החודש הזה. כזה ראה וקדש והכל תלוי בקדוש ב"ד כדא' ר' אושעיא כשישראל מגיעין לר"ה הקב"ה אומר למלאכי השרת העמידו בימה והוציאו ספרים כי למחר אני בא ודן עולמי בין כך ובין כך נמלכין ב"ד שלמטה ועברו ודחו ר"ה עד יום של אחריו למחר אין הקב"ה דן את עולמו באין מלאכי השרת לפני הקב"ה ואומרים לפניו רבה"ע לא כך אמרת לנו למחר אני דן את עולמי ונשמוט הדין באפס אומר להם הרי בני דוחין את הדין עד למחר והדבר מסור בידם שאתם צריכין לילך אחר קביעותם וכל מה שהם עושין נעשה עמהם וע"ז אמר משה ע"ה כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו וגו' בכל קראנו אליו קרי ביה קריאתנו אליו כלו' קריאת החדשים והמועדות שלנו אליו נמי הם נקראים ונעשים. ואחז"ל שזה אחד מן הג' דברים שנתקשה משה ע"ה. וקשיא שהרי קטנה היה בסוף החדש כמו בתחלת המולד ואיך יוכל להבחין אם היא מן הישנה או מן החדשה וי"ל דמ"מ יוכל להבחין מתוך הפגימה כי הישנה פגימתה לצד המערב והחדשה לצד מזרח. ד"א כי בסופה עומדת בקרן דרומית מזרחית ובחדושה בקרן דרומית מערבית: החודש הזה, “this month. [Seeing that the word “month” is an abstract term that cannot be described as visible, ”the meaning of G–d’s words are; “when you observe the position of the moon in which you see it at this time, this is when the lunar cycle enters a new phase, i.e. when the month in the Jewish calendar begins.” This event is to be sanctified by you on each occasion. The members of the Jewish High Court will have to officially proclaim this event. The word לכם, ”for you,” is G–d’s authority to appoint the High Court as competent to declare when the moon has renewed itself. If the members of the High Court deem it in the national interest, they have the authority to postpone the new moon for an extra day. [They do not have the authority to advance it for a day. Ed.] When Rosh Hashanbah approaches, G–d informs the angels that He will sit in judgment of mankind, and He gave them a preview similar to what He did with Avraham when He was about to destroy Sodom and its satellites. According to Rabbi Aushiyah, after He had told the angels that He was afraid He would have to destroy mankind, it happened once that when the day came and He had not sat in judgment, the angels approached G–d asking Him if He did not say to them: “Tomorrow I’ll sit in judgment over all of mankind and the judgment will result in our allowing mankind to disintegrate”? G–d replied: “My children have forced Me to delay this for a day when I authorised them to decide on making adjustments to the calendar.” [The editor of my edition of this edition of the Daat Z’keynim, points to a similar, but not identical statement in Sh’mot Rabbah 15,2, the prediction of mankind being destroyed being missing. Ed.] [If I understand the point of the Midrash correctly, if G–d had sat in judgment on the day on which Rosh Hashanah should have been according to His calendar, on that day the balance of good and evil on earth would have resulted in mankind having forfeited the right to exist. Due to the Rabbis having decided to observe Rosh Hashanah one day later, the pendulum by then will have swung to a positive balance allowing G–d a chance to continue to give mankind another chance. Ed.] Being aware of this, Moses said in Deuteronomy 4,7:כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלוקים קרובים אליו כה' אלוקינו בכל קראנו אליו, “for what great nation is there that has G–d so close to them, as the Lord our G–d whenever we call upon Him?" The word קראנו in that verse is to be understood as if it had been spelled קריאתנו, “our calling,” i.e. proclaiming the times of the new moon, or an additional calendar month making leap years.” According to our sages in the Talmud, tractate Menachot folio 29, this subject was one of three that Moses had had difficulty in comprehending without Divine assistance. [He had to be shown what the moon looked like at time of its monthly renewal. Ed.] Our author does not follow this, saying that anyone of us can see that at the end of the month it almost disappears completely, and at the beginning of the month it reappears gaining is visibility until full moon. Moses’ difficulty was that on the last day of the month the moon is just as invisible as on the first day of the month. How are we then to know if today is the last day of last month or the first day of the month just commencing? The answer is that the difference is that when approaching the end of the month, the hollow area of the semicircle points in the opposite direction from what it does at the beginning of the month. The hollow area faces west when the moon is in its second half, while it faces east when in its first half. Another way of determining this is that near the end of its monthly orbit it is visible in the south-eastern corner of the sky, whereas at the beginning of its monthly orbit it faces south-west.