Kabbalah Library

158) “And the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron, ‘This month shall be to you the beginning of months,’” since it is the beginning of the governance of the moon. Hence, the Torah should have started being written from here, since the matter was connected to the Creator, for the moon is Malchut, which, when she is whole, she unites with the Creator; hence, the Torah should have begun at the start of the wholeness of the moon, which is, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months.”

159) It is not written, “This,” “This month” [in feminine form], since the name of the moon is “this” [in feminine form]. This is so because “this” [masculine] and “this” [feminine] are tied together. And where there are male and female together, the merit is only for the male. This is why it is written, “This month,” [in masculine] and not, “this” [in feminine]. Hence, it is written, “It shall be the first month of the year to you.” “Month of the year” as it concerns Malchut, called “year.” But the merit depends on the male.

It is written, “This month shall be to you,” and it is written, “It shall be the first … to you.” Why is it written “to you,” “to you,” twice? It is because the doubling of “to you” emphasizes that it is only for Israel, and not for the rest of the nations, as it is written, “For the Lord’s portion is His people.” This connection of the month is for you, and not for the rest of the nations.