This week's parsha represents a first: the very first mitzvah given to us as a nation is "HaChodesh hazeh lachem," the commandment to declare Nisan as the first month of the Jewish year. History, in a sense, began all over again the moment we were redeemed from Egypt. Still, why choose specifically thismitzvah to start us off? Why not the Pesach sacrifice, or wiping out Amalek or choosing a king? What's so special about Nisan and the calendar?
Timing is everything. With this mitzvah, Hashem gives us the gift of Time. Slaves, you see, have no time of their own; they eat, work and rest only if and when the master commands them. Time is Choice, and slaves have no meaningful choices. With our freedom, we gained control over our time. We could choose to celebrate Shabbat, choose to work or to cease working. In terms of the holidays, we actually became the lords of time, being able to regulate the observance of festivals by adding new months when we saw fit (now fixed at nine leap months every nineteen years). This power was ceded to us by Hashem and is embodied in the bracha recited on festivals, thanking G-d for being "m'kadesh Yisrael v'hazmanim" -sanctifying us so that we, in turn, can then transform a mundane day into something holy, something "good," (thus the term Yom Tov).
This control actually helps to unite the nation, which may be why it is our first order of the day. A Jew must be in constant touch with Jewish society, to know when a leap month has been added and when a holiday falls. A lone Jew on a desert island could keep Shabbat, it's true, but the festivals - whose holiness is confined to a specific time - would soon be hopelessly out of reach to him, as he would be unaware of what had been fixed by the Sanhedrin in the calendar. He would end up eating tasteless crackers instead of matzot, and living in a grass shack instead of a sukkah.
Time presents its own challenges. Knowing how to harness and handle time is a major struggle of our lives. Like cellular phones and computers, we must be careful that the slave does not become the master.
A new friend of mine (you know who you are!) recently confided that he often feels he has to work on Shabbat. I asked him what he does for a living and he said, "I own my own business." So I asked him (as only good friends can do!): "Do you really own your business - or does your business ownyou?" (He has since made a valiant attempt to include Shabbat in his priorities)
How often do we miss opportunities for personal growth or family events because we claim, "we just don't have the time." Hashem begs to differ: We do have the time; we just have to figure out what to do with it!
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Rabbi Weiss is the director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.
Timing is everything. With this mitzvah, Hashem gives us the gift of Time. Slaves, you see, have no time of their own; they eat, work and rest only if and when the master commands them. Time is Choice, and slaves have no meaningful choices. With our freedom, we gained control over our time. We could choose to celebrate Shabbat, choose to work or to cease working. In terms of the holidays, we actually became the lords of time, being able to regulate the observance of festivals by adding new months when we saw fit (now fixed at nine leap months every nineteen years). This power was ceded to us by Hashem and is embodied in the bracha recited on festivals, thanking G-d for being "m'kadesh Yisrael v'hazmanim" -sanctifying us so that we, in turn, can then transform a mundane day into something holy, something "good," (thus the term Yom Tov).
This control actually helps to unite the nation, which may be why it is our first order of the day. A Jew must be in constant touch with Jewish society, to know when a leap month has been added and when a holiday falls. A lone Jew on a desert island could keep Shabbat, it's true, but the festivals - whose holiness is confined to a specific time - would soon be hopelessly out of reach to him, as he would be unaware of what had been fixed by the Sanhedrin in the calendar. He would end up eating tasteless crackers instead of matzot, and living in a grass shack instead of a sukkah.
Time presents its own challenges. Knowing how to harness and handle time is a major struggle of our lives. Like cellular phones and computers, we must be careful that the slave does not become the master.
A new friend of mine (you know who you are!) recently confided that he often feels he has to work on Shabbat. I asked him what he does for a living and he said, "I own my own business." So I asked him (as only good friends can do!): "Do you really own your business - or does your business ownyou?" (He has since made a valiant attempt to include Shabbat in his priorities)
How often do we miss opportunities for personal growth or family events because we claim, "we just don't have the time." Hashem begs to differ: We do have the time; we just have to figure out what to do with it!
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Rabbi Weiss is the director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.