רבינו בחיי — החדש הזה לכם

Q — Why does the first mitzvah given to Israel as a nation concern the *moon* — counting months by the smaller, fluctuating luminary?

A — Rabbeinu Bachya (citing the midrash and unfolding it) reads this as a betrothal contract. In olam ha-zeh, Hashem has only betrothed us — "וארשתיך לי לעולם" — and at betrothal one writes a small ksubah. So far He has handed over only the moon: a luminary that waxes and wanes, visible by night, exiled and hidden, our companion through galut (note the talmudic dictum that Israel are מונין ללבנה). Esav's descendants serve the sun, the constant ruler of day — fitting for the "מאור הגדול" who reigns now. But l'asid lavo, at the wedding ("כי בועליך עושיך"), Hashem hands over everything: sun, moon, and the inversion where the so-called "great luminary" turns out to have been called קטן ("הנה קטן נתתיך בגוים") and Israel is the truly great. The moon is not a consolation prize; it is an engagement gift that already names what will be ours in full.