📋 Shiur Overview
Summary of the Shiur – Shabbos HaChodesh
Introduction
The shiur was delivered on Shabbos HaChodesh, on the verse “HaChodesh hazeh lachem rosh chadashim,” with a review of a shiur from three years ago, with new depth and clarity. The shiur builds itself in a clear logical flow: from a difficulty in the verse, through several layers of answers, to a profound chiddush about the essence of Yetzias Mitzrayim, and then a connection to the process of Shabbos and Chodesh.
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First Step: The Difficulty of “B’eretz Mitzrayim”
The verse says “Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe v’el Aharon b’eretz Mitzrayim leimor” – this is the only verse where it explicitly states that Hashem spoke to Moshe “b’eretz Mitzrayim” in the classic language of “Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor.”
The difficulty from the Mechilta: Egypt is a place full of tumah, avodah zarah, abominations – a place where one cannot hear the word of Hashem. Moshe Rabbeinu had to leave the city even to pray (as it says “k’tzeisi es ha’ir”). How can the verse say that Hashem spoke to him b’eretz Mitzrayim?
The Midrash Tanchuma’s answer: It was in the territory of Egypt, but not inside the city. However – this only answers the factual reality, not the verse itself. Why did the verse deliberately write “b’eretz Mitzrayim” if it actually wasn’t there? The verse wants to tell us something.
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Second Step: The First Answer – “From His Perspective” Is Not a Problem
The answer lies in the parshah itself: “V’avarti b’eretz Mitzrayim balailah hazeh” – Hashem says: I am entering Egypt. The speech to Moshe about the korban Pesach is itself already part of the miracle – a preparation for it, or “al shem he’asid.”
The foundation: From Moshe Rabbeinu’s perspective, he could not hear the word of Hashem in Egypt – that is his problem, his “chametz’dike vessels.” But from Hashem’s perspective, there was never any problem. Hashem is in Egypt just as He is everywhere. Therefore, Hashem can write in the Torah “Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe b’eretz Mitzrayim” – because from His perspective, this is true.
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Third Step: The Zohar – “Mistra D’leila V’lo Mistra Dilan”
The Zohar (Parshas Emor) says that the yichud of leil Pesach is “mistra d’leila v’lo mistra dilan” – from above, not from below. The Jews were not worthy, they only had the lowest level (Malchus/levanah), had not yet reached the pri’ah rabbasi/Yesod/fifty gates of Binah. “Ein chavush matir atzmo mibeis ha’asurim” – the Shechinah in exile cannot free itself. The miracle had to come from above.
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Fourth Step: The Sharp Difficulty on the Answer – “From His Perspective” Doesn’t Help Us
If one says that “from Hashem’s perspective there is no problem” – this doesn’t help at all! Because:
– Physically: I have a problem in this world, in the world after the tzimtzum.
– Spiritually: The entire goal of spirituality is to feel Hashem, to know the truth. If it doesn’t matter what I feel – that wasn’t my question.
The Nefesh HaChaim’s language: There is “from His perspective” and “from our perspective.” According to his approach (from Hashem’s perspective) there never was any Egypt – but my problem is from our perspective, and this is not solved by saying that from His perspective everything is fine.
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Fifth Step: The True Chiddush – “From Our Perspective – From His Perspective”
This is the core of the entire shiur:
When one says that there is a yichud from above in Eretz Mitzrayim, it means not only that Hashem is everywhere. It means that we can extract this, we can understand this, we can experience this yichud – even in Egypt.
This is a new precision: It’s not only “from His perspective” (which doesn’t help us), and not only “from our perspective” (which we cannot do alone). It’s “from our perspective – from His perspective” – that our experience can contain Hashem’s level. Hashem gives us the ability to experience the truth even from our lowly state – this is the true miracle of Yetzias Mitzrayim.
The logical flow until here:
1. Difficulty: How can it say “b’eretz Mitzrayim”?
2. Midrash’s answer: It’s not actually in the city – but this doesn’t answer the verse.
3. First answer: From Hashem’s perspective there is no Egypt – He can write “b’eretz Mitzrayim.”
4. Difficulty on the answer: “From His perspective there is no problem” doesn’t help me – my problem is from our perspective!
