Our Greatest Commodity in Life
This week’s parsha includes the very first mitzvah ever given to the Jewish people as a nation – the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, sanctifying the new month, something we just did this past week as we entered into the month of Shevat.
Several commentaries explain that perhaps the reason that this is the very first mitzvah commanded is to teach us the value of time. As we know, there is no commodity that is as valuable and yet as fleeting as time; a commodity that only diminishes and never increases in quantity. Therefore, before detailing any of the specific laws, values, or rituals, the Torah reminds us to take time seriously, because the last thing a person wants to have happen is for life to pass them by and then realize that they could have done and become more.
When one of Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky’s sons, Binyamin, was becoming Bar Mitzvah, Rav Kamenetsky said to him, “If I spend a lot of money on a present for you, will you use it well and not waste it?” His son of course agreed.
On the day he became Bar Mitzvah, Rav Kamenetsky called Binyamin in to his study, reached up to his bookshelf and said again, “You promised to use the present well, right?” Again, Binyamin agreed. Rav Kamenetsky then brought down a small box containing…a watch.
“Remember”, he repeated, “you agreed to use it well and not waste it!” In this way, Rav Kamenetsky taught his son the importance of time in general and the importance of every single second.
Similarly, the Torah begins with this mitzvah so that Jews throughout the ages remember just how valuable a gift time is. As they say, each second is a precious gift, that’s why we call it the “present”!
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Lipner