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PARSHAT BO THE FIRST MITZVA OF RENEWAL In this week's parsha the Jewish people received the first mitzva: "And Hashem spoke to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Mitzraim, saying, This month shall be to you the beginning of Months: it shall be the first month of the year to you." (Shemot 12:1-2) NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN The Hebrew word for month "chodesh" also means new.
With this first mitzva to sanctify the new moon, we became renewed
as a people. "There is nothing new under the sun". (Kohelet
1:9) teaches us that in the realm of nature (under the sun) life
repeats itself along its predestined orbit. Yet, through the mitzvot
we can connect with the otherworldly reality beyond the sun and
the realm of nature. This is why, as Sfat Emet explains, that through
performing mitzvot we connect with the source of life, which is
continual renewal. It is our ability to renew ourselves through
the mitzvot that makes us Jewish. By receiving the first mitzvah
the nation of Israel was born. Chazal teach "A convert who
converted is like a baby newly born." (Yevamot 62a) It is,
therefore, no wonder that the first mitzvah through which we became
a Jewish nation is the embodiment of renewal. (Chodesh) Many commentators
ask, "why does the first of the Ten Commandments read: `I am
Hashem your G-d who has taken you out of Egypt' instead of: `I am
Hashem your G-d Who has created you'? When G-d created the world,
He created it for the sake of Israel (Otzar Hamidrashim 311) Since
the nation of Israel was born through the Exodus, it becomes indeed
the purpose of Creation. This is why the first of the Ten Commandments
refers to the Exodus rather than Creation.
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