5. The true chiddush: Yetzias Mitzrayim means that Hashem makes it so that from our perspective we can reach the “from His perspective” – a yichud from above that becomes ours.
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Sixth Step: Where Do You Place the Crown? – The Chiddush of “Asher Hotzeisicha Me’eretz Mitzrayim”
From the chiddush of “from our perspective – from His perspective” grows a new question: On which moment do you place the “crown” – which moment receives the greatest honor?
The Natural Logic
Seemingly, the crown should come on the highest moment – the perfection. Like a person who worked himself up from poverty to wealth – he displays the picture of his success, not of his weak beginning. A talmid chacham takes pride in completing Shas, not in the first Mishnah that he didn’t understand. According to this, one should have said “Anochi Hashem Elokecha asher hotzeisicha meHar Sinai” – the crown should lie at Matan Torah, the moment of perfection.
Hashem’s Chiddush – The Crown Lies on the First, Weakest Moment
But Hashem does the opposite: He says “asher hotzeisicha me’eretz Mitzrayim” – He places the crown on the weakest, first moment, like a father who wants a picture of his child as a baby, not from his greatness. This is the meaning of “HaChodesh hazeh lachem rosh chadashim” – we count from Nissan (Yetzias Mitzrayim), not from Matan Torah or other greater moments.
A Sharp Observation
The Rishonim speak fondly about “zman matan Toraseinu” and ma’amad Har Sinai. But Hashem Himself in the Torah constantly mentions only Yetzias Mitzrayim. This shows that from above, one looks differently at where the crown belongs.
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Seventh Step: The Kabbalistic Foundation – Ohr Chozer, Malchus Is Keser
This connects with the order from below to above: the Malchus (the lowest sefirah) becomes the Keser (the highest). “Keser Elyon is Keser Malchus” – this is the “ohr chozer,” the light that turns back upward.
Why Is This a Greater Chiddush?
Because if the Keser is the Keser – that’s no chiddush, that’s how it is. But that the Malchus should become a Keser – that is a chiddush! That one can find Hashem in Eretz Mitzrayim, in the deepest place – this is more significant than the end of the journey. That one can turn back from below to above – this itself is a greater chiddush than the descent from above.
Rosh Chodesh Nissan – The Day of Ten Crowns
Rosh Chodesh Nissan, which “nasan eser atoros” (ten crowns), receives them not because it is the day of the best understanding, but because it is the day when one began to understand that one can be better – the weakest day that began the journey back up.
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Eighth Step: Shabbos and Chodesh – Two Processes in Avodas Hashem
Shabbos – The Simple, Natural Foundation
Shabbos is zecher l’ma’aseh bereishis – “ki sheishes yamim asah Hashem vayinach bayom hashevi’i.” Shabbos is kevi’a v’kayma – it doesn’t need kiddush by beis din. Shabbos comes by itself, in nature. Every person, even a small boy, knows when it’s Shabbos – one doesn’t work, one eats a seudah, one doesn’t go to cheder. Shabbos is the bereishis – the original, fundamental foundation. This is the order of from above to below – Hashem created, and we receive.
Chodesh – The Deeper, Wisdom-Based Foundation
The molad halevanah is also recognizable in nature – everyone can go out and see the moon. But – to know when exactly it comes, to build a calendar, that is already a wisdom. This is the secret of kiddush hachodesh: it requires a beis din, it was difficult for Moshe, it requires calculations (29 days, 12 hours, 793 parts), knowledge, patience, long measurements. All wisdoms begin from calculating the molad halevanah – afterward come all the stars, the sun, the entire world.
A practical example: I remember by heart which day of the week it is (because I live in weeks), but for the month I need to look at a calendar – because that is already a matter of wisdom.
This is the order of from below to above – the person works, calculates, understands, and comes to Hashem.
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Ninth Step: The Dialectical Interplay – Shabbos, Chodesh, and Yamim Tovim
The Central Chiddush in Three Layers:
1. Shabbos = Ma’aseh Bereishis – the simple truth, the basic foundation. Clear, visible, but difficult to understand in depth.
