That same freshness so many centuries later
While Am Yisrael was on the cusp of experiencing the redemption from Egypt, what was the point of giving them a commandment to sanctify the months? On first glance, it seems to be missing the main event
“T
his month shall be to you the head of months.” On the threshold of their departure from Egypt, why did Hashem make sanctifying the month Am Yisrael’s very first mitzvah, amid all the bustle and turmoil of those moments before geulas Mitzrayim? One would think that the second mitzvah, the mitzvah of Korban Pesach and all its accompanying instructions, ought to come first — rather than a mitzvah for the future, teaching the Jewish People.
Yet Hashem, in His infinite wisdom, gave the mitzvah of hachodesh hazeh to Bnei Yisrael precisely at this juncture in order to impress upon them what it truly means to be a ben chorin. Through this mitzvah, He provided them with the means of preserving their freedom forever — not physical freedom, but spiritual freedom. Because internalizing the message of this mitzvah is a protection from the danger that would lay in wait for them as they take their first steps as a redeemed nation.
Chazal speak of this mitzvah as a clock:
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