Daily Chidush: Why is Rosh Codesh such a big deal?

0:00How are you? Hope you're having a wonderful start to the week. This year will be for Refuah Shlema of my very dear friend Yitzhak ben Victoria. He had a stroke recently and Be'ezrat Hashem, Hashem will give him a Refuah Shlema. Please add him to your prayers. A big Baal Chesed Tzaddik with a very, very special family, Baruch Hashem. So one of the students, Baruch Hashem, asked a very relevant question that we need to cover. And we haven't yet. And the issue is Rosh Chodesh. What's the big deal about Rosh Chodesh? Why do we add Rosh Chodesh to our prayers at the beginning of each month? Why is it so significant that if someone prays the Amidah without adding the section for Rosh Chodesh, the blessing of the new month, he has to repeat the entire Amidah? Meaning his Amidah doesn't count. That's significant. What's the big deal? So we learn about Rosh Chodesh in Sefer Shemot, in Exodus. Exodus, Parashat Bo, it's chapter 12. The second verse says, "Hachodesh hazeh lachem rosh chadashim, rishon hu lachem lechadshei hashanah."

1:21So the first verse says, Hashem said to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt, saying, "This month shall be for you the beginning of the months. It shall be for you the first of the months of the year." So here we get a commandment from Hashem. This is the first commandment that Am Yisrael gets as a nation, which is to keep the Rosh Chodesh. The first commandment out of all of the things that we learn in Torah, the 613 mitzvot that we have, this is the first one. Obviously, it's a big deal. If Hashem is saying it literally, if Hashem is saying it before He gave us the Torah, the written Torah, if Hashem is saying it while we're still here in the land of Egypt, it's obviously a very big deal. And He's saying that this month is going to be the beginning of all months. Which month is He talking about? He's actually talking about the month of Nisan, the one that we just completed, Baruch Hashem. This is the first month officially, but Tishrei is the one that we use as the beginning of the new year. Biblically, Nisan is considered the first month, the beginning of the new months, even though the new year begins in Tishrei. This is the first month officially, but Tishrei is the one that we use as the beginning of the new year. Biblically, Nisan is considered the first month, the beginning of the new months, even though the new year begins in Tishrei. But all of the months are numbered from the month of the Exodus, which is Nisan. Why is Nisan considered the first month? Because that is when the Exodus happened. That's when Yetziat Mitzrayim happened. That is when the nation of Israel officially became the nation of Israel. And we're only a few weeks away from receiving the most holy significant gift.

2:29But all of the months are numbered from the month of the Exodus, which is Nisan. Why is Nisan considered the first month? Because that is when the Exodus happened. That's when Yetziat Mitzrayim happened. That is when the nation of Israel officially became the nation of Israel. And we're only a few weeks away from receiving the most holy, significant gift anything and anyone has ever gotten: the Torah. So Rosh Chodesh is the beginning of Nisan in this specific verse. But why do we celebrate every Rosh Chodesh? Why do we celebrate every new month? Okay, if we celebrate the beginning of Nisan, I understand, but every Rosh Chodesh is a big deal. So much so that in the time of the evil Greeks, when they were persecuting Am Yisrael and they made a decree... anything and everyone has ever gone than mankind which is the holy Torah. So, Rosh Chodesh is the beginning of Nisan in this, uh, in this specific verse. But why do we celebrate every Rosh Chodesh? Why do we celebrate every new month? Okay, if we celebrate the beginning of Nisan, I don't understand, but every Rosh Chodesh is a big deal, so much so that in the time of the evil Greeks, when they were persecuting Am Yisrael, and they made a decree that outlawed the learning of Torah, outlawed Shabbat, outlawed circumcision, and outlawed the celebration of Rosh Chodesh. Now, Shabbat, I can understand; this is the covenant between us and Hashem. Circumcision, we understand; this is the brit that we already got from the time of Avraham Avinu. It's also a covenant.