2. Chodesh = Sod Ha’ibur – the key, the introduction to the secret of ma’aseh bereishis. Through learning the calculations of the month, one begins to understand the secret of ma’aseh bereishis.
3. Yamim Tovim speak of ta’am in mitzvos – one wants to understand why. Even Shabbos, when one wants to give a reason, one says zecher l’Yetzias Mitzrayim (not ma’aseh bereishis), because ma’aseh bereishis is so basic that one doesn’t understand it immediately – one must begin from HaChodesh hazeh lachem.
Connection to the Ramban
– Shabbos = “zecher l’ma’aseh bereishis” = the order from above to below = the Ramban’s answer to R’ Yitzchak’s difficulty (one needs “Bereishis” because Shabbos teaches us fundamental beliefs)
– Nissan/Yetzias Mitzrayim = “HaChodesh hazeh lachem” = the order from below to above
Both are true, and one must live with both.
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Tenth Step: Shabbos Mevorchim – The Conclusion of the Sugya
Why does one say Shabbos Mevorchim? Because not everyone knows when Rosh Chodesh comes – not everyone is on that level, not everyone is in shul. But on Shabbos everyone is in shul. Therefore, Shabbos is the platform where one announces about Rosh Chodesh.
Shabbos HaChodesh (and all Shabbosos Mevorchim that stem from it) expresses: from Shabbos one can bring to Rosh Chodesh – from the simple truth of ma’aseh bereishis one can begin the journey to understand the secret.
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Conclusion: Both Become One
When one goes through the entire journey – from HaChodesh hazeh lachem (the beginning of understanding) to sod ma’aseh bereishis (the perfection) – then the question “where does it begin” falls away, because both are one complete plan. For one who already knows the entire Torah, for him the beginning is not really a separate part – Shabbos and Chodesh become one.
This is the chiddush of Shabbos HaChodesh: the weakest moment – Yetzias Mitzrayim, the beginning, the ohr chozer from below to above – is specifically the place where Hashem places His crown, because there lies the greatest chiddush: that from our perspective we can reach the from His perspective, that the Malchus becomes the Keser, that even in Eretz Mitzrayim one can hear the word of Hashem.
📝 Full Transcript
The Exodus from Egypt: The Innovation of “From His Side, From Our Side” – When the Almighty Speaks in the Land of Egypt
Introduction: Shabbat HaChodesh and the Verse “In the Land of Egypt”
Gentlemen, today is Shabbat HaChodesh. We are going to learn a simple lesson, Torah innovations, words of Torah, on the portion that is read: “This month shall be for you the beginning of months, it shall be for you the first of the months of the year.”
First I will say over an innovation, but I am adding to what we learned three years ago, I think, on Shabbat HaChodesh. We learned that in this verse there is a great innovation.
The Verse and Its Uniqueness
It truly begins a verse earlier: “And Hashem said to Moshe and to Aharon in the land of Egypt, saying.” If I remember correctly, this is the only verse that states explicitly that it is “in the land of Egypt.” There were other divine communications apparently in the land of Egypt, but it did not say “And Hashem spoke to Moshe saying,” rather “And He spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt” etc. But this is the only verse where it states in the language of the verse, the verse that says “And Hashem spoke to Moshe saying” states that it was “in the land of Egypt.”
Chapter 1: The Question of the Mechilta – How Can the Almighty Speak Within Egypt?
The Difficulty of the Verse
And truly it is a difficult verse. The Mechilta immediately says that it cannot be. “Do you say within the city”? It cannot be, for it says “when I leave the city.” We see that the Almighty did not speak with Moshe Rabbeinu within Egypt.
Egypt – A Place Where One Cannot Hear the Word of Hashem
In the city of Egypt there is no place where one can hear the word of Hashem. This is indeed the great problem of Egypt. Egypt is a place that is full of impurity, full of idolatry. One who dwells in Egypt, “And Hashem spoke to Moshe saying” does not apply to him. He cannot hear the word of Hashem there. He can hear much foolishness, much talk is spoken there, but not “And Hashem spoke to Moshe.”
