Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

The first communal Mitzvah given to the Jewish people is recounted this coming Shabbat Ha'Chodesh. Prior to the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Ten Commandments, the Israelites are instructed to sanctify the months of the year. From Exodus chapter 12, we will read the words, "Ha'Chodesh Ha'Zeh Lachem . . . - This shall be the month for you . . . "

The first public Mitzvah is connected to freedom. One is free when one is not subject to someone else's notion of time. The establishment and sanctification of the Jewish calendar denote the first steps in our people's freedom. From a Torah point of view, Nisan, the month in which we celebrate freedom, is considered the first month of the Jewish calendar year.

When the commentator Rashi writes on the very first verse of Genesis, he comments that the Mitzvah of enumerating the months of the year constitutes the first Mitzvah given to the people of Israel.

How well do we know the months and dates of the Jewish calendar? How often do we look at the events of our lives through the prism of the Jewish calendar? How many of us know the Hebrew date of our birthdays? Knowing the answers to such questions actually helps to define our freedom as Jews.

The Jewish calendar begins with the first of Nisan, which we welcome right at the conclusion of this coming Shabbat.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Howard Morrison