parshas hachodesh; simanei kashrus - sibah or siman; achila less than k'zayis - ptur onshin or not a maaseh achila; and more

1) The gemara (Pesachim 6) has a din שואלין ודורשין בהלכות הפסח קודם הפסח שלשים יום which is derived from the fact that Moshe taught the halachos of Pesach Sheni one month in advance, on Pesach Rishon שהרי משה עומד בפסח ראשון ומזהיר על הפסח שני שנאמר ויעשו בני ישראל את הפסח במועדו וכתיב ויהי אנשים אשר היו טמאים לנפש אדם.  R' Chaim Kanievsky held that this is a real derasha, not just an asmachta, and is therefore a din d'orasya.  Rokeach writes that reading parshas Parah and HaChodesh is a kiyum of this din of being shoel v'doresh hil ha'chag, as the whole point of these parshiyos is to teach us the halachos of becoming tahor and offering korban pesach.  Acc to R' Chaim, the reading would therefore be a kiyum d'orasya.  Rama (282:4, see R' Akiva Eiger there) quotes a yesh omrim that a katan should not be called by for any of the 4 parshiyos.

I enjoyed posting the Ayeles haShachar pieces last week, so I am going to do more of the same this week, with a mix of halacha and aggadah.

2)  זֹאת הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר תֹּאכְלוּ -  מלמד שהיה משה אוחז בחיה ומראה אותה לישראל.  Why did Moshe have to hold up the animals for display?  What was the necessity of having a show and tell session instead of just teaching the halachos?

The Rogatchover has a chakira whether the simanei kashrus are a siman or a sibah for a creature's kashrus (see post here, also here ).  Tos (Nida 50b) writes with respect to some kind of wild chicken that lives by a pond:

 תרנגולתאדאגמא. הזכר אסור לפי שאין לו סימני טהרה ולא שרי מטעם כל היוצא מן הטהור טהור שהרי האם לא ילדה האפרוח אלא ביצים הטילה והאפרוח מעפרא קא גדיל ונאסר ממילא ע"י סימני טומאה ונקבה נמי אין לאוסרה למאן דאסר זה וזה גורם דהא אפרוח לא יצא אלא מן הביצה ומעפרא קגדיל כדפרישית.

Even though we know that this chicken is born from the egg of a kosher mother bird, it is considered a min tamei because it lacks simanim.  It seems from Tos that simanim are a sibah -- even though we know the family the bird is related to, it still needs simanim to be kosher.  Ralbag on our parsha seems to disagree and hold that simanin just serve to identify the species of the animal, and it's by virtue of being a member of that species that it is kosher.  

R' Shteinman suggests that our Rashi speaks to this issue.  Let's say a person could genetically engineer a tamei animal and cause it to be born with simanei kashrus, or genetically engineer a kosher animal so it was not born with simanim.  What would be its status -- tamei or tahor?  Are the simanim the sibah for the animal's status, and without them it is tamei, or are the simanim just a siman that help us identify the species?  R' Shteinman writes that Moshe held up each animal so that we can recognize it and know what species it is because that is what determines whether it is tamei or tahor, not the presence/absence of simanin.

Rashi works well l'shitaso, as he writes at the end of the parsha (11:47) writes that the mitzvah of knowing the simanei kashrus is לא בלבד השונה, אלא שתהא יודע ומכיר ובקי בהן.  Theoretical knowledge is not enough; you have to be able to recognize the physical signs of what makes an animal kosher.  

3) וְאֶת הַשָּׁפָן...וְאֶת הָאַרְנֶבֶת  For those interested in this sort of thing (which, for the record, I am not), R Shteinman quotes R' Hirsch who writes  והנה, רגילים לפרש ששפן וארנבת הם בעלי החיים הקרויים כן בימינו. אך פירוש זה לא ייתכן, אלא אם כן שני בעלי חיים אלה יהיו מעלי גרה, ודוחק לומר כן and then adds that today we know that the ארנבת actually does chew its cud, but it is almost undetectable.  (I'm not sure why this piece is in brackets.)  

4) Yesh lachkor whether אין אכילה פּחותה מכּזית means it is not a maaseh achila, or whether it is a maaseh achila but there is a ptur onshin? 