The Proof from Moshe Rabbeinu’s Conduct
Regarding this we see that the Almighty spoke to Moshe only outside, at the burning bush, in the desert. They had to take the Jews out to the desert to speak with them. It states explicitly that Moshe Rabbeinu went out from the city even to pray, he could not even pray in Egypt, it was corrupt from prayer, it is a place of idol worshippers, a place of idols, one cannot pray there.
The Midrash Tanchuma’s Answer and Its Deficiency
But here is a difficult verse, it says “in the land of Egypt.” So the Midrash Tanchuma says that Egypt does not mean that it was actually in Egypt, and he can say that it was in the territory of Egypt, it even still belonged to Egypt, but it was not truly within the city, within the town, because it cannot be.
Okay, let us accept that the Midrash says a practical difference that the reality was outside. But he has not answered the verse.
The Verse Itself Is a Reality in Its Own Right
When a verse is written, the way it is written, we look at the verse, the verse is a reality in its own right, the verse is a thing in its own right. When it is written in the verse, the verse is particular, the verse does not usually say “And Hashem spoke to Moshe in the land of Egypt,” it clearly states that it was not so, it clearly states that Moshe Rabbeinu met the Almighty when he went out, etc. etc. If it explicitly states that the Almighty speaks in the land of Egypt, then it lies in the verse, in the verse the Almighty spoke to Moshe in the land of Egypt, which could not have been otherwise within the camp.
Chapter 2: The First Answer – The Torah Is the Miracle of the Exodus from Egypt
The Answer Lies in the Portion Itself
And we said that it is certain that the answer to the question is already stated later in the portion. The Almighty Himself asked the question, how can I speak to you in the land of Egypt? He said that this is indeed the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt.
“And I Will Pass Through the Land of Egypt” – The Almighty Enters Egypt
He tells him later, “And I will pass through the land of Egypt on this night,” I am going into Egypt. The communication that the Almighty spoke to Moshe Rabbeinu about taking the Passover offering was already there itself a part of the preparation, or because of the future, or itself the part of Torah, one can say, the part of Torah of this miracle that the Almighty can go into Egypt, He can strike there every firstborn and take out the Jews, He can indeed.
The Distinction Between Moshe’s Level and the Almighty’s Level
That Moshe usually cannot hear, it can even be, one can say it practically. Moshe Rabbeinu, when he was there, he truly could not, Egypt is not a place, it is full of abominations, full of foolishness, one cannot hear the word of Hashem there. Okay, that Moshe Rabbeinu had to go out from the city so that he could hear the word of Hashem.
But the Almighty does not have this problem. And when He writes in the Torah “And Hashem spoke to Moshe in the land of Egypt,” there is no problem there. The Torah was written in the desert later, I don’t know when he wrote this verse in Egypt. But the verse, because of the fact that there was the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt, because the Almighty entered Egypt, and one can say clearly, “And Hashem spoke to Moshe and to Aharon in the land of Egypt.”
The Foundation: From the Almighty’s Side There Is No Egypt
They explained to me, and I want to say it over in a clearer way, that here lies a great innovation. That one can say simply, everyone knows that from the Almighty’s side there is no Egypt, from the side of truth. That I say that here is a place where I do not feel the Divine Presence, where I am not there, this is according to my shell, according to my vessels, my chametz vessels, my vessels that must be kashered on erev Pesach. With these vessels I cannot, okay, that is my problem. It is not the Almighty’s problem. It is the Almighty’s problem that He made me, He made the entire system, but it is mine from the side of the creations.
The Almighty Is Everywhere
The Almighty is certainly in Egypt just as He is anywhere else, and He is certainly in every place just as He is anywhere else. So according to the truth, from the side of truth, from above, from the upper side, from the side of the supernal yechidah, the entire problem does not begin. So certainly the Almighty can write “And Hashem spoke to Moshe in the land of Egypt.” Moshe cannot speak with the Almighty in the land of Egypt, but the Almighty can write in the land of Egypt, it is not a problem at all.
Chapter 3: The Secret of the Night of Pesach – “From the Upper Side”
“This Month Shall Be for You” – The Preparation for the Exodus from Egypt
And one will even learn that this is the meaning of what we say regarding the Exodus from Egypt. Everyone knows that the secret, the great secret of the night of Pesach, we begin to make a preparation in “This month shall be for you.” We already truly made preparation on Shushan Purim and Purim and everything else, but “This month shall be for you” meant that it states in the Zohar in Parshat Emor, that the union, the yichud of the night of Pesach is from the upper side and not from our side.
