The first commentary by Rashi in the Chumash says that the Torah is not a history book, it is a law book. If it is a law book for us, why doesn’t the Torah start with the first mitzvah given directly to the Jews? That mitzvah is Rosh Chodesh, which is found in Parshat Bo this week. As we learned in Morah Ora’s class last year, Rashi says that Hashem didn’t start with the mitzvot in order to prove that He created the world and gave us the land.
Why would the first mitzvah given directly to the Jews be Rosh Chodesh? Why not Shema, or Shabbat, or any other mitzvah? Rosh Chodesh seems so random. There are two possible answers which I’d like to share with you.
I heard the first answer from Rav Yitzchak Lerner. Hashem told us when all the chagim would be: Pesach is on the 15th of Nisan,Sukkot is on the 15th of Tishrei, we know when Tisha b’Av is, etc. And now, the one mitzvah that we have a part in is declaring when Rosh Chodesh is. In order for the start of the new month to be determined, two eidim go to the Sanhedrin when they see the moon and tell them that it is Rosh Chodesh. On Shabbat during kiddush, we say ״מקדש השבת״. However, on yom tov we say ״מקדש ישראל והזמנים״ to show that we decide the months and when they are.
The first mitzvah given to us in the Torah was about partnership. That mitzvah is פרו ורבו, because as Rashi says, you need three things to create a child: A man, a woman, and Hashem. And now in Parshat Bo, the first mitzvah given directly to B’nei Yisrael is Rosh Chodesh, because we get to determine when the beginning of the new month is set. Once again, this shows that we have a partnership with Hashem.
The second answer is that Hashem wants us to realize that each month the moon changes size. It grows bigger and smaller. Just as the moon grows and changes in size, so too we grow and change. Additionally, every month is a new beginning. We need to try and remember that it is natural for us to change, just as the moon changes.
We must always remember that we are in a relationship with Hashem, and that we are meant to be constantly changing. May we be zoche to take on something new each month in order to help us grow in a positive direction as we continue to build our relationship with Hashem. | 