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Priests Offer a Goat for the Diminished Moon

The moon stood as bright as the sun and asked how two kings could share one crown. God told her to make herself small.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. Two Kings Cannot Share One Crown
  2. Every Gift Fails to Console Her
  3. The Goat on the First of the Month
  4. The Lamp That Does Not Shrink
  5. The Thin Blade Over the Court
Priests Offer a Goat for the Diminished Moon Click for full size

Two Kings Cannot Share One Crown

On the fourth day the sky held two equal fires. God had made "the two great lights" (Genesis 1:16), and the moon looked at the sun and saw her own size looking back. She came before the Throne with a question that sounded like wisdom.

"Master of the World," she said, "is it possible for two kings to use one crown?"

The answer came without delay. "Go diminish yourself."

She stood there. She had named a problem of honor, and honor had been taken from her for naming it. The sun did not speak. The sun kept its size.

Every Gift Fails to Console Her

"Because I said a proper thing before You, I should make myself small?"

"Go rule by day and by night," God said.

She answered that a lamp in daylight does no work. What greatness is that? A candle at noon is a waste of wick.

"Go. Israel will count days and years by you."

She knew the sun already marked the seasons. The verse had said they shall be for signs, for appointed times, for days and years (Genesis 1:14). Counting was not a crown.

"Go. The righteous will be called by your name. Jacob the Small. Samuel the Small. David the Small."

The names were an honor laid on smallness. They were not her old fire returned. God looked at her and saw that her mind was not settled. The gifts had piled up. The wound had not closed.

The Goat on the First of the Month

"Bring a sin-offering for Me," God said, "because I diminished the moon."

The priests heard it as a schedule. On Rosh Chodesh, the first of the month, when the moon is a thin blade over Jerusalem, they brought a he-goat, a chatat (חטאת), a sin-offering "to the Lord" (Numbers 28:15). Ordinary sin-offerings answer a human failure. This one answered a cut in the sky.

A young kohen held the rope in the Temple court. Goat. Stone. Incense. He did not climb to scold the Maker. He held until other hands took the animal. After the blood, someone washed the court. The thin moon kept its thinness.

The people went home under a sky that had been marked, not repaired. The priests washed their hands and waited for the next sliver.

The Lamp That Does Not Shrink

In a later room, a lamp stood on a table. Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, called Baal HaSulam, Master of the Ladder, put wick to wick. One flame. Then ten. Then more than the students could count without losing the number. The first lamp did not dim.

"Whether a man lights thousands of candles from it, or lights none," he said, "the lamp itself does not change."

The students watched the flame stay the same size. One of them looked through the window at the sliver overhead. The moon had been told two kings cannot share one crown. The lamp shared and lost nothing.

Ashlag spoke of a vessel in Beria, red as a body that can hold light. Light clothes a vessel. It does not float free of form. When the moon was ordered smaller, the clothing of light changed shape. The goat did not put the old size back. It answered the fitting, month after month, while the lamp on the table burned as if sharing cost nothing.

The Thin Blade Over the Court

Every month the blade returned. While the Temple stood, the goat answered. After the Temple fell, a father stood on a roof in a later century and blessed the new moon with his face lifted. No goat. Same thin light. His child pointed at the sliver.

Neither of them could fix the sky. Both of them refused to pretend the cut never happened.

Older priests had taught the young ones not to smirk at a sin-offering offered for a decision in heaven. It is not a joke. It is a posture. Israel answers what it cannot reverse.

The father finished the blessing. The child kept pointing. The lamp in the house below did not dim when another wick took flame. Overhead, the moon stayed small.

MoonRosh ChodeshTempleLightAtonement
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From the tradition

Sources

3 sources

The texts behind this telling. Some cards carry a translation of the source; others are our own retelling of it, and each card says which. Every card links out to the original.

Hullin 60aTalmud Bavli, Hullin

Translation of the source text.William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic · CC-BY-NC

Rabbi Shimon ben Pazzi raised a contradiction: It is written, "And God made the two great lights" (Genesis 1:16), and it is written, "the greater light and the lesser light" (Genesis 1:16). The moon said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, is it possible for two kings to make use of one crown? He said to her: Go and diminish yourself.

She said before Him: Master of the Universe, because I said before You a proper thing, shall I diminish myself? He said to her: Go and rule by day and by night. She said to Him: What is the advantage in that? What use is a lamp at noon? He said to her: Go, let Israel count days and years by you. She said to Him: As for the day, it is impossible that the seasons not be counted by it too, as it is written, "And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (Genesis 1:14). [He said:] Go, let the righteous be called by your name: "Jacob the small" (Amos 7:5), "Samuel the small," "David the small" (I Samuel 17:14).

He saw that her mind was not set at ease. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Bring an atonement for Me, for I diminished the moon! And this is what Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: Why is the goat of the New Moon different, that regarding it is said "for the LORD" (Numbers 28:15)? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let this goat be an atonement for My having diminished the moon.