The Jews Were Not Worthy
This means that truly, the Jews were not worthy, and the Jews were truly not worthy and not pleasant. From the Jews’ side there was a weak level, from the Jews’ side there was only the level of Malchut, they were the lowest level. They performed circumcision and priah, they did not have the proper priah rabbati of Yesod, which is the intellect, the first level to the covenant of Torah of the fifty gates of Binah.
The Level of “This Month Shall Be for You”
The Jews were not yet at this level, it was only the level of “This month shall be for you,” only the level of this month, the Shechinah, the Yesod Malchut, the moon, this is all that the Jews had. And from such a level one cannot be redeemed, for a prisoner cannot free himself from prison, the Shechinah is in exile, she cannot take herself out of exile alone.
But From the Almighty’s Side Everything Was Already There
But from the Almighty’s side there was no problem, from the Almighty’s side there were already all the unions, there was already the giving of the Torah itself, there was already everything, the Almighty is above time, the Almighty is above place, the Almighty is above…
[Note: Here the lecturer speaks to someone in the class]
Yossi, please don’t do that now, I have to do my class, do it later, please don’t play here, thank you.
The Almighty Is Above Time and Place
The Almighty is above time and place, one has no comprehension of this, the Almighty is also above the time and place of the deficiencies and virtues of levels, not of a person’s intellect, as he truly is, he is distant from all these things. Because the Almighty can be, when you are in Egypt He can speak to you, you did not hear, until you heard it may be it took a long time.
Chapter 4: The Deep Question – “From His Side” Does Not Help Alone
The Truth Is That This Is Not Enough
The truth is however that this is not enough at all, it is not enough, it does not help. Why? Because if the Almighty does not care whether I am ready or not, if it does not matter for the Shechinah itself, for the Ein Sof itself it does not matter at all, then I also have nothing from this.
The Problem of “According to His View”
And you might say that the Almighty redeemed the Jews, I need He took the Jews, this means He took the Jews according to His view, what does that accomplish? This means according to His view, there is a dispute that the Nefesh HaChaim calls from His side and from our side, but according to His view he holds that it does not matter whether one is prepared or not, but according to our view it does matter.
The Problem Is “From Our Side,” Not “From His Side”
So our problem was never according to His view, according to His view there is never any Egypt. So what does it mean He took us out of Egypt through the power of the supernal union, it is like a revelation that it is from His side and not from our side? If there is an Exodus from Egypt, then initially the problem was from our side, so the problem is not solved by saying that from His side there is no problem, the entire initially there is no problem, so initially there is no problem. If there is a problem, it must be solved on my level, it is not enough.
The Simple Question
It is a simple question, anyone who has ever thought about this topic must immediately say that to say that from the Almighty’s side there is no problem, that the Almighty is all good, everything is as it should be, everything is correct, helps me nothing, not materially and not spiritually.
It Does Not Help Materially
It does not help materially because I have a problem in this world, in the world after the tzimtzum.
It Does Not Help Spiritually
And it does not help spiritually because we say that our spirituality, the taste, our spirituality, the taste, our spirituality, the pleasure, is to know the Almighty, to taste the Almighty, to feel the Almighty, to feel the truth. You say that it is a truth where there is not even a difference what you feel, very good, that was not my question.
The Problem in Two Ways
Or in another way you say that by the Almighty there is also Egypt, very good, but I cannot speak with the Almighty in Egypt, my problem was not whether the Almighty is there or not, I did not have any doubt, you can say I did not have any doubt, and in faith I had a doubt in knowledge and feeling and awareness, you can call it that, so for me I have not settled the problem.
Chapter 5: The True Innovation – “From Our Side From His Side”
The Foundation: A Union from Above That Becomes Ours
We must understand, in the simplest way we must understand, that when we say that there is a union from the side of the night from His upper side in the land of Egypt, we mean to say that there is by us a union from the side of the night, that we can extract this union, that we can understand this union, this is already an innovation.