3:52I understand. Canceling and outlawing the learning of Torah severs our connection with Hashem. Hashem is telling us in the book of Yirmiyahu that if it were not for His covenant, day and night, with someone learning Torah each day and night, the laws of the world would cease to exist. What laws of the world? Gravity, oxygen, etc. Hashem says that if we didn't learn Torah every single moment, if someone in the world is not learning Torah 24 hours a day at some point in the world, the nature of the world would cease to exist immediately. So, we understand why the evil Greeks told us not to learn Torah. If we don't learn Torah, we have no purpose in the world, we have no connection to Hashem. But why Rosh Chodesh? Because Rosh Chodesh... The significance of it is that all of the mitzvot that we do, most of them are based on time. What mitzvot? The holidays. Without having time, without having a calendar, the Hebrew calendar, not the Christian calendar that has the names of January, February, March, April, and so on. All of these months are based on idols, if anyone doesn't know. Look through history, it's based all on different idols. But the holy Hebrew calendar is how we know when the holidays are, and to know the holidays is very, very significant because if we didn't know when the holidays are, we couldn't fulfill those mitzvot. If we can't fulfill those mitzvot, we can't fulfill most of the mitzvot in all of Judaism.

5:14look through history, it's based all on different idols. But the holy Hebrew calendar is how we know when the holidays are, and to know the holidays is very, very significant. Because if we didn't know when the holidays are, we couldn't fulfill those mitzvot. If we can't fulfill those mitzvot, we can't fulfill most of the mitzvot in all of Judaism. So every time we have a Rosh Chodesh, we're not only celebrating the fact that we have time, but we're celebrating the fact that we have the ability to have precise time in order to fulfill these mitzvot that we got from Hashem, which connects us to Him. Now, another thing that is connected to today is that, today in the Christian world, in the secular world, they celebrate Mother's Day. But the beautiful part about Judaism is that we have a special day for all women, especially mothers, every month. What day is it? Rosh Chodesh. Why Rosh Chodesh? Because every month we're reminded that our wives are renewing their uterus each time. And this is another opportunity for after, obviously, the woman goes to a mikvah and she goes to, you know, they follow the laws of Taharat HaMishpachah.

6:40obviously you could be with the husband and procreate and bring children to the world. So this is, again, another amazing thing that we learn from Rosh Chodesh—that we don't have to wait a whole year like the goyim to celebrate something for our, uh, for our mother. We could celebrate, and we're actually obligated to celebrate, it every single month. Rosh Chodesh is the holiday each month for the wives. It's actually so significant that it's important for the wife to do less work on Rosh Chodesh. So a husband who didn't know this now knows it and needs to ensure that on Rosh Chodesh, he makes a special effort to lighten his wife's workload. This is, again, a very important aspect. Rosh Chodesh also reminds us of something that we see every day but don't necessarily consider such a big deal. and connects the two issues that we talked about, which is the moon. Now, when we talk about the Hebrew calendar, what most people don't realize is that the Hebrew calendar, which was put together by Hillel II, the grandson of Hillel HaZaken, approximately 1700 years ago, he put it together because until that time, the way we would know that it's Rosh Chodesh is by looking at the moon, the renewal of the moon.

8:00And it was a precise calculation of how to know when the moon would renew. Moshe Rabbeinu got it from Har Sinai, from Hashem. And he gave it from generation to generation to the next generation. But then, until the destruction of the Second Temple, we saw that things were being forgotten. We saw that things were no longer being kept. And Hillel II had to put together an actual calendar that we use until this day. Unlike the... secular world that uses a 365-day year. The Jewish calendar contains 354 days because it is based on the moon and regulated by the sun, whereas the secular world actually just uses one of them. So now, what's the big deal in all of this? We didn't come here to become a... scientists or to historians, how do we know this is significant in our life? Because the calendar and the moon are perhaps some of the best proofs that our Torah, not only the written, but also the oral, is divine. In the times of Rabban Gamliel, this is, and you could find this in the Gemara, Masechet Rosh Hashanah, page 25a.

