“Flaw of the moon”? What’s wrong with the moon?
“The moon said before the Holy One, Blessed is He: ‘Master of the Universe, [is it] possible for two kings to utilize the same crown?’ [Hashem] said to her, ‘Go and diminish yourself’ ” (Chulin 60b with ArtScroll commentary).
Apparently, the moon was “asking” Hashem how the earth could function with “two kings,” meaning a king of the day and a king of the night. According to this understanding, the question was an act of righteousness, in that the moon was concerned for mankind, wanting to make sure the earth was governed in the best possible way. It is as if the moon had asked to be diminished in order to enable the world to function optimally, that is, with one “king” in the sky.
But since when does the moon “ask” anything? Is it alive that it should speak?
Well, each blade of grass has an angel assigned to it who tells it (Midrash Rabbah, Bereishis 10:6): “Grow! Grow!”
Every Shabbos morning we say the following words: “Good are the luminaries that our God has created…strength and power He has granted them, to be dominant within the world …Glad as they go forth and exultant as they return, they do with awe their Creator’s will.”
The luminaries do “with awe” the will of their Creator. Doesn’t this imply that the sun, the moon, and the stars have some kind of feeling, perception, even some kind of neshamah?
So let’s say the moon has some kind of soul. According to the Gemara in Chulin, the moon asked God how the earth could function with two “rulers,” since is not an ideal state of affairs to have two kings and it does not reflect the reality of Creation, over which there is only one Melech – Hashem.
The moon was not vying to be the sole king; it simply asked a good question. The proof that the question was asked without jealousy is that, according to the Gemara, Hashem took upon Himself “an atonement” for having diminished the moon. This implies that the decree upon the moon had no pejorative implications.
But what exactly happened to the moon? And why, in Kiddush Levanah, do we ask that it be reversed?
The moon is by nature secondary to the sun, because it glows by reflected light. Is the moon asking to have this condition reversed, or is some other condition the problem?
The sun is the unifying force in the solar system. The planets revolve around and receive their life force from it. Through its gravitational pull, the sun literally holds the solar system together. There would be no life without its light and heat. So the solar system actually is a kind of physical representation of the spiritual world, in which all creation receives its life force from Hashem and revolves around Him. Certainly nothing would exist without Him.
That the moon receives its light from the sun is a beautiful thing, just as it is beautiful that we receive our existence from Hashem. Our subservience to God is our glory, and the tzaddikim in the world acknowledge that their existence is totally dependent upon Him. Evil people, on the contrary, refuse to acknowledge their subservience to Hashem.
So the moon’s subservience is its glory. In fact, the moon offers mankind a type of “mussar schmooze.” The moon is not complaining that it gets its light from the sun. It is not a source of shame, but rather its glory. The moon is telling mankind, in effect, that God calls it a “great luminary” while at the same time it is not the source of its own light. The moon is signaling to us that this is also our glory – we exist as a result of the “reflected light” emanating from Hashem. “This is your glory, your beauty, your radiance. Learn from me.”
