[Avodah] Shabbos Hachodesh

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Mon, Mar 20, 2017 at 12:27:27PM -0400, Cantor Wolberg via Avodah wrote:
: 2) "Sun and Moon" (from the Sefat Emet) -- Israel orders its calendar
: by the moon, for it is used to living in the night of history.

Actually, we use both. After all, we average 365.2468 days / year in
order to keep Pesach in the Aviv. (Meaning a drift of one day every 217
years compared to the astronomical year.)

But clearly months are primary.

I found the Maharsha on Chullin 60b, on the aggadita about Hashem shrinking
the moon during creation day 4. The gemara lists consolations that
Hashem gives the moon:

   The moon is hurt. "Master of the Universe, because I presented You with
   a true complaint, I should reduce myself?

   Hashem offers consolation, and permits that unlike the sun, "Go and
   rule over the day and the night."

   The moon sees this as no consolation. If the sun is shining all day, it
   continues, "What good is a candle at noon?" It will out-shine me, how
   do I gain by shining then?"

   Hashem offers an alternate consolation. "It is destined for Israel to
   use you to count days and years." To this day, the Jewish people use a
   lunar calendar.

   This too the moon finds insufficient. "Without the sun they can not
   count seasons either." (Rashi, Chullin ad loc, explains that the
   leap years are based upon the seasons. The second Adar is added is
   to insure that Pesach is always in the spring, the Jewish calendar
   is not purely lunar.)

   G-d provides a third consolation. Righteous men will be called by your
   name, for example (Amos 7) "Ya'akov haqatan [the small]", "Shmuel
   haQatan" [a tanna], (Shemuel 1 17) "David haqatan".

   The moon thought about it, but was still unsatisfied.

   Hashem commands, "bring a kaparah, a korban of forgiveness, in My Name,
   for I have wronged the moon."

Reish Laqish than explains the sa'ir brought on Rosh Chodesh as a
"chatas Lashem" (Bamidbar 28:15), is to atone for this "sin" of G-d's.

The Maharsha explains this gemara`s metaphor a follows: moon symbolizes
the Jewish people who appear small in this world. The midrash is a
discussion about the need for Israel to be oppressed in this world,
so that they may shine brighter in the next. He identifies the sa'ir,
the he-goat of the Rosh Chodesh chatas offering, with Rome the children
of Ya'akov's brother Eisav. The sai'r represents the inheritor of Har
Sei'ir. Both "eisav" and "se'ir" refer to hairiness. Surely of all of
the nations of the world, history is dominated by Rome and the western
civilization it spawned. And, like the moon, Israel's fortunes rise,
fall and rise again under its shadow.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             I always give much away,
micha at aishdas.org        and so gather happiness instead of pleasure.
http://www.aishdas.org           -  Rachel Levin Varnhagen
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