החודש הזה לכם ראש חדשים
“This month shall be to you the first of months”
The first Mitzvah was given to Bnei Yisrael while they were still in Egypt, on the first of Nissan. It is a directive to the Beis Din to declare and sanctify the new moon and thereby determine the months of the calendar.
What is so significant about this Mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh that it was given first?
Our calendar is based on the moon, whose cycle marks the months. The lunar cycle does not have “years”. This is in contrast to the cycle of the sun which has an annual cycle of a year, but no monthly marker.
The word Chodesh (month), comes from the word Chadash, new. The renewal of the moon (the Molad) marks the start of each month. Whereas the lunar cycle is marked with visible changes, there is no apparent change in the cycle of the sun. There is no birth or renewal. The word שנה (year) means repetition.
Prior to this Mitzvah, our calendar, like the nations of the world, was based on the unchanging sun. The first Mitzvah changed our calendar to follow the moon and its renewal.
The Sfas Emes explains the centrality of this Mitzvah as follows: The verse of Hachodesh can be read as "this renewal (Chodesh) shall be to you". The Mitzvah exhorts us to emulate the moon and its newness.
In Torah law, after a lapse of 30 days, something becomes old and status-quo. The Molad of the moon takes place every 29 days, 12 hours and 793 parts of an hour. This means that the moon is in a constant cycle of renewal, never reaching a state of inertia represented by the 30 day.
The centrality of this Mitzvah is the imperative to be continually growing and renewing ourselves and never to become stagnant.
