This month shall be for you. (Shemos 12:2)
When the Jewish people left Egypt, they were wallowing very deep in impurity. They were down at the forty-ninth level of tumah. Accusing voices in heaven were heard saying :
Both these [the Egyptians] and those [the Israelites] are idol worshippers.
Nevertheless, once they turned to Hashem by means of sanctifying rosh chodesh – as commanded in our verse, “This month shall be for you” – they merited the revelation of the Shechinah on Pesach night, and a week later, Moshe and the Jews sang shiras hayam, regarding which Chazal say that everyone was in a state of sublime prophecy, and they recited the words of this song by ruach hakodesh.
At that point, everyone was on the exalted madreigah of Moshe Rabbeinu.
So we see that the Jewish people has the ability to do teshuvah for sins, and to change from one extreme to another in a short time.
Non-Jews don’t have this ability. Yes, the Tanach testifies that the people of Nineveh repented their sins, but this doesn’t mean they attained a Jewish level of teshuvah. Nevertheless, they did in fact change their ways, so Hashem refrained from destroying them.
We see this point from Sefer Yonah itself. It says that after Hashem annulled the evil decree against Nineveh, Yonah was deeply grieved, and cried out to Him:
ם
י
פ
א
ך
ר
ם א
חו
ר
ן ו
ו
נ
ל ח
ה א
ת
י א
י כ
ת
ע
ד
י י
כ
ה
ע
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ל ה
ם ע
ח
נ
ד ו
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ו – I knew that You are a gracious and merciful G-d, forbearing, great in kindness, Who reconsiders evil decrees.
Hashem did not answer Yonah by saying that the people of Nineveh did teshuvah. He just said that He had compassion for them:
יר
ע
ה ה
ו
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ל נ
ס ע
חו
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ה? In other words, they changed their ways in the end, so it was appropriate to show them mercy. However, their change of ways did not deserve the name of teshuvah. This is different from Jews. They are capable of real teshuvah.
What makes a Jew’s teshuvah different from a non-Jew’s aptitude to change his ways?
The non-Jews are compared to the sun, which is an unchanging source of energy. Therefore, every non-Jew has his own unique qualities, which never change. An Italian is an Italian, an Indian is an Indian. They don’t undergo fundamental change and metamorphosize into something else.
The Jewish people is compared to the moon, which is not a source of energy on its own. It is like a mirror. When it faces the sun, it fills with light and its shape becomes round, and if it turns a little to the side, its shape changes.
This is the deeper meaning of החודש הזה לכם – “This month shall be for you.” This verse speaks of the appearance of the new moon. The Jewish people are compared to the moon; they do not have inherent qualities. They are a mirror, like the moon. After 210 years of wallowing in Egyptian impurity they reflected tumah. But all they have to do is turn a little toward Hashem, and in an instant, they reflect a totally different picture!
לעילוי נשמת ע״ה שמעון דויטש בת ר׳ חיה זיסל עלקא אמינו מרת ע״ה אברהם יחיאל דויטש בת אסתר רויזאומרת ע״ה דוד האמבורגער בת חוה ע״ה ומרת אליעזר בן משהומוה״ר ע״ה מרדכי קראוס בת גיטל צביה ע״ה ומרת נפתלי בן ברוך זאבומוה״ר ע״ה אפרים מענלו בת בלומא ע״ה ומרת צבי דב בן שמעוןומוה״ר נדבת משפחת מרדכי דויטש
