Parshas HaChodesh 5780
Even without the ability to formally read the special Maftir in Shul, Parshas HaChodesh looms over us, a reminder that Chodesh Nissan is around the corner and that the rising sun of Pesach is beginning to fill the sky. The selection for maftir reminds us of the first mitzvah ever commanded the Jewish People as a nation, that of the Sanctification of the New Moon, and of the need to count Nissan as the first of all months. The notion of “firsts”, of beginnings and of novelty, permeates the parsha of HaChodesh, as the remaining pesukim describe the first Seder ever held, the first night that the Jewish People ever celebrated their new nationhood.
How did they do so? In a manner that is simultaneously bizarre and yet resonant, especially during our current situation, so characterized by isolation and distance. Just two pesukim after Parshas HaChodesh comes to a close, we find Moshe conveying the necessary instructions to the trusted elders of the Jewish People:
וּלְקַחְתֶּ֞ם אֲגֻדַּ֣ת אֵז֗וֹב וּטְבַלְתֶּם֮ בַּדָּ֣ם אֲשֶׁר־בַּסַּף֒ וְהִגַּעְתֶּ֤ם אֶל־הַמַּשְׁקוֹף֙ וְאֶל־שְׁתֵּ֣י הַמְּזוּזֹ֔ת מִן־הַדָּ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּסָּ֑ף וְאַתֶּ֗ם לֹ֥א תֵצְא֛וּ אִ֥ישׁ מִפֶּֽתַח־בֵּית֖וֹ עַד־בֹּֽקֶר׃
Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and to the two doorposts. None of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.
The Jews are taking note of their nationhood for the very first time, reflecting on their communal relationship with G-d, yet they are told to so in private. On a night when social connection would seem to be the most obvious modus operandi, Hashem calls for social distancing. Why?
To be sure, the reality of Makkas Bechoros plays a role. The unique relationship between Hashem and the Jewish People notwithstanding, on this night, death would be indiscriminate. It would be the blood on the doorpost, and the zechus that it generated, that would alone insulate the Jews against destruction and leave the souls within each Jewish home undisturbed.
But to no small degree, the question remains. Why did Hashem rig the system in this fashion? Why not offer the Jews an opportunity for a get together while Makkas Bechoros served to distinguish Jew from Egyptian? Why not create a bubble, if only for a few minutes, during which the Jewish People could congregate, experiencing the great sweep of nationhood on this night which celebrated nationhood itself?
In truth, perhaps it was nationhood precisely that the Jews were celebrating. In enforcing a strict lockdown, ensuring that only small groups could gather behind closed doors, they were being taught to appreciate how a strong nation is built and what will make it thrive. The family is the building block of the nation, and a nation is only as strong as the individual families it calls its members. To dive headlong into a mass national gathering without first strengthening the core, would be to build a house on a rotting foundation.
The questions of nation vs. individual or of community vs. family is not an “either-or” proposition; it is “yes-and”. Strong individuals make a strong community; strong families build a strong nation. We can become so preoccupied at times with the need to stay connected to everyone else, to volunteer for everyone else, to sign up for everything and anything offered in the communal sphere, that we can forget to close the door and to stay behind it for a while. To build and to strengthen the relationships within the home, before the relationships beyond it deplete and overwhelm us.
I’m not one for seeking out the “Why” of historical events. The Da’as Elyon is too complex to attempt such exercises in an era bereft of prophecy and ru’ach haKodesh. It is taking stock, rather, of the opportunities presented by historical phenomena that is most valuable. Is the COVID-19 pandemic a tool being used by Hashem to correct a particular societal shortcoming? Maybe. Is this the coming of the Moshiach? I don’t know. I sure hope so. But what I am certain of is that there is an opportunity brought on by recent events that people of our generation struggle mightily to create on their own: closing the door and looking inward. We have been given an opportunity to spend time with family members we don’t often enough connect with on a deep and meaningful level. We are in a position to assume more of the load of v’shinantam l’vanecha that is otherwise outsourced to school. In a world in which so much of our time is spent connecting outward, we can now spend more time connecting inward.
In celebrating the first night of nationhood, our ancestors were told to reinforce the bonds of family. As we begin to prepare for Pesach this year, it seems Hashem is telling us the same. Let’s see the opportunity in this moment to fortify the relationships that matter most, the ones that will strengthen not only our families, but ultimately, our nation as a whole.