"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1 Introduction The very first word of the Torah indicates the awareness of the significance of time - בְּרֵ×שִ×ית - "in the beginning..." (Genesis 1:1), and according to Rabbinic tradition, the very first commandment given to the children of Israel after being delivered from Egypt was to sanctify the "New Moon" (Exodus 12:1-2), thereby causing the fledgling nation to depart from the solar tradition of