Rashi comments on the pasuk  וְהָאֹכֵל מִנִּבְלָתָהּ יְכַבֵּס בְּגָדָיו וְטָמֵא עַד הָעָרֶב וְהַנֹּשֵׂא אֶת נִבְלָתָהּ יְכַבֵּס בְּגָדָיו וְטָמֵא עַד הָעָרֶב that the reason the pasuk mentions eating is to tell us that the shiur of noge'a or nosei is the same amount as that which constitutes achila, namely, a k'zayis:

  האוכל – ליתן שיעור לנושא ולנוגע כדי אכילה, והוא כזית.

It sounds from here like the definition of achila is a k'zayis.  

However, R' Shteinman points out that the implication of there being a chiyuv for eating a chatzi shiur (according to R' Yochanan Yoma 74) is that the shiur k'zayis is a maaseh achila, just there is a ptur onshin.  If achila less than a shiur is not a maaseh aveira, then the sevara of "chazi l'itztarufei" makes no sense -- 0+0 is still 0.   

transforming "hacheiresh haya libam" into "hachodesh ha'zeh lachem"

Parshas haChodesh, as we’ve discussed in the past, is really more about Pesach than Rosh Chodesh.  In fact, it’s only one pasuk in the whole parsha that speaks about Rosh Chodesh.  The Torah seems to present kiddush hachodesh as a prelude to the mitzvos of Pesach.  Why do these two parshiyos go hand in hand? 

There is a fundamental difference between Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh.  The mitzvah of Shabbos is preceded by “sheishes yamim ta’avod.”  There is a mitzvah of preparing for Shabbos.  Chazal say that only “mi she’tarach b’erev Shabbos yochal b’Shabbos.” Shabbos is the culmination of the cycle of the week.  Not so Rosh Chodesh.  Rosh Chodesh precedes the events that will occur in the upcoming month.  It sets the tone for what is to be, and does not depend on the energy and preparation of prior events.  It is an inauguration, not a conclusion.

Klal Yisrael had known of Shabbos even while in Mitzrayim, but until Pesach, they had not known of the concept of Rosh Chodesh.  They understood that for those who put in spiritual work and effort, G-d delivers rewards.  What Rosh Chodesh taught them is that G-d can deliver the rewards in advance, and the effort can come later.  This is the foundation upon which Pesach rests.  Klal Yisrael had little merit to speak of when they left Egypt; “ta’avdun es haElokim al ha’har hazeh” was an event that would occur in the future.  Nonetheless, G-d promised them deliverance based on what would be.

That’s why, explains the Shem m’Shmuel, the haggadah has a hava amina of “yachol mei’Rosh Chodesh,” that maybe we could do sipur yetzi’as Mitzrayim from Rosh Chodesh.  Rosh Chodesh is the precedent that gives rise to a Chag haPesach.

The gemara (Shabbos 147) tells a story about R’ Elazar ben Arach: there was a place that had great wine and bath houses and the ten tribes that were exiled there were drawn in by the pleasures and vanished.  R’ Elazar ben Arach decided he was going to go to that place and check it out.  After spending some time there, the gemara says that he got an aliyah (maybe it was parshas hachodesh) and instead of reading “hachodesh ha’zeh lachem” he read the words as “hacheiresh haya libam” – their heart was deaf.  The Chachamim davened that his learning should be restored, and learned a lesson that even a talmid chacham should be “goleh l’makom Torah” and not think he can live removed it.

Taken at face value, it’s an incredible story.  This is the same R’ Elazar ben Arach about whom R’ Yochanan ben Zakai said that if all the other Chachamim were placed on one side of a scale and R’ Elazar on the other, he would outweigh them all.  How can this same R’ Elazar ben Arach go so far astray as to not even be able to read a pasuk in chumash correctly?!  From a mussar perspective, I guess you would say that that’s exactly the point – even someone so great can fall to the lowest depths.  But maybe there is more to it than that.

If you’ve ever davened mincha in, for example, a ba’al teshuvah yeshiva, you can find people focusing on every word of davening like it’s Yom Kippur. Meanwhile, the guy who has been davening mincha for the past 30 years knocks off his shmoneh esrei in three minutes flat.  The thrill is gone; the newness, the freshness is gone.  We don’t remember what it’s like to daven for the first time.  R’ Elazar ben Arach could have been one of the biggest Roshei Yeshiva and said shiur on the same cycle of 7 masechtos again and again for decades, but he knew that if that’s what he chose to do, he risked losing that freshness and newness that comes with seeing things the first time.  So he sought out people who could see things for the first time – he went out to the boondocks and started a kiruv movement in a place where there was nothing left of Judaism and where the lure of hedonism drew everyone in.  He went out and lived among people who, when they discovered Judaism, saw it as new and fresh.  R’ Elazar knew that in order to experience “hachodesh hazeh lachem,” hachodesh = chadash, newness, freshness, you need to first have “hacheiresh haya libam.”  Sure, putting himself in that situation was a challenge and a step down from the amazing shiurim R’ Elazar might have been saying, but it ultimately was a step up, because the vitality of those around him would rub off and R’ Elazar himself benefit from that constant rejuvenation.

