PARASHAT BO: THE LIGHT OF RENEWAL

By MEIRA RAANAN, ESTHER CAMERON

JANUARY 19, 2024 11:37

LUNAR CONSIDERATIONS,’ 90x120 cm. acrylic and iridescent gold with coffee grounds, 2024.

(photo credit: Courtesy Yoram Raanan)

Jewish history has experienced dark times, but there have always been better times of revival behind it.

In Exodus 12:1-2, God spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, "This month will be the beginning of the month for you; it will be the first month of the year for you."

Between the plague of darkness and the last plague, God gave the first commandment to mark the month of Nisan, the first month of the year.

This moment also marks the" beginning" of the second Torah. Rashi asks why the Torah does not begin with "this month" rather than with the creation of the world in his commentary on Genesis 1:1. What is the purpose of these stories, because the Torah is given as a rule? Rashi answered his own question by saying that God first wanted to create the world, giving the right to hand over the Land of Israel to whoever he chose, so that countries could not accuse Israel of stealing, although in fact they did.

The Torah began to emerge from the darkness of history with "this month." The instructions for the Passover sacrifice, which was the preparation to come out of Egypt, came soon after. The Israelites emerged from the darkness. Although the creation story is important, our sages counseled us to come out of Egypt and receive the greater Torah.

This was the beginning of the Jewish calendar, which was based on lunar rather than solar cycles like the Gregorian calendar. The moon begins in darkness, like the day in Genesis, "and there was evening and there was morning." According to the Midrash, God showed Moses the full moon just before sunset.

The moon and the nation of Israel are often associated with the moon. Jewish history has experienced dark times, but there has always been joy that followed. Even when we decline, we are given the power to renew and become better.

The Midrash informs us that this passage is where the instruction to "sanctify the moon" each month comes from. Moses had difficulty determining the exact size and exact time for the renewal of the moon to be suitable for sanctification, according to Rashi. "You must look at the moon like this and sanctify it," God told Moses as he pointed to the moon in the sky with his finger.

The sanctification of the moon prayer is a reminder of creation as well as our own place in it.

Our sages tell us that the renewal of the moon every month is a reminder of the magic of creation. It is as if a divine presence, often hidden in our world, comes out to greet us. "Blessing the Lord for the new moon at the proper time is like welcoming the divine presence" (Sanhedrin 42a), according to the Talmud. We say special prayers on the occasion of the renewal of the moon as a tribute to the entire work of the orchestration of heaven. Having raised our heels three times, we say to the moon, "Bless your Creator; bless Him who formed you... Just as I jump at you but cannot touch you, so may all my enemies not be able to touch me dangerously."

In Yoram Raanan's painting Lunar Considerations, golden jewels and royal colors depict the majesty of the cosmos in the deep and dark sky. Many moons resonate throughout the darkness in various phases, symbolizing that even when we are in great darkness, as we have been in Egypt for centuries, our centuries are like the moon that appears and expands.

Our first commandment is to realize and believe that we have the ability to always renew and reinvent ourselves, even when the light is almost absent.

Dovid Zaklikowski, a journalist, described the sanctification of the moon upon re-emergence as "a way of renewing our belief in God's constant presence in our lives and restoring our awareness that everything he does is ultimately for our good."

Yoram Raanan's paintings are the subject of Meira Raanan's book The Art of Revelation: A Visual Encounter with the Jewish Bible. In addition, he taught Jewish meditation. Esther Cameron is an essayist, poet, and academic living in Jerusalem. He was in charge of the editorial department of Deronda Review.

News Sources : https://www.jpost.com/judaism/torah-portion/article-782596