The Distinction Between “From Our Side” and “From Our Side From His Side”
It is indeed from our side, everything we speak of is from our side, we have nothing to do with ourselves, but here from our side from our side, there is from our side from His side, ah, already a new precision, a new twist, that is, and this itself must be said in two ways today.
The First Way: Not the Contemplation of a Great Kabbalist
First of all, it means that I say that it means that we are not speaking that the Almighty is everywhere, the Almighty can do everything, we are speaking of contemplations, that a Jew has many contemplations, there is a person who contemplates because he truly understands everything correctly, he understands clearly the entire order of emanation, he holds as he holds, he has reached the end, and he understands, this is what we usually call from our side, in our nets, a warrior in his warriors. Very good. We do not have this, we are holding in Egypt.
The Second Way: A Jew Who Thinks
After this there is however a Jew who thinks
[Note: The lecture is cut off here, and this is the end of the first part]
Where Does One Place the Crown? – The Innovation of the Exodus from Egypt and “This Month Shall Be for You”
Chapter 1: The Question of Redemption and Understanding
The Jew who thinks into this, who thinks in? He thinks in. So the simple meaning is that this can be a redemption for me, it can be a redemption for us Jews, that we say that the Almighty is also in Egypt.
Why do we learn indeed? Not we, the Torah did not write from His side, the Torah wrote that we should understand. So why does one write “And Hashem spoke to Moshe in the land of Egypt”? Because we cannot understand the Almighty in the land of Egypt? The Torah says that we can indeed. This is already an innovation. It is itself an innovation. It is very difficult to combine the two things. One cannot say it in the aspect of faith through faith, it is also not wisdom. One must be able to connect with this, one must be able to see this.
Ah, this is an innovation. So now I want to add how one can truly understand this, how one can truly extract this.
Chapter 2: “This Month Shall Be for You the Beginning of Months” – Order from Below to Above
Ah, this I say after what I said. I say further, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months,” there is an innovation. One learned that this means order from below to above.
The Distinction Between from Above to Below and from Below to Above
From above to below everything begins from above until it comes down below. From below to above the head is below, the sefirot begin, according to above from above to below we are below, from below to above we are above.
On this I just spoke, I just thought, one learned that one means to say a great innovation, it is something that is a great innovation, and one must give it over so, one must give it over with the parable of the Exodus from Egypt one must give it over.
Chapter 3: The Question of the Crown – On Which Level?
The Basic Question
There is always a question, where does one place the crown? On whom does one place a crown? On which day, on which point, on which level, on which order does one place the crown? This is the question.
The Natural Logic – The Crown Comes on the Highest Level
A true heart, apparently, not a true heart, because it is simply not spoken so, apparently, the crown comes on the highest level. The crown comes after everything is correct, after everything is understood.
In other words, let us say by “we will do and we will hear,” by Shavuot, there comes the crown. One would have had to go around saying, one would have had to go around saying in the Torah, “I am Hashem your God who took you out from Mount Sinai,” “I am Hashem your God” so it should have stood in the Ten Commandments, “I am Hashem your God” so it should have stood there. There should have stood the crown, because there is the proper level.
A Parable of a Person Who Worked Himself Up
As one says of a person, I know, he struggled, he was a sinner, or he was a poor man, a bad financial situation, gradually he worked himself up, he made a few dollars here, a few dollars there, he made a business here, a business there, until he became a billionaire.
And when does he receive the crown? At which moment is he most esteemed? Where does his greatness stand? At the moment of “and Mordechai was great in the king’s house,” there, Mordechai went out from before the king, there he writes, there he places his crown.
Chapter 4: The Almighty’s Innovation – The Crown Comes on the First, Weakest Moment
The Almighty Places the Crown on the Exodus from Egypt
Meanwhile, here stands an interesting thing, meanwhile, the Almighty comes at this moment, at this perfection, and He says, where does He place His crown? He places the crown on the first moment, on the moment of the Exodus from Egypt, “who took you out from the land of Egypt.” He places the crown on the time, one says of a young boy, He places the crown on the time when he was a baby and he was still in diapers and the mother wiped his diapers, then He places the crown.
