Imagine that you were G-d (remain calm - it’s only hypothetical!) and you were issuing your first decree, what would it be? No… not a raise for yourself! Yes, it’s true, creating does take some energy; but you have all the money in the world - YOU created it, so that’s not really necessary. So what would your first mitzvah be?

Need some help? How about Shabbos or the holidays (minus the cleaning for Pesach, of course). Maybe Prayer…charity would be a great choice (there’s your raise). Honoring parents is a nice one. So is loving your neighbor like yourself. Which would you choose?

And what did G-d choose as His opening mitzvah?

In this week’s Torah portion, Bo, we find the answer: The mitzvah of…Rosh Chodesh!!!???!!! The commandment to calculate, consecrate and inaugurate each month based on the lunar cycle.

Now having a Jewish calendar is certainly a nice concept (having a second birthday party doesn’t hurt), but why did G-d choose this particular mitzvah to be the first one? What about all the great mitzvos described above?

The following is a beautiful idea synthesized from many sources, which will hopefully illuminate this special mitzvah.

G-d created the world as the setting in which we, as human beings, have the ability to reach out and develop a close relationship with Him. G-d, in His infinite kindness, gave us a toolbox with many specialized tools to assist us in reaching our goal. He gave us the Torah, the instruction manual of do’s and don’ts; we are endowed with unique personalities, character traits, strengths and weaknesses; we have abundant resources, our families and environment, and so much more.

One of the special tools He gave us is called kedusha – holiness. The best way to describe holiness is the special feelings I experience at the Western Wall - my heart feels open…it is easy to cry…the prayers flow…and time just seems to stand still.

Holiness exists in time (i.e., on Shabbos, the holidays, Yom Kippur, etc.) and space (i.e., in Jerusalem, the Holy Temple, etc.). Holiness is like fire: It warms, illuminates and enlightens those who choose to come close and allow it to permeate their existence. At special times and in special places, the Almighty draws near. Holiness is the expression of His presence penetrating our essence.

The Torah relates the story of our ancestors, the Israelites, who were enslaved in Egypt, with no time or space to call their own. Their minds were completely absorbed by their arduous tasks, robbing them of any opportunity to engage with the Almighty. At long last, G-d sent Moses and Aaron to emancipate them and bring them home…to Him…as His people…to engage with Him for eternity.

What was G-d’s first communiqué? The mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh. Rosh Chodesh represents an opportunity for human beings to introduce holiness into this world. By consecrating the new moon and month, the Jewish People have the ability to set the calendar, designate the holidays, and designate when G-d’s holiness is required to be manifest in this world. Unlike the holiness of Shabbos, which was established by G-d’s creation of the world and comes every seven days, the holiness of the holidays is our domain.

Rosh Chodesh is G-d’s introduction to the Jewish people: You have the power to set the agenda, introduce holiness into the world, and draw ever nearer to Me.

May we all merit bringing holiness into our own lives, so that G-d’s presence will be increasingly manifest and illuminating.