» to rah por tion STONE'S JEWELRY You Decide When We Will Meet T his Shabbat is Rosh Chodesh and the sun. It may be a calendar based on Nisan. The first mitzvah given the moon, but it adjusts itself to the sun, to the Jews as a nation was the too. mitzvah of sanctifying the month — in The sun and the moon symbolize the essence, to create the yearlong relationships between God Jewish calendar. and the Jewish nation. The sun Let’s take a look at society’s pri- represents God and the moon mary calendar, the Gregorian cal- represents the Jews. The moon endar. It is based on the solar year, itself has no light source and is which is 365 days — a full cycle of just a reflector of the sun. The the sun. same with the Jewish nation, we The Muslim calendar, on the need to get in line with God so other hand, calculates strictly by that we can collect the light of Rabbi the moon: 12 orbits of the moon the “sun.” Schneor around the Earth constitute one God is the sun, the giver, the Greenberg year. Every lunar orbit around male, so we address Him in the Earth is 29.5 days, and when you masculine form (Baruch Ata), multiply by 12, you get a 354-day calendar while we, the “Congregation of Israel,” are year. Each year loses 11 days — and after the moon, the receiver, the female. That’s 33 years, a calendar based only on the why we are collectively referred to in the moon would lose an entire year. feminine form (Adat Israel) — including Now let’s take a look at the Jewish cal- the men. endar. The Torah instructs us to count God chose us as His “wife” at the months and set the holidays based upon Exodus from Egypt. Every man knows that the moon: Passover on the 15th of the first in the house, the wife runs the calendar; month (Nisan), Yom Kippur on the “10th it’s all up to her. In like manner, every holi- of the seventh month.” day is scheduled into the Jewish calendar At the same time, God instructs us as an encounter between the Jewish nation to celebrate Passover specifically in the and God. He entrusted us with the mitz- month of spring. This is where the prob- vah of deciding when is Rosh Chodesh, lem starts: If the Jewish calendar is solely saying, “You decide when we’ll meet; you based on the moon, then Passover would decide when Passover and Yom Kippur be earlier every year, and eventually we will fall — when it comes to scheduling would end up celebrating Passover in the the calendar, you’re the decision-makers.” thick of winter — and then it would get As we approach the holiday of even earlier in the year. Thus, to ensure Passover, we should make it a meaning- that Passover always falls in the spring- ful encounter for our families. And this time, there’s the concept of the leap year year, let’s try to reach out and bring to our (as this year). Every two or three years, table one Jew who would not otherwise when Passover would otherwise fall too be at a Passover seder. early, we push the holiday up a month by Schneor Greenberg is rabbi of the Chabad Jewish adding a second month of Adar. Center of Commerce, rabbi@jewishcommerce.org. The Jewish calendar equates the moon * NEW MERCHANDISE ARRIVING DAILY 6881 Orchard Lake Rd. on the Boardwalk (248) 851-5030 www.stonesfi nejewelry.com 2056960 Parshat Tazria, Rosh Chodesh Nisan: Leviticus 12:1-13:59, Numbers 28:9-15, Exodus 12:1-20; Ezekiel 45:16-46:18. Berkley Schools Schools of Choice Apply Now for the Berkley High School Scholars Program (9th Grade) Accepting Applications April 11 - April 29, 2016 Oakland County residents only ‡ %+6QDPHGD WashingtonPost0RVW &KDOOHQJLQJ+LJK6FKRRO ‡ RIWKH%+6FODVVRI DUHHQUROOHGLQFROOHJH ‡ %+6JUDGXDWHVDUHDFFHSWHGWR WRSFROOHJHVDFURVVWKHQDWLRQ ‡ %+6RIIHUV$3FRXUVHV ‡ $36FKRODUVLQ ‡ RI6HQLRUVRI-XQLRUV DQGRI6RSKRPRUHVDUH WDNLQJDWOHDVWRQH$3FODVV ‡ %HUNOH\6FKRROVLVD%HVW &RPPXQLW\IRU0XVLF(GXFDWLRQ GHVLJQDWHGE\WKH1$00 )RXQGDWLRQ Questions? 248.837.8104 www.berkleyschools.org engage. inspire. achieve. 2089300 April 7 • 2016 35