A Parable of a Baby in Diapers
Shabbos and Chodesh: The Dialectic of Maaseh Bereishis and HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem
Chapter 1: Shabbos and Chodesh – Two Ways to Understand Maaseh Bereishis
Shabbos – The Simple, Natural Foundation of Maaseh Bereishis
This is the matter of Shabbos. Shabbos is zecher l’maaseh bereishis (a remembrance of the act of Creation), “ki sheishes yamim asah Hashem vayinach bayom hashevi’i” (for six days Hashem made and rested on the seventh day). This is indeed Shabbos.
As the Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, Nachmanides) says, one could truly – Rabbi Yitzchak said that one shouldn’t make maaseh bereishis (the teaching of Rabbi Yitzchak that the Torah should begin from “HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem” and not from Bereishis), what do I need to know? One needs yesodei emunah (the foundations of faith). He says, but indeed, one does on Shabbos, it says in the Aseres HaDibros (the Ten Commandments) “ki sheishes yamim asah Hashem,” one knows that the world was made in six days.
The question is why does one need so many details. Okay. But what is established here? That the sheshes yemei bereishis (the six days of Creation), this is Shabbos. This is the Bereishis, “what came before before before,” Bereishis, this is Shabbos.
Shabbos is Kevi’a V’Kayma – The Simple, Visible Truth
Shabbos, as we always say, Shabbos is kevi’a v’kayma (fixed and permanent). The truth is that Shabbos being kevi’a v’kayma makes it easier and not harder, right? It’s as it says in Maseches Shabbos (the tractate Shabbos in the Talmud) Shabbos Bereishis does not require kiddush beis din (Shabbos does not need sanctification by a beis din). Shabbos Bereishis simply goes on.
Everyone knows when it’s Shabbos. How does one know? Can one see the teva (nature)? One knows from the reality. A small boy, the simplest one knows when it’s Shabbos. How? Because then one doesn’t work, then one eats a seudas Shabbos instead of going to cheder.
Chodesh – The Deeper, Wisdom-Based Foundation
The Levana is Visible But Requires Wisdom to Understand
The levana (moon), the molad halevana (the birth of the moon, the new moon), in a certain sense it’s more practical, it’s more according to it, because everyone can see it. Can one go see, the levana comes every month. But to know when it will come, to build upon this a luach (calendar), this is already a wisdom.
This is indeed the secret of kiddush hachodesh (the sanctification of the month), kiddush hachodesh which takes a beis din (religious court), and it’s kasheh l’Moshe (difficult for Moshe). There are in this many calculations, many yedios (sciences). One needs a certain daas (understanding), one can say, one needs to have an erech ruach (patience), one needs to have a long time to stand and measure when the levana comes and make calculations, 29 days 12 hours 793 parts (the calculation of 29 days, 12 hours, 793 parts – the length of a lunar month), the whole calculation is a whole deep calculation, and this the mahalach hachamah v’halevana (the course of the sun and the moon), it’s the greatest calculations.
All wisdoms begin from calculating the molad halevana, afterwards all the stars of the sun and the whole world, etc. etc. This is indeed a great calculation, this is indeed kiddush hachodesh.
The Dialectical Interplay: Shabbos and Chodesh
“HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem” – We Say Which Day It Is Today
So kiddush hachodesh and Shabbos are the two things of “HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem” (this month is for you). We have, we say which day it is today, or you say it’s today Friday Parshas Vayikra (the weekly Torah reading of Vayikra), or you say it’s today such and such day of the month of Adar (such and such day of the month of Adar), right?
I remember which day, I remember by heart the week, because I live in the action in weeks. Months I need to look in the calendar, because the calendar is already a davar shel chochma (a matter of wisdom). I can see, if I would go outside to see the levana, I wouldn’t know exactly, right?
I would know approximately, that the levana is already going down back. I need to remember from last week to know that… ah, there is a cycle, there’s already a wisdom in this. It’s already a deeper thing. On one hand it’s nikar (recognizable) in the teva, on the other hand it’s a deeper thing.
Here one sees the dialectic of Shabbos and chodesh, which this is the koach (power, strength) of the sheshes yemei bereishis, the beginning of Bereishis, and the beginning of “HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem.”