That’s the upshot of the gemara, explains the Chernobeler in his Ma’or Eynaim.  “Havei goleh l’makom Torah” – you have to sometimes go out, go into galus, go to the boondocks, and there you will find Torah as it should be experienced, as new, as fresh, as filled with vitality.  The truth is that you don’t have to travel too far. There are plenty of souls that are deaf to Torah all around us because no one has come along to open their ears.  The truth is that we each have a little bit of “hacheiresh haya libam” in us, but if we help each other out we can transform it into “hachodesh (=hischadshus) hazeh lachem.”

the "bracha" of the punishment of tzara'as

The kohein is the paradigm of the ish chessed, so we understand why it is the kohein goes out to the metzorah after his nega heals and declare him rehabilitated.  But it is also the kohein who examines the nega to begin with and if need be declares it tamei.  Why does this job fall to the kohein to perform?

Sefas Emes answers that not only is becoming healed a chessed of Hashem, but being afflicted is chasdei Hashem as well.  There is so much cooking inside a person that he/she sometimes doesn’t even realize all the negativity boiling inside.  The idea behind tzara’as is that what’s inside becomes apparent on the outside so that it can no longer be ignored – it’s a wakeup call to do teshuvah.  Imagine G-d forbid if a person had some sickness that he/she was unaware of.  If untreated, it could prove fatal, but with the proper care it could be cured. That individual would undoubtedly thank the doctor who discovered the problem and put them on the path to recovery!  Getting an opportunity to mend one’s ways and have a kapparah, even if it takes some work and is painful for a period of time, is something to be thankful for. 

The gemara (Brachos 5) writes that sometimes nega’im are yisurim shel ahavah, sometimes not, depending on whether you live in Eretz Yisrael or Bavel.  The Netziv learns (not like Rashi) that it is in Eretz Yisrael where the metzora is subjected to the greater yisurim of being kicked out of his home in a walled city that the punishment is one of ahavah, because it is by going through that bit of suffering that one can achieve kapparah.

The punishment of tzara’as is caused by the sin of lashon ha’ra.  Rashi comments on the pasuk of “Zachor es asher asah Hashem Elokecha l’Miriam b’derech b’tzeischem m’Mitzrayim” that we are supposed to remember that Miriam was punished for this sin of speaking lashon ha’ra and learn from this episode to avoid evil gossip.  Why did the Torah not simply tell us directly “Don’t speak lashon ha’ra?”  And why does the Torah include not only what happened, but also when it happened, “b’derech b’tzeischem m’Mitzrayim,” right after we left Egypt?

What we are supposed to be remembering when we think about that episde with Miriam, explains the Sefas Emes, is not the issur of lashon ha’ra or the threat of punishment, but rather the “bracha” of tzara’as.  Even in our national infancy, right after we left Egypt, the Jewish people were blessed with an intolerance for sin.  It’s like we break out and have an allergic reaction to lashon ha’ra.  You can be the biggest tzadik like Miriam, but you can’t cover it up – to the contrary, the stronger your reaction will be.  A non-Jew will not get tzara’as because they lack that same level of holiness that we have and therefore don't have that adverse reation to sin.  The Torah is not reminding us that G-d gives us patches; the Torah is reminding us of how special we are.

 

“V’hizartem es Bnei Yisrael m’tumasam” – the Sefas Emes writes that this word of “v’hizartem” may not only mean warn, but may come from the same root as “nezer,” a crown.  The fact that we can suffer tumah is a crown on our heads, a badge of honor. 

This week we will aso be reading parshas hachodesh.  Rashi writes in that parsha (12:6) that when it came time for the geulah, Hashem saw that Bnei Yisrael lacked the zechus of any mitzvos and so he gave them the mitzvos of milah and korban Pesach.  The Shem m’Shmuel asks: but the Navi Yirmiyahu praises Bnei Yisrael for the love of Hashem they exhibited at the time of yetzi’as Mitzrayim – “Lechteich acharay bamidbar b’eretz lo zeru’ah…”  How do we reconcile the picture of Bnei Yisrael as lacking any zechuyos with the picture of a people so filled with ahavhas Hashem and emunah that they walked into the desert with nothing? 

