an ability that comes through realizing that the inner reality of the world is grounded in God's continued act of creation. We articulate this idea in our weekday prayers when we say "and in His goodness renews daily, perpetually, the work of creation." This realization, writes the Sefas Emes, was missing from the Israelite nation in Egypt, and was the root cause of their exile there. Failure to realize God's presence and workings behind the mask of the natural causes one to be caught in the web of his circumstances, and think that there is no way to better his situation. Every Jew, however, carries within him a sense of renewal, the ability to recognize the inner essence of reality, connect himself to God and rise above the natural. Therefore, the mitzvah of Kiddush ha-Chodesh, which represents this ability, was the first mitzvah given to the nation. The ability for renewal, explains the Sefas Emes, is represented by the New Moon, which disappears and then reappears, as opposed to Shabbos, which is a constant, and is really a foreshadowing and taste of the world to come. In kabbalistic sources, Moshe is in the category of Shabbos, while the Jewish nation is represented by the New Moon. For this reason, writes the Sefas Emes, the rabbis write that Moshe had difficulty in understanding the precise nature of this mitzvah. For Moshe, the divine aspect of reality was as clear as day, while Kiddush ha-Chodesh represents the ability to see the divine when it is not directly discernable. God therefore showed Moshe the New Moon during the twilight period, representing the perception of the Jewish nation. It is interesting to note that Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, in his classic discourse on this mitzvah, shows through a elaborate discussion of halachic sources that when the High Court in Jerusalem sanctifies the New Moon, it is actually doing so as the representative of the nation of Israel, from whom it draws the ability and authority to make this declaration. Thus, the analysis of Kiddush ha-Chodesh given by the Sefas Emes on a homiletic level has a basis in halachic sources, as well. I believe that there is an additional element to the mitzvah of Kiddush ha-Kodesh, not mentioned by the Sefas Emes, that further explains its position as the first mitzvah given to the Jewish people, and the beginning point of the redemption. Kiddush ha-Chodesh can only be done in the Holy Land. Moreover, the Rambam, in a remarkable passage in his Book of Commandments, writes that there must be a minyan of Jews in Eretz Yisroel for Kiddush ha-Chodesh to be effective. Today, the appearance of the New Moon is not determined by the High Court, but rather by the calendar fixed by Hillel over 1500 years ago in the latter part of the Talmudic era. Still, this determination takes effect through the Jewish people living in Eretz Yisroel. Without a minyan of Jews living there, the New Moon would not be sanctified, and our entire calendar would be in disarray. However, writes the Rambam, there is a divine assurance that there will always be at least a minyan of Jews in the Holy Land, and, so, we need not worry about the effectiveness of the calendar. The intricate connection between the people, the land and the mitzvah of Kiddush ha-Chodesh, as presented by the Rambam, is, I believe, what lies behind its choice as the first mitzvah given to the nation, and the beginning point of the redemption. In parshas Vaeirah, God tells Moshe that He will take the nation out of Egypt, and uses four different expressions to describe the process of redemption. He then says, "I shall bring you to the land about which I have raised My hand to give it to Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov" (Shemos 5 : 7). The rabbis refer to four expressions of redemption, but, in reality, there are five. Why isn't the last one reckoned together with the others? Rav Aharon Soloveichik explained that redemption at any level is not complete unless it is realized in the Holy Land, the natural place of the Jewish people. Thus, the expression ' veheivesi' - 'and I shall bring,' - rather than being a separate expression of redemption, is inherently connected to each of the other four expressions of redemption. Following this thought, the mitzvah of Kiddush ha-Chodesh, which can only be fulfilled in Eretz Yisroel, and which depends upon the continued presence of the nation there, is an appropriate choice as the first mitzvah given to the nation and thereby the first step in the process of redemption. This explanation is, in fact, consistent with that of the Sefas Emes that we have presented. He sees Kiddush ha-Chodesh as representative of the Jewish people's ability to see the divine behind outward reality and thereby achieve a sense of renewal. Eretz Yisroel is the land that the nation is charged to utilize as the setting for its development as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, reflecting the divine in everyday life on both an individual and a national level. Fulfillment of this goal constitutes the culmination of the redemption process, which began with the giving of the first mitzvah, that of Kiddush ha-Chodesh.