Yamim Tovim and the Reason in Mitzvos
The Difference Between Shabbos/Chodesh and Yamim Tovim
And upon this one can lay down the two chiddushim (new insights), the kiddush hachodesh that we said Shabbos. It’s indeed the simple meaning of this, that the Ribbono Shel Olam does everything, and there’s no difference to us understanding or not.
Yamim Tovim (holidays) is a time that one must try to understand, and they want to have ta’am in mitzvos (a reason in the mitzvos) and want to understand. All yamim tovim speak of the ta’am in mitzvos, yes, Pesach zecher l’yetzias Mitzrayim (Pesach is a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt), matzah zecher l’yetzias Mitzrayim (matzah is a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt). It’s not just so, there’s a reason. Yetzias Mitzrayim (the Exodus from Egypt) is the reason.
Even Shabbos – Zecher L’Yetzias Mitzrayim When One Wants a Reason
Even Shabbos, when one wants to say the reason, once one says zecher l’yetzias Mitzrayim (a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt), because with maaseh bereishis usually they don’t understand it, it’s very clear, one can see it. It’s true, it’s more true and more basic. But whoever it’s not maaseh bereishis will say, one says zecher l’yetzias Mitzrayim.
HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem – The Key to the Secret of Maaseh Bereishis
From HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem to the Secret of Maaseh Bereishis
One begins to understand the maaseh bereishis, it truly begins from HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem. One begins to make the calculations, until one begins to understand sod maaseh bereishis (the secret of Creation), before this there is sod ha’ibur (the secret of the leap year), sod ha’ibur is the part of sod maaseh bereishis, the introduction, the key to sod maaseh bereishis.
Chapter 2: Shabbos Mevorchim – The Practical Expression of This Dialectic
Why Does One Say Shabbos Mevorchim?
And this is the difference between the two things, now one can think this way. If the Chachamim (the Rabbis) said, that on Shabbos Kodesh one should already read the chodesh, HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem. And in general, this is Rosh Chodesh Nissan (the first day of the month of Nissan) is like the father of every Rosh Chodesh one makes a Shabbos Mevorchim (the Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh when one blesses the month), one is modiah (one makes known) on Shabbos that it will be Rosh Chodesh.
Shabbos Everyone is in Shul – Rosh Chodesh Not
Because on Shabbos (Sabbath) everyone is in shul (synagogue). Rosh Chodesh (the new month) not everyone knows when it’s going to be, not everyone is in shul, not everyone is on the level. Rosh Chodesh is transmitted in the Beis Din (rabbinical court). One announces it for everyone, a Shabbos before, in the Beis Din it is sanctified.
Okay, it’s a preparation for the sanctification of the month in the actual Beis Din, but it’s done on Shabbos. One says, on Shabbos one announces that it’s going to be Rosh Chodesh.
Shabbos HaChodesh – From Shabbos to the Month
So the understanding is that Shabbos HaChodesh (the Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh Nissan), or Shabbos Mevorchim (the Shabbos when we bless the coming month), which is a special quality of all the Shabbos Mevorchim that are rooted in Shabbos HaChodesh, is a way of saying:
* That from Shabbos one can say, that from Shabbos one can also know afterwards about Rosh Chodesh
* Or that from Shabbos one sees oneself bringing Rosh Chodesh
* That on Shabbos one also learns the topic of the month
The Final Innovation: Both Together
When One Understands the Entire Torah the Question Falls Away
And in the end, in other words, this means that one will understand the secret of maaseh bereishis (the act of creation). After going through “hachodesh hazeh lachem” (this month is for you), in the end one understands maaseh bereishis, and then it’s not really such a question of where does it begin, because it’s a part of how it begins.
One already knows the entire Torah, someone who knows the entire Torah doesn’t really have a part where he begins. The beginning is awesome, “sha’al avicha veyageidcha” (ask your father and he will tell you). “Hachodesh hazeh lachem,” then one asks the question, we already began, until then I didn’t understand.
Shabbos and the Month Become One
After one goes through so much, and one understands, then both are together, this is the Shabbos and the month. Shabbos and the month understand that Shabbos is a year, also the month is a year, it can be both, the entire plan, the entire part doesn’t begin.
This is the innovation that we wanted to say today.