Midrashim offer two mashalim for this mitzvah of parshas hachodesh.  One Midrash compares G-d’s giving us control over the calendar to a king who waited for his son to mature and then bestowed his treasure on him.  Another Midrash compares the gift to a husband who gave an engagement gift to his bride.  What we have now is but a taste of the gifts we will receive in the days of Moshiach, when the marriage of Klal Yisrael to Hashem is completed.  What’s the difference between these two parables?  A son does not need to earn the right to that name – it is his by birth.  The person we choose as our spouse, on the other hand has earned their place at our side by virtue of shared interests, companionship, and love.  Klal Yisrael’s relationship with G-d operates on two levels.  On the one hand, “B’ni bechori Yisrael,” no matter what we do.  On the other hand, we are expected to earn that closeness to G-d through Torah and mitzvos.  (See this shiur by R' Yehoshua Shapira for a more complete analysis.) 

“Lechteich acharai bamidbar…” The love of G-d was already present within the hearts of Bnei Yisrael.  The love of a parent for a child is always there, no matter how distant the relationship.  However, like the love of a husband and wife that grows and develops as they invest in their relationship, the zechus of mitzvos was necessary for us to allow that love to flourish and express itself.

At the beginning of Sefer Shmos, when Moshe heard that word was being spread that he killed a Mitzri guard, he said to himself (Rashi Shmos 2:14) that he now knows why the Jewish people were suffering in exile.  The sin of speaking lashon ha’ra, thought Moshe, is part of the Jewish character; therefore, they deserve galus. 

 

Moshe got it backwards.  The Jewish character is innately holy and pure.  We are "B'ni bechori."  It’s only because we are stuck in galus, because our true character cannot express itself, that we sink to sinning.  Lashon ha'ra is not the cause of our galus; galus is the cause of our lashon ha'ra.  “Zachor es asher asah Hashem… l’Miriam b’derech b’tzeischem m’Mitzrayim.” Once Mitzrayim is left behind, once we use the tools of Torah and mitzvos to bring out who we truly are, then the Jewish character shines and our souls no longer tolerare those sins. 

(Side note: R' Micha Berger commented to a post earlier in the week that it would be a nice idea to compile links to the websites that have torah from the chardal/dati-leumi world.  I've started putting together a list in the side bar.  Suggestions for sites to list are welcome.  I don't think I need to cover the ones everyone knows about, e.g. the Gush VBM.  Some of the sites I listed (e.g. Yeshivat Birkat Moshe) have vast libraries of shiurim, others (e.g. Har HaMor) don't have a lot and are updated very infrequently, but I included them anyway.  Consider this a work in progress.)

from the ashes of parah to hischadshus

Why do we read parshas parah before parshas hachodesh?  Chronologically, the new month/year would have started before Bnei Yisrael would have had to become tahor for Pesach using the parah?

The order of the parshiyos does not reflect the chronological order in which events occurred, but rather it reflects the spiritual steps we need to climb.  The Sefas Emes quotes from the Ch haRI”M that hischadshus can only be built on the ashes of parah adumah.  As we discussed yesterday, the taharah of parah comes from someplace higher than a person’s da’as.  “Ain kol chadash tachas ha’shemesh.”  As long as a person remains imprisoned by the limits of his own assumptions, ideas, and intelligence, he/she will discover nothing new.  Throw out the hubris of da’as, throw out the assumption that chok doesn’t exist, that there is an answer that can be discovered for everything, reach beyond “tachas hashemesh” and then you can have real hischadshus.

It sounds so neat and clean, but in reality, at least the way I read it, the Ch haRI”M is describing a messy, painful process.  Sometimes people’s whole world collapses.  They can be faced with terrible pain and tragedy and struggle understand, “Why is this happening to me?”  In truth, the only answer we can often offer is that it’s a chok that no amount of explaining can unravel.  The Ch haRI”M is reassuring us that the ashes of tragedy that rip apart what is are the first steps to creating what will be.

