We share some of Liel’s reflections on this day:
Rosh Chodesh means head of the month or beginning of the month and today begins the month of Shivan. The first commandment that God gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt was to create their own calendar, Nisan would be the first month of that calendar and from now on they would have to keep track of the days and months of the year. The months of the year would follow the lunar cycle. Personally, it seemed strange to me that this commandment was given before The Ten Commandments, it would be more sensible to tell the people not to kill each other or not to steal, but the explanation I read seemed logical to me. Since the people of Israel had just come out of Egypt and had not been able to make their own decisions, this first commandment made them free to do so and become the masters of their own time.
Mazal Tov to Liel and to all his family!
