Holy Sparks
By Rabbi Pinchas Winston
When Hashem presented Moshe with the instructions for the night of Yetzias Mitzrayim, He introduced them with the command החודש הזה לכם ראש חדשים – the mitzva of קידוש החודש, the system of declaring the new months based on the sighting of the new moon. (Nowadays, we use a fixed lunar calendar, but in ancient times, witnesses who saw the new moon would testify before the Sanhedrin, who would then declare the new month based on their testimony.) Rashi, in his famous opening comments to his Torah commentary, observes that this is מצוה ראשונה שנצטווה בה ישראל, the first mitzva given to Am Yisrael as a nation.
What is the particular significance of this mitzva on account of which it was chosen to be the first mitzva given to Am Yisrael?
One answer relates to the theme of חידוש, renewal. The month is called חודש precisely because it begins when the moon starts to renew itself, when it has reached its smallest point and now starts growing larger. The very first mitzva given to Am Yisrael is the one that expresses the idea of renewal, that we are always capable of renewing ourselves, just as the moon is renewed each month.
Each morning, we say about Hashem, “Who renews each day, in His goodness, the act of creation.” Rav Chaim of Volozhin, in Nefesh Ha’chaim (1:2), explains this to mean that the world exists only because God renews the act of creation at every moment. The world was not just created and then put into motion; all of creation constantly comes into existence anew.
G-d said to Moses, “Come to Pharaoh . . .” (Shemos 10:1) A lot of bizarre things happen throughout the redemption story. However, that doesn’t bother us because they only emphasize the Divine Providence in all that occurred, as Dovid HaMelech taught, “This is from G-d, that which is wondrous in our eyes.” (Tehillim 118:23)
One of the things that stands out is the honor that Moshe and Aharon continued to show Pharaoh from the beginning until the very end:
Command the Children of Israel and Pharaoh, King of Egypt... (Shemos 6:13)
PHARAOH, KING OF EGYPT: He commanded them to speak to him with honor. (Rashi)
The question is why? It certainly wasn’t because Moshe and Aharon were afraid to anger Pharaoh, since they were acting as the vehicles to systematically destroy Egypt. Do you also have to worry about being polite in front of evil people in order to sanctify the Name of G-d?
The following provides an insight into what was really going on: The Torah commands us to show honor and flatter the Sitra Achra (literally, “other side”) for the sake of the holiness that was hidden within it from before G-d made creation, as The Holy One, Blessed is He, commanded Moshe and Aharon to speak to Pharaoh with honor (Rashi, Shemos 6:13). The Sitra Achra, knowing that the honor it receives is because of the holiness hidden within it, pursues after the Sitra d’Taharah (pure side) like a monkey after a man. (Sefer Galia Raza)
This is a phenomenal concept that is VERY difficult to appreciate but from which comes a VERY important lesson. Look at the sensitivity! How easy it is to forget that even an evil person could not live if it weren’t for the holy spark within him, especially when he abuses it by using it to fulfill his evil goals. Even Moshe and Aharon had to be reminded to show Pharaoh respect, not because of Pharaoh himself, but because of the holy spark to which he played host.
If this is true of evil people, how much more so must it be true for people who try to be good, and even more so for people who are good. For, when it comes to human beings, what you see is not what you get, since all we can see is the body and not the many holy sparks clothed within. This helps explain why G-d stopped the angels from singing praise upon the drowning of the Egyptians at the Red Sea (Megillah 10b). They thought that the elimination of evil people from the world was a completely good thing and cause for Heavenly celebration.
However, G-d informed them otherwise and told them to cease singing immediately. Those weren’t just Egyptians being tossed around in the sea below; they were bodies that contained holy sparks, though far fewer than holy people might contain. This is why G-d would rather see the evil person repent than destroy him, for the sake of the holy sparks within him.
We may have difficulty honoring some people in this world, but we have to remember that whatever it is we see on the outside, there are holy, heavenly sparks on the inside worthy of our respect.