When I saw this Ch haRI”M I also could not help but think about modern Jewish history, about the journey from the ashes of the crematoriums to the hischadshus of shivas Tzion.  I don’t mean to suggest that one event precipitated the other or was necessary for the other to occur; I’m just observing the parallel between history and our parshiyos.

every moment counts

I can’t remember how it came up, but this past Shabbos my wife mentioned something about the Midrash that tells the story of R’ Akiva’s audience falling asleep in the middle of his derasha.  R’ Akiva woke them up with a question: Why is it that Esther ruled over 127 provinces?  Because Sarah Imeinu lived 127 years.  Meforshim explain that R’ Akiva was making the point that if every year of Sarah’s life added a country to Esther’s kingdom, by that token every month added a province, every day a city, every minute a street, etc.  Avraham and Sarah were “ba’im ba’yamim,” they were able to bring every day of their lives to the table and show accomplishment.  Their avodah was like daf yomi – never miss a day, never miss a daf.  Esther was able to reap the rewards of that consistency.  Think of what would have been lost if Sarah would have wasted even a few minutes of precious time!  So falling asleep in the middle of a derasha and missing even a few moments of Torah is not a good idea.

I don’t think it’s coincidence that R’ Akiva is the one to make this point.  The Yismach Moshe (in P’ Beshalach and P’ VaYakhel) writes that R’ Akiva glorified Torah sheb’ksav (this is probably a shock to those of you who learn R’ Tzadok and are used to R’ Akiva being portrayed as the personification of Torah sheb’al peh).  The gemara (Menachos 29) tells us that R’ Akiva was able to darshen even the tagim on the tops of letters– every mark in Torah sheb’ksav, evey drop of ink on the parchment, R’ Akiva squeezed meaning out of.   Everything in halacha has its roots in the written word.  The irony of that gemara is that Moshe Rabeinu, the deliverer of Torah sheb’ksav to us, witnesses the genius of R’ Akiva and is comforted only by the fact that R’ Akiva is reduced finally to acknowledging something as a halacha l’Moshe m’Sinai, a law that has no textual basis.  Moshe Rabeinu was jealous because R’ Akiva was beating him at his own game – torah sheb’ksav!  We all know that a sefer Torah that is missing even a single letter is pasul.  You can’t write a sentence here, a sentence there, jump around, leave blanks, etc. – a sefer must be written letter by letter, word by word, from beginning to end.  Sarah Imeinu was a living sefer Torah.  A lost moment in her life would be just like a tag missing on top of a letter.  Who better than R’ Akiva, a man capable of darshening every dot, to warn us of the catastrophic danger of such a circumstance?

This is all past history, however, as the avodah of Nisan and Pesach is completely different.  Pesach is about dilug, jumping.  So you missed Brachos and Shabbos and already have missed a few blatt of Eiruvin – so what?  Jump in!  Klal Yisrael is at the lowest of low points of ruchniyus, the spiritual life has been squeezed out of them by Mitzrayim – so what?  In a second they are pulled to the heights of geulah. 

Parshas haChodesh is really a very strange name for the maftir of this past Shabbos, as there are maybe 2 or 3 pesukim that talk about the mitzvah of declaring rosh chodesh and the entire rest of the parsha focused on the laws of korban pesach.  Why don’t we call it parshas hapesach?  Why do we even mix in the laws of rosh chodesh here?  Shem m’Shmuel answers that the Torah is introducing a shift in perspective.  When your avodah is “ba ba’yamim,” to make every day and every moment count, it means time is your master; every moment demands attention.   The message of parshas hachodesh is aderaba, you are the master over time.  “Hachodesh hazeh lachem” – time is yours.  That is not to say you should go ahead and waste it – time is a valuable resource!  But it’s not an irreplaceable commodity.  You *can* make up for lost time.  If not for that ability to leap forward over missed deadlines and lost opportunities, to start afresh from this moment, a korban pesach and a chag hapesach would be impossible.

anticipating the future

As we've discussed before, Parshas haChodesh has actually very little to do with Rosh Chodesh. After the first two pesukim, the rest of the parsha deals with the laws of the korban Pesach, with the first seder ever conducted. Why did the Torah even need to introduce the laws of Rosh Chodesh here instead of at mattan Torah?

There is a basic difference between Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh. Shabbos is the culmination of the work week. Chazal tell us that only someone who prepares on erev Shabbos, who uses the time before Shabbos properly, will eat on Shabbos. If you see a nice roast in the market on Monday, you should put it aside for Shabbos in advance. You are even allowed to do work to prepare for Shabbos before davening on Friday because there is a mitzvah of kavod Shabbos to prepare for Shabbos. Not so Rosh Chodesh, which is celebrated in anticipation of the month ahead, not as a culmination of what already took place.

