Bo: The Diminishment of the Moon and Feminine Virtues

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One of the key pieces of Parshat Bo is the commandment for the Mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh¹. This Mitzvah has an inherent connection to the women of our nation on multiple levels. On a surface level, Rosh Chosesh was given as a specific chag for the women as a reward for their refusal to participate in the sin of the Golden Calf². On a deeper level, women have a deep relation to this mitzvah through their affiliation with the moon.

In the original creation of the world, Hashem created two luminaries, one to shine by day, and the other by night. Originally, the Torah refers to them both as large luminaries, but when describing their designations to day and night, they are referred to as larger and smaller, respectively. The Gemara³ explains that upon her creation, the moon complained to Hashem.

“The sun and I cannot both rule,” she argued. “Two kings can never share the same crown, and one of us will have to bend to the other.”

“If that’s the case,” Hashem responded, “go and diminish yourself.” As a result of her complaint, the moon was relegated to reflecting the light of the sun at night, rather than having a light of her own. Our sages teach us that at the End of Days, the moon will be returned to her original state, and will once again be of equal luminance to the sun.

The moon is symbolic of the feminine modality, the emotional service of Hashem, while the sun is symbolic of the masculine modality, or the intellectual side⁴. The moon is the Emunah (faith) to the sun’s Emet (truth). The sun’s strength is constant, representing the black-and-white, masculine approach to Avodat Hashem. The moon, however, waxes and wanes, representing the feminine strength of Emunah. Even during unstable and dark times, the Emunah remains⁵. As the pasuk in Tehillim says, “V’Emunatcha baleilot”⁶ – even when the night is dark, amidst turbulent times, the moon and the Emunah she represents will persist. This is why the women were uninvolved in Chet Ha’egel and were given Rosh Chodesh as a reward. When Moshe did not return on the calculated date, the men, who led with the modality of Emet, could not reconcile this disturbance. The women, however, with the modality of Emunah, were unfazed. They held faith, even when their surroundings turned turbulent.

The world we live in is an imperfect one, and it will be that way until its Tikkun (reparation) at the End of Days. The moon, and the feminine role she represents, bears the pain of an imbalanced world. However, this imbalance will not remain in place forever, and we see these changes happening today. As we approach the final redemption, we approach the restoration of the sun and moon to their original size ratios, as well as the restoration of the modalities they represent to equal importance in society.

These luminaries also represent action and reception, or the Mashpia (giver) and Mekabel (receiver) roles. The moon is the Mekabel – the receiver, while the sun is the giver, the Mashpia. As such, the woman is a Mekabel as well. Even physically, the woman is on the receiving end of the Mashpia-Mekabel relationship. Inasmuch, we are far more inclined to certain parts of Avodat Hashem than our male counterparts. Hashem is the Mashpia and humanity is the Mekabel, and this is the role that women are naturally inclined to fill.

This role was Hashem’s gift to the moon. Yes, she would now be smaller than the sun,, but she has the power to control how much light she reflects. By waxing and waning, she controls the level of relationship. The same is true with our relationship with Hashem. He is the Mashpia, but we are in control of how much of a Mekabel we want to be. It is up to us to decide how much of His light we will reflect into the world. This is represented by the Mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh itself. The power to determine the first of the month, and by extension, the entire calendar and cycle of Jewish life is in the hands of humanity. We are the Mekabel, the recipient as opposed to the provider, but we still hold tremendous power in the relationship⁷.

But even so, the moon was unsatisfied. Hashem offered her many consolations, but she was inconsolable. Hashem defers to her, and we bring an offering on Rosh Hashana to “atone” for the moon’s diminishment⁸. Even with her strength as a Mekabel, there is still an inequality present. The moon has no light of her own, and she is still smaller than the sun. This parallels our imperfect world today, in which the intellectual, Mashpia role is often valued far more than the emotional, Mekabel aspect. It is a fast-paced world, and the ability to just be is often underappreciated and overlooked. Similarly, even though the intellect and emotion are both important aspects of Avodat Hashem, the intellectual is often valued higher than the emotion, leaving the emotional modality to wrongly be viewed as secondary to the intellect. To Hashem, the difference in value does not and never did exist, but in our imperfect world, wherever dichotomy exists, so does some level of inequality.

Rachel was the one to establish the Mussaf of Rosh Chodesh⁹. This is hinted to with the words “Roshei Chadashim L’Amcha Nosata,”¹⁰ with Rachel’s name as an acronym for the first three words. Rachel understood the pain of an imbalanced world – she could identify with the moon’s pain. A similar reasoning is also given for why women do not recite Kiddush Levana. Kiddush Levana empathizes with the moon’s suffering due to imbalance, and prays for her restoration. Women do not need to empathize with this form of pain – we live with it.