9:26The story of Rabban Gamliel: in those times, you'd have to have witnesses come and tell you that the moon has renewed in order to know that a new month has appeared. The moon has actually renewed. It goes from nothing to something. You see something in the sky, and you know it's a new month. Now, people came to Rabban Gamliel, all these witnesses, came to Rabban Gamliel inside the building, and said, "200 people showed up, and they're all saying, Kvod Harav, it's a new month. 200 people." And he said, "I'm sorry, but you're all wrong. The month has not begun." "What do you mean? You're sitting inside here. You're not even outside. How can you tell us what's outside? We're seeing that we have 200 witnesses saying that they saw something in the sky." He says, because Hashem gave Moshe Rabbeinu, and Moshe Rabbeinu gave it to each generation, which was received by me, the exact science of how, what is the minimum amount of time span that would elapse in order for a new moon to be established. And he gives us the exact math. The math is 29 and a half days, two-thirds of an hour, and 73 parts of a minute. If we do the math,

10:46new moon is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3.33 seconds. So, this in math, if you use a decimal system, is 29.53059. This is a seven-digit number, which is again not something that's used often, not even today. But he gave us an exact calculation of the minimum amount of time it would take for the moon to renew. Now, scientists have always tried to prove the Torah wrong, and not one has ever achieved even one proof against the Torah. As a matter of fact, as time elapses, we realize that science is proving the Torah right. Information that we already had over 3,000 years ago... Without computers, without telescopes, without microscopes, without all of the technology that they have invested billions and billions of dollars into today, thinking that they're smarter than our sages, is only proving what our sages already knew over 3,000 years ago. Now, if you look at some research by NASA, after 50 years of research, $790 billion invested,

12:12They've come to their thesis or their theory that the minimum amount of time it takes for the moon to renew is 29.530588. So, they're off from the number that we have from our Torah from over 3,000 years ago by two ten-thousandths of a day. 1965, the Germans came out with a closer number, which is 29.530589, so we have 29.53059, and they have 29.530588. So you're off by 0.000002 or... Germans, which are a little closer to us, which is 0.00001. So you see that after all of this research, all of this science, they are finally catching up to what we already had for free.

13:23just because we were the chosen ones and we accepted and are fulfilling the Torah. So again, this is information that no man could have written. This is information that no man could have made up. This is information that we didn't have the equipment that we have today to come up with. This is information that only the Creator Himself could have given us. And perhaps one of the best proofs that the Torah is real. Last but not least, the renewal of the moon is a reminder of Am Yisrael's opportunity to do teshuva. Just like the uterus of a woman is renewed every month, the Jews are renewed every month. The Jews are given an opportunity to do teshuva. No matter what level they fell off of, no matter where they got to, they always have an opportunity to do teshuva. Just like in this parasha, we're still in the land of Egypt, we're still in the 49th level of impurity. is a reminder of Am Yisrael's opportunity to do teshuva. Just like the uterus of a woman is renewed every month, the Jews are renewed every month. The Jews are given an opportunity to do teshuva. No matter what level they fell off of, no matter where they got to, they always have an opportunity to do teshuva. Just like in this parasha, we're still in the land of Egypt, we're still in the 49th level of impurity. If we reach the 50th level, Hashem won't save us. The Or HaChaim HaKadosh, around 350 years ago, wrote in his book that in the end of times, and in the times of the Mashiach, we will reach the 50th level. So, how could we be one of the kedoshim that we had here in Yerushalayim with Rabbi Fine Kachlon and...

14:2349th level of impurity, if we reach the 50th level, Hashem won't save us. And Or HaChaim HaKadosh, which is about 350 years ago, wrote in his book that in the end of times, in the times of the Messiah, we will reach the 50th level. So, how could we be one of the kiddushim that we had here in Jerusalem with Rabbi Fine Kachlon and... how could we have this? How could we be worse than Egypt, worse than their 49th level, almost unsalvageable? And at the end of times, where we find ourselves today, we're going to reach a worse level. We're going to reach the 50th level. One way this could be is that in the times of Egypt, the three things that kept us out of the 50th level were that we didn't change our names, we didn't change our clothing, and we didn't change our language. Those are the few things that kept us distinct from the goyim. Unfortunately, today you see all three of these things have been violated. All of a sudden, the names are no longer Hebrew names; they become Christian names. Many people are like I used to be. Before I did teshuva, I called myself Ron. I didn't call myself Yaron, and

