Soo we’re in a new cycle of the Torah now and I want to post some form of short thoughts on the parsha because, let’s be honest, when I tried to post a full length dvar Torah here every week I stopped after maybe three. But I do want to keep myself reading the parsha and finding something to share about it each week.
Anyway I was sitting in shul this morning as we read breishit. And I know people like to talk about the first day, and the sixth day, and Shabbat. Or, of course, gan eden. But the fourth day jumped out at me this time.
On the fourth day:
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אלוקים יְהִ֤י מְאֹרֹת֙ בִּרְקִ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם לְהַבְדִּ֕יל בֵּ֥ין הַיּ֖וֹם וּבֵ֣ין הַלָּ֑יְלָה וְהָי֤וּ לְאֹתֹת֙ וּלְמ֣וֹעֲדִ֔ים וּלְיָמִ֖ים וְשָׁנִֽים׃
G-d said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years ~
Hashem doesn't tell us every chag every year when to start it. Hashem created the sun, moon and stars to tell us when the moadim are, the festivals, and the days and the years. We walk into kabbalat shabbat in bright daylight, we walk out in darkness. We keep track of sunrise, sunset, and three stars. We remember what day of the Hebrew month it is based on what the moon looks like each night. In a world where it’s easy to survive under fluorescent lighting 24/7, not paying attention to night or day, Judaism asks us to know when the sun rises and sets.
Often when I'm asked why my Judaism and environmentalism dance in tango, my first reaction is not about brachot or tzaar baalei chayim or waiting after meat or trees or any of my usual rant topics. My gut thought is often zmanim. Which is often a surprise to myself. But really, I think, the way we mark time, the way we pay attention to the time of day, month and year, the solar/lunar calendar, is one of my favorite parts of Judaism. And right here in breishit, Hashem tells us that marking time is the reason He created the sun and moon. Hashem doesn't wait until days or months come up in the context of any specific calendar related mitzvah to explain this. No, it's clear from the outset that the active practice of observing Judaism is about paying attention to the sun, moon, and stars, which is difficult to do without going outside. I mean yeah you can look at your watch and know the zmanim and say havdallah without going outside, but how cool is it to after that, walk outside and see dark, and go oh wow, there are stars, of course there are, because we just said havdallah. It's not just a neat coincidence! It was created this way. And BH that if you ever want to see the sunset and you know when minha and maariv can be said that day, you know when to go outside, without having to look it up.