Sync Your Calendar

Since the beginning of time mankind looked up to the heavens; in awe.

Some cultures were fascinated by the sun. It is strong, powerful, glorious, brilliant and warm; it is everything they strived to be, they craved its power. It is no wonder then that they looked up to the sun to fill the basic need of calculating time, they established a solar calendar.

Other cultures were intrigued by the moon. It is majestic, it illuminates the dark sky and it changes every day of the month; the moons sensitive gentle light would bring comfort to their hearts. Seeking to capture its inspiration and incorporate it into their daily lives they established a lunar calendar.

Hashem’s first commandment to the Jewish people, while they were still slaves in Egypt, was to establish a calendar that synchronizes the sun and the moon. The Jewish calendar is unique in that it incorporates both the solar and lunar cycles, by adding an extra month every three years to bridge the eleven day gap dividing the solar and the lunar years.

The brilliant sun symbolizes the consistent, powerful and illuminating light of Hashem. The moon shining in the dark sky represents the Jewish people, whose job it is to reflect the light of Hashem into a dark world. The Jewish people, therefore, are subject to challenges imposed by the world, at times they shine in all their glory and at times their light is invisible.

The first mitzvah demonstrates the goal of all the following Mitzvot, which is to synchronize the sun and the moon. Every Mitzvah we perform connects the light of Hashem to the Jew in this world, uniting them both, forming one realty where “in the heaven above and on the earth below there is nothing beside him”.

(Mamar Hachodesh Hazeh Lachem, 5716)