Introduction: The Custom of Shovavim and the Core Question
The lecture begins by examining a mystical custom established by the Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria). During the weeks when the Torah portions concerning the Exodus from Egypt are read, there is a special period of spiritual rectification (tikun). In a standard year, this period covers six Torah portions: Shemos, Va'era, Bo, Beshalach, Yisro, and Mishpatim (known by the acronym Shovavim).
However, in a leap year (Shnas Ibur), this period is extended by two weeks to include the portions of Terumah and Tetzaveh (making it Shovavim Tat).
The Core Question: The speaker asks why this distinction exists. If Terumah and Tetzaveh—which deal exclusively with the building of the Mishkan (the Tabernacle)—are fundamentally connected to the Exodus, why are they only included in the tikun during a leap year? Conversely, if they are not related to the Exodus, why are they included at all?
The Ramban’s Perspective: The True Definition of Redemption
To answer this, the speaker turns to the Ramban (Nachmanides) and his introduction to the Book of Exodus. The Ramban defines Exodus as the "Book of Exile and Redemption." However, he posits a radical idea: Redemption did not end when the Jews left Egypt, nor did it end when they crossed the Red Sea.
According to the Ramban, the Jewish people were still considered "exiles" in the desert because they were wandering without a true spiritual home. True redemption is defined as returning to the spiritual heights of their ancestors (the Patriarchs). This was only achieved when they built the Mishkan (Tabernacle) at Mount Sinai, allowing the Shechinah (Divine Presence) to dwell permanently among them. Therefore, the portions of Terumah and Tetzaveh are not just architectural blueprints; they are the climax and completion of the Exodus story.
This deepens the paradox: If the Mishkan is the actual completion of the Exodus, it should be read as part of the tikun every single year. Why is it reserved only for a leap year?
The Philosophy of Time: The Sun vs. The Moon
To resolve this, the speaker delves into the fundamental differences between the two celestial bodies that govern the calendar: the Sun and the Moon. These represent two entirely different systems of reality.
1. The Sun and the Year (Shanah / Nature)
The solar cycle defines the year (Shanah). The Hebrew word Shanah comes from the root shoneh, meaning "to repeat."
The sun never disappears; it provides constant, uninterrupted light. It represents the laws of nature, consistency, and a closed, repeating system where there is "nothing new under the sun."
2. The Moon and the Month (Chodesh / Renewal)
The lunar cycle defines the month (Chodesh). The word Chodesh comes from the root chidush, meaning "renewal" or "innovation."
Unlike the sun, the moon has a cycle of diminishing, completely disappearing for 24 hours, and then being "reborn."
The speaker stresses a deep mystical point: When the new moon appears, it is not merely the "old moon returning." The old moon "died" and ceased to exist. The new moon is an entirely new creation.
The Ultimate Goal: Aligning Renewal with Permanence
In Jewish thought, the Jewish people are compared to the moon. They undergo periods of exile (diminishment) and redemption (rebirth). The Exodus from Egypt was the ultimate Chodesh—a miraculous, unprecedented birth of a new nation that broke the natural, repeating laws of the solar world.
However, the lunar cycle is inherently imperfect; it constantly waxes and wanes. The Messianic ideal—the ultimate redemption—is described by the prophets as a time when "the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun." This means that the power of Chodesh (miraculous renewal and divine revelation) will no longer be fleeting; it will become as permanent, constant, and enduring as the sun.
Resolving the Leap Year Paradox
This brings the speaker back to the calendar. A solar year is roughly 365 days, while 12 lunar months are roughly 354 days—an 11-day discrepancy. To keep the holidays in their proper seasons, Judaism uses a Leap Year, adding an extra month to synchronize the lunar cycle with the solar cycle.
A Regular Year: Represents the lunar cycle on its own. It is a time of Chodesh—birth and renewal. Therefore, the tikun of a regular year (Shovavim) only covers the initial stages of the Exodus: the birth of the nation and the breaking of nature.
A Leap Year: Represents the perfect synchronization of the Moon and the Sun. It symbolizes the ultimate goal: taking the fleeting miracle of renewal (the moon) and giving it the permanence of nature (the sun).
Because a leap year represents this ultimate completion, it is only during a leap year that we add Terumah and Tetzaveh to the tikun. The building of the Mishkan is the physical embodiment of the leap year concept: It takes the miraculous, fleeting Divine revelation of Mount Sinai (the Moon) and anchors it permanently into the physical, material world (the Sun).
The Meaning of "Zman" (Time) and "Moed" (Destination)
The speaker broadens the philosophical scope by analyzing the Hebrew concept of time (Zman). In secular thought, time is an empty container. In Judaism, Zman comes from the word hazmanah—meaning "preparation" or "designation." Time is a vehicle designed to take us to a specific destination.
That destination is the Moed (Festival/Appointed Time). The Exodus initiated this concept of purposeful time. Every holiday (Moed) is a "memorial to the Exodus" because the Exodus was the moment humanity was introduced to the idea that history is not just repeating itself endlessly (like the sun), but is moving toward a divine purpose.
The First Rashi: Bereshit vs. Hachodesh
The speaker concludes by tying this into the very first commentary of Rashi on the Torah. Rashi asks: Since the Torah is a book of laws, it should have started with the first commandment given to the Jewish people—"This month (Chodesh) shall be for you" (Exodus 12). Why did God start the Torah with the story of Creation (Bereshit)?
The speaker provides a profound philosophical reading of Rashi:
Bereshit (Creation) represents the natural, physical, solar world. It is the world operating on autopilot. By itself, it is devoid of forward spiritual momentum.
Hachodesh (The Month/Exodus) represents the miraculous, redemptive, lunar force of time that drives history toward a spiritual goal.
If the Torah had started with Hachodesh, one might think that Judaism is only a spiritual, mystical religion that seeks to escape the natural world. Therefore, the Torah starts with Bereshit to make a profound statement: The ultimate goal is not to escape the physical world, but to conquer it.
The purpose of the Exodus (Hachodesh) is to eventually permeate and elevate the physical world of Creation (Bereshis). This integration is perfectly realized in the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle)—where gold, wood, and animal skins (elements of the natural world) are transformed into a permanent dwelling place for the Divine.
Summary Conclusion
The custom of reading Terumah and Tetzaveh during the Shovavim period of a leap year is not a mere calendar coincidence. It is a profound theological statement. The Leap Year, which aligns the moon and the sun, mirrors the building of the Mishkan, which aligned the miracle of the Exodus with the physical reality of the natural world. It represents the ultimate conclusion of redemption: bringing heaven down to earth, permanently. [הגרמ"ש תרומה תשס"ח]