Rav Asi raised a contradiction: It is written, "And the earth brought forth grass" (Genesis 1:12) on the third day of the week, and it is written, "And every plant of the field was not yet in the earth" (Genesis 2:5) on the eve of the Sabbath. This teaches that the grasses came out and stood at the surface of the ground, until Adam, the first man, came and prayed for mercy on their behalf, and rains came down and they sprouted - to teach you that the Holy One, blessed be He, desires the prayer of the righteous.

Rav Nachman bar Pappa had a certain garden. He sowed seeds in it, but they did not sprout. He prayed for mercy, rain came, and they sprouted. He said: This is the very matter of Rav Asi.

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Baal HaSulam's Preface to Zohar 32:1Baal HaSulam's Preface to Zohar

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Sefaria-hosted English translation · CC-BY

Baal HaSulam, in his preface to the Zohar, offers a beautiful analogy to help us understand this concept. He asks us to consider a lamp. Now, think about lighting candles from this lamp. You could light one candle, a hundred, a thousand, even countless more! But does the lamp itself diminish? Does its light become weaker because it has shared its flame? Of course not! Whether we draw a little light or a lot, the lamp remains unchanged.

Baal HaSulam then draws another parallel, this time to Adam, the first human. According to Jewish tradition, Adam possessed immense spiritual potential. Now, imagine if Adam had fathered countless descendants, filling the earth with people like us today. Or, on the other hand, imagine if he had remained alone, without any offspring at all. Would Adam himself be fundamentally different? Baal HaSulam argues that no, Adam's essential nature would remain untouched.

So, what’s the point of these analogies? They help us confront the nature of Atzilut, the world of emanation in Kabbalistic thought. Atzilut is considered the highest of the four spiritual worlds, closest to the Divine. Baal HaSulam explains that, just like the lamp and Adam, Atzilut remains inherently complete and unchanged, regardless of what happens in the lower worlds. whether we, the "lower creations," receive an abundance of shefa – divine flow or grace – or whether we receive nothing at all, Atzilut itself is unaffected. The growth, the change, the experience – it all belongs to us, the recipients. The source remains constant.

This is a profound idea. It suggests that the Divine is always available, always emanating, and that our capacity to receive is what varies. It also highlights the incredible potential within us to grow and evolve. The shefa is always there; are we ready to receive it?

Baal HaSulam’s analogy reminds us that true giving doesn't diminish the giver. It's evidence of the boundless nature of the Divine and an invitation for us to open ourselves to the infinite flow of goodness that is always available. Just like that lamp, the source of light never runs dry. The question is, what will we choose to illuminate?

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Baal HaSulam's Preface to Zohar 16:5Baal HaSulam's Preface to Zohar

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Sefaria-hosted English translation · CC-BY

Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag, known as Baal HaSulam ("Master of the Ladder"), offered a critical key to unlocking its secrets in his preface to the book. What if I told you that much of what we think we know about The Zohar might be slightly off?

Baal HaSulam slices through the complexity by establishing a framework. Imagine, if you will, four distinct "modes" at play when we explore the spiritual realms described in The Zohar.

First, we have the "vessel" of Beria (Creation). Beria is one of the four spiritual worlds in Kabbalah, each a stage of creation. Think of Beria as a specific dimension, if you will. Baal HaSulam associates this vessel with the color red, and considers it the very substance or entity of this world. It's the raw material, the building block.

Second, we have the Divine light "enclothing" itself within this vessel of Beria. This is where it gets interesting. If the vessel is the substance, then this enclothed light is its form. It's the blueprint, the design that gives the raw material its shape and purpose.

Third, there's the Divine light abstracted from the entity in Beria. Meaning the light, outside of its interaction with the vessel.

And fourth, we have the very essence of each individual detail. The nitty gritty, the particularity of every element within this grand cosmic picture.

Now, here's the kicker. According to Baal HaSulam, not a single word in The Zohar concerns itself with that third or fourth mode - the light independent of the vessel, or the ultra-specific details. Nope. The Zohar, in his view, is entirely focused on the first two modes: the vessel of Beria itself, and the Divine light as it clothes itself within that vessel. It's a pretty radical claim, isn't it? He's essentially saying, "Don't get lost in the weeds. Focus on the big picture: the interaction between the vessel and the light." The vessel is the created world, and the light is the Divine influence that gives it form. That's where the real meaning lies, according to Baal HaSulam's interpretation.

So, what does this mean for us as we approach The Zohar? It means we need to shift our perspective. Instead of trying to dissect every single word and symbol, we should be looking for the underlying relationship between the vessel and the light. How does the Divine influence shape the world around us? How can we become better vessels for that light?

Perhaps Baal HaSulam is offering us a gentle reminder: Don't get so caught up in the details that you miss the forest for the trees. Focus on the fundamental relationship between creation and the Divine, and you might just unlock some of The Zohar's most profound secrets.

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