Shabbos Parshas Shemos - 5778

Shabbos Parshas Shemos - 5778 Rabbi Hal Miller

And He said, "For I shall be with you -- and this is your sign that I have sent you. When you take the people out of Egypt, you will serve G-d on this mountain." [Shemos 3:12]

Next Shabbos we will read the blessing for the upcoming new month, Bircas HaChodesh. For the past thousand years, we have had a set calendar, so why do we need to still read this section of the siddur before each new month?

Our pasuk is G-d's answer to Moshe's question of why he was selected as leader for the Exodus, and it occurs as part of the Burning Bush incident. The pasuk is rich with potential for asking questions, and the commentators do have a field day with it. Perhaps the most obvious is, what is the "sign" to which it refers?

Rashi says, "the vision that you have seen at the thornbush". Ramban points to the preceeding phrase, "I shall be with you", and relates "sign" to one meant for the nation, rather than for Moshe himself. Alternatively he says that the flame to be coming at Sinai would be the sign to reassure Israel that G-d would protect them against Egypt and Canaan. Rav Hirsch relates it to the preceeding pasuk where Moshe demurs, and he says that Moshe's humility is the "sign" that he is in fact the right person for the role. Rambam explains that the "sign" is Torah, and that Israel's faith and study are the means by which they will be redeemed in the future. One can also look to the following two pasukim, where Moshe asks G-d's name and receives the answer, "I shall be what I shall be", thus G-d's existence is the sign.

Whatever way we read the first and middle parts of the pasuk, they obviously lead to something when it says, "you will worship G-d on this mountain." Baal HaTurim tells us that the pasuk [Shemos 19:1], "On this day they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai" explains our pasuk. He understands that the joy with which one serves or anticipates serving G-d is itself considered service. "Serve Hashem with joy" [Psalms 100:2] and that is what G-d meant when He told Moshe, "You will serve G-d on this mountain." Thus, this is a "sign" of future service. Rashi says similar, "And this, that you will succeed in your mission, is the sign for you of the future fulfillment of another promise." He relates "worship G-d on this mountain" to the receiving of the Torah and Israel's fulfilling it in the future.

Our pasuk is telling us to accept Him now, and act accordingly, because He will fulfill His promises to us for the future inheritance of the Land and the Divine Mission He has assigned to us. We need to act, even if we are confused or in the dark about what we need to do or where we need to be going. It becomes a matter of Emunah/faith.

R'Hayim HaLevi Donin explains that even though in our day the calendar is set, we still have need to publicize the upcoming new month to ensure people know when to add the Hallel and Mussaf to the daily prayers. This became a tradition in the days when printed calendars were not common, and we maintain it today. It also represents an effort by the rabbis to counter the Karaites, who challenged the set calendar, demanding that we only sanctify new months based on visual reports of witnesses, a direct challenge to the authority of rabbinic decisions.

The Mishna Rabbah says: [Shemos 15:20] "'This month shall be to you' (Parshas Bo). Why did G-d speak to Moshe and Aharon? Because the consecration of a new month must be performed by three. To intercalate a year, however, requires ten elders." Thus, consecration of months requires the involvement of human leadership, the rabbis. G-d gives a sign, and the rabbis will act. It becomes a matter of Emunah/faith.

What happens after a sign? Our pasuk says, "You will serve G-d on this mountain." Our service to G-d comes in many forms. All of them involve His signs, all involve our faith and our preparation for action, and all involve Torah. Our pasuk instructed Moshe to prepare himself and the Jewish people for future service. Now we must carry out that instruction, both in the monthly sanctification of the new moon and in the rest of our mission of mitzvos of the Torah.