Incredible! We, God’s people, create kedushah. We through our actions, determine what is holy.
In the special maftir for this Shabbat, God tells Moses, “This month shall be for you the first of all the months.”
Our sages taught that the use of the word “this” indicates that God literally pointed to the moon and taught Moses what a new moon looks like, so that the Israelites would be able to determine when the new moon has occurred, and proclaim the start of a new month. The sages invested that power in the beit din, or religious court. In the days of the Mishnah, if anyone saw the new moon, they were to run directly to the beit din. The beit din would show them pictures of the moon in different stages to clarify if what the person saw was a new moon, or a different stage, or some other visual phenomenon. When two witnesses convinced the court, they would declare the new moon.
What does that have to do with making things holy? Think about it. What day the court decided was the new moon determined the dates of the holidays in that month. If the court ruled that the new moon was on a Wednesday night, two weeks later, on a Wednesday evening, Passover would begin and chametz would be forbidden. That Wednesday evening would be first seder. But if the court declared Thursday night as the new moon, then Wednesday night and Thursday would be an ordinary day. People could eat cake, pasta, sourdough, whatever chametz they wanted! Passover would begin on Thursday evening, which would be the first seder.
That is not just true of Passover. The dates the court set the moon determined when every holiday occurred, even Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The court, not God, determined when we would hear the shofar and when we would fast! Incredible! We, God’s people, create kedushah. We through our actions, determine what is holy.
And that, my friends, is our challenge. To use our time to create kedushah. Many of us are finding that our normal routines have now been turned upside down. Some are not working any more. We can seldom leave the house, and if we do, where will we go with so many places shut down. It is easy for us to feel enslaved by the restrictions and limitations we must observe in this time of pandemic. But what if, instead of focusing on what we cannot do, we focused on what we can? What if we asked ourselves “how can I bring holiness into the world today?”
I might do it by engaging in Jewish reading and study, on my own or in an online class. I might do it by davening with the synagogue on its stream. I might do it by exercising so that I am fulfilling the commandment to guard my physical well-being, or by meditating or listening to music for the health of my soul. I might use this extra time I have to call more family and friends and strengthen those bonds. Or take a walk in the metro parks to take in the glory of God’s creation. Or I might use my time to perform acts of chesed for others who are more in need than I am: Maybe post on Facebook asking who needs food or medicine delivered to them. Or volunteer with the Sunshine Committee to make phone and video-call visits to elderly who are isolated. There are so many ways that we can sanctify time and bring God’s holiness into our world and into the lives of others.