There is a minhag quoted in Shulchan Aruch for women not to do work on Rosh Chodesh.  According to the Da'as Zekeinim in last week's parsha women earned this reward because they gave their jewelry to the Mishkan, which was erected on Rosh Chodesh.  The mirrors which the women used in Mitzrayim to show their husbands their beauty and encourage them to have children and not give up hope were incorporated into the making of the kiyor.  This anticipation of the future geulah symbolized by those mirrors is the hallmark of Rosh Chodesh, the holiday of anticipation of what is yet to come.  R' Tzadok haKohen explains that the renewal of the moon on Rosh Chodesh symbolizes the renewal of malchus beis David.  Women already celebrate the day as a Yom Tov because to them the future geulah is real, their anticipation makes it seems as if geulah is already here, even if b'poel it has not happened yet. 

Bnei Yisrael were bereft of mitzvos and merits when the time came for their geulah.  Therefore, explains the Shem m'Shmuel, Hashem gave them the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, which illustrates that it's not just what you have done in the past that counts in your favor, but it's what's coming in the future as well.

what does kiddush hachodesh have to do with pesach?

Given that we ostensibly read Parshas haChodesh at this time of year because it contains the laws of the chag, one would expect, writes R’ Tzadok haKohen, the parsha to be called “Parshas haPesach,” just as Shekalim, Parah, Zachor are all named in such a way that reflects their content. True, there is a mention of the mitzvah of kiddush hachodesh at the opening of the parsha, but the fact that the parsha is read specifically at this time of year rather than before every Rosh Chodesh indicates that the focus is Pesach, the chodesh.

But we might ask more generally: why is it that rosh chodesh gets any mention here at all? We understand that the celebration of yetziyas Mitzrayim had to be preceded by korban pesach and the laws of the chag, but why did Hashem introduce the laws of kiddush hachodesh here and not at some later opportunity?

The answer must be that just as the laws of korban pesach, the laws of chameitz and matzah, are integral to the celebration and experience of Pesach, the idea of kiddush hachodesh is integral to that celebration as well. Our preparation for the chag requires not only a review not only of the parsha and halachos of pesach, but also a review of the parsha of kiddush hachodesh, or our experience of pesach is lacking.

Why is that so? Rav Tzadok suggests that kiddush hachodesh introduces us to the power and ability of klal yisrael to create kiddusha, to sanctify the material world. More specifically, parshas hachodesh introduces us to the idea that the rosh beis din declares mekudash mekudash and the people follow – kedusha can be developed and channeled only through the leadership of chachmei hador.

I am not sure why this idea of introducing kedusah to the world could not be conveyed through the parsha of korban pesach itself, with its demand to be mekadesh an animal for the sake of a korban. Therefore, I would like to suggest a slightly different avenue of thought. The halacha is that a girl over three who is niveles is no longer considered a besulah; under three we assume the besulim grow back. The Yerushalmi (Kesubos 1:2) has the following case: a girl’s birthday is 10 Adar; she becomes niveles on the 15th. QED that she is no longer a besulah. However, before the end of the month goes by beis din declares a leap year; there is now another Adar in the calendar. Poof! – the girl’s birthday is now really 10 Adar II (see previous post here regarding bar mitzvah in leap years) , not Adar I, and the be’ila does not affect her status – she is still considered a besulah. How can this be? Being a besulah depends on empirical fact – changing the calendar can’t change what happens to the girl’s body? But we see from this Yerushalmi that indeed it can. As the Pnei Moshe explains, even nature agrees with the psak of beis din.

The parsha of kiddush hachodesh teaches that not only can the chachamei hador introduce kedushah into a seemingly independent state of nature/teva, but more than that – the chachmei hador, the Torah, is what defines and controls teva itself. [Update: see the Bnei Yisaschar who makes a similar point in his derasha on P' haChodesh and alludes to this Yerushalmi as well.]

All the many questions of Pesach night really boil down to one mystery: How does a people enslaved for hundreds of years suddenly become a nation of free souls? And when we speak of the freedom of Pesach we are not just speaking about legal definitions; were that the case it would make no sense for someone imprisoned in some dungeon because he is Jewish to celebrate Pesach – where is his freedom? What happened at Pesach was not an emancipation proclamation, but a fundamental change in the character of the Jewish people that could never be erased, a quality that remains with us even in the darkest dungeons and at the bleakest moments. Pesach was a change in the metziyus of klal yisrael.

It is this power of the Torah to change metziyus, to alter very fabric of reality, which is the necessary prelude to chag haPesach, which marks our change in metziyus from an enslaved and downtrodden people into the am hanivchar.