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our exodus from Egypt. As Jewish inventor Charles Steinmetz once said, “No man really
becomes a fool un l he stops asking.”
- " ַתּ ְלמוּד לוֹ ַמר " ַבּ ֲﬠבוּר ֶזה, ַתּ ְלמוּד לוֹ ַמר " ַבּיוֹם ַההוּא" ִאי ַבּיוֹם ַההוּא ָיכוֹל ִמ ְבּעוֹד יוֹם,ָיכוֹל ֵמר ֹאשׁ ֹח ֶדשׁ
ַבּ ֲﬠבוּר ֶזה ל ֹא ָא ַמ ְר ִתּי ֶא ָלא ְבּ ָשׁ ָﬠה ֶשׁ ֵישׁ ַמ ָצה וּ ָמרוֹר ֻמ ָנּ ִחים ְל ָפ ֶני
One might think that the Haggadah should be recited on the first day of the month of Nisan, but
the Torah says: "You shall tell your son on that day" [the first day of Passover]. One might think
that the phrase on that day means that the story of the Exodus should be recited in the daytime;
therefore, the Torah says: "This is on account of what the Lord did for me." The word this refers
to the time when this matzo and this marror are placed before you - on Passover night when
you are obliged to eat them.
Rosh Chodesh and Yidds - Dan Melnik (11th Grade)
Rosh Chodesh is the the first posi ve communital mitzvah given to the Jewish people upon
leaving Egypt, which is the place with the highest tumah in the world. Whether it be Avoda Zara,
Shfichut Damim, Arayot, or simply cruelty, Egypt is not the place for a Jew. Bnei Yisrael le
Mitzrayim hoping for a new future and that's when Hashem granted them their first Mitzvah, of
Rosh Chodesh. The Talmud writes that Bnei Yisrael already knew what Shabbat was in
Mitzrayim, because the melachot in the Mishkan originated from the work forced on the Jews in
Mitzrayim. However, the Jews knew what Shabbat was because the mekhilta brings down that
Adam Harishon made Havdalah a er his first Shabbat. So we derive from here that Hashem was
the one who ins tuted Shabbat.
However, Rosh Chodesh was purely a mitzvah given to the Jews. The Gemara writes how two
witnesses would come down from the mountain and tes fy that they saw the new moon, which
meant it was Rosh Chodesh. Obviously, it was in the hands of the people to decide when Rosh
Chodesh would be and it's not in the hands of the Hashem to decide when it would be, like
Shabbat. What we don't realize, is how all Yom Tovs are in our hands and are dependant on our
witnesses and judgment. With Shabbat, we know it is every week on the seventh day, but Rosh
Chodesh is not that simple.
So the last ques on we can ask ourselves is how do we know that this is true, that Hashem
granted the power of Rosh Chodesh and Yom Tovs to the people? Perhaps this first powerful
mitzvah has a deeper significance?
The answer is that it does. If we compare Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, and Yom Tov they all have
something in common. In the mes of the Beit Hamikdash an extra offering was given on this
day called a Korban Musaf. Since today we do not sacrifice offerings anymore, we subs tute
them with prayer. In the Musaf prayer of Shabbat we bless Shabbat and seal the prayer by
saying “Baruch Ata Hashem, Mekadesh HaShabbat”, Blessed are you Hashem for sanc fying the
Shabbat. On Rosh Chodesh and Yom Tov we seal the Musaf prayer by saying “Blessed are you
Hashem for sanc fying Bnei Yisrael and Yom Tov.” There is a proof in the text!!! When it comes
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