15:41why? Because "Yaron" is too difficult for Americans to say or for most of my English-speaking clients at the time. So, I cut off the first two letters and call myself "Ron." Not that it's necessarily a specific Christian name, but nonetheless, the original name "Yaron" I didn't use. When you don't have Torah, it is very easy to do. Why? You just adapt; you become part of the goyim world because you think you're the same as them. Much, much worse names have been created in the Jewish world today. And... mainly because of a lack of connection to Hashem and Torah. As far as language, you see, there are many, many Jews in the world who don't even speak Hebrew. They don't speak the holy language. Why? Because they think English is better. They think that Spanish is better. They think German is better. They don't think that Hebrew is such a big deal to know. It's an ancient language. So we change our language. Changing our clothing Hashem is one of the things that I see not only in America, but I see it here and unfortunately see it even with people that are beneath a lot. People that are actually learning Torah in some cases are trying to look more hip and more stylish, and they have this disastrous new style for men that is mamash livush goyim. And it should be—it is. It's not only not modest. We've talked about it in a recent drasha and also in America, as well as in Israel, that this new style of skinny pants where it's tight on the legs and wide on the hips, if you actually look at pictures, and I actually came up with a few of them, b'ezrat Hashem we will post them.

17:05mamash levush goyim, and it should be, it is, it's not only not modest. We've talked about it in a recent drasha, and also in America as well as in Israel, that this new style of skinny pants, where it's tight on the legs and wide on the hips. If you actually look at pictures, and I actually came up with a few of them, b'ezrat Hashem, we'll post them. You see them, and I always didn't like them because I know that this is the clothing of goyim. This is not the clothing of Jews. But finally, when I got here and I saw somebody with tzitzit wearing it, the token fell, and I realized this reminded me exactly of the Nazi uniform. And anyone that wants to look it up can look it up on Google. I'll post it in this group, and you'll see the exact replica of the Nazi pants. is this skinny pants. So again, this is obviously not intentional. The guy is learning Torah; he doesn't know that he looks like a Nazi. But the reality of it is that when we are trying to emulate the goyim and try to look like them, act like them, there's no telling how far we can go. And this is from people that are learning Torah. Hashem help the people that are not learning Torah. So, the opportunity...

18:25Now is the time to do teshuva, to realize we don't need to look like them. We don't want to look like them. We shouldn't look like them. We should look Jewish. It's not a bad thing. The renewal of the moon, Rosh Chodesh, is a time for all of us to do teshuva. If a woman is not modest, it's time to get modest. If you're not keeping Shabbat, it's time to start keeping Shabbat. If you learn, if you're close, you know, you're... wardrobe needs a change; change it, Hashem is gonna pay for it. Anyway, the reality of it is that when we do the will of Hashem, we can only win, but right now we're not at the 50th level; we're very, very close, and it's time for each one of us to take ourselves, take the bull by the horns, and start actually moving forward and start doing something about it. Getting ourselves to do real teshuva, getting other people to do teshuva, and b'ezrat Hashem we're not going to fall too far away from home so Hashem does save us in the near future with... we're not at the 50th level; we're very, very close. It's time for each one of us to take the bull by the horns and start actually moving forward, doing something about it. We need to get ourselves to do real teshuvah, get other people to do teshuvah, and b'ezrat Hashem, we’re not going to fall too far away from home. So Hashem does save us in the near future with

19:28the good news, not with unfortunate disasters that are also written by the prophets. So there's a lot to learn about Rosh Chodesh. There's a lot to know that we can connect to and apply to our lives. It's proof that the Torah is real. It's a significant part of being Jewish because it helps us fulfill the commandments of the holidays. And last but not least, it's our one opportunity each month to start all over again because Hashem says, "I'll always welcome you." And you'll stand right next to me. You won't be treated any differently. And as a matter of fact, a Ba'al Teshuva can reach a higher level than someone who's been righteous their whole life. Why? Because they chose to be with Hashem even after seeing the other side. Whereas someone who's been religious their whole life is phenomenal, but they never saw the other side. So if you're doing Teshuva, whether you've been halfway righteous, not righteous at all, a complete Rasha, it doesn't matter. This is an opportunity to do Teshuva. And Teshuva is 100%.

20:29So, b'ezrat Hashem, my dear friend, Isaac, will have a full refuah shleimah, and everyone in Am Yisrael who needs a refuah shleimah, refuat hanefesh, refuat haguf, will have a refuah shleimah, and all of us will wake up and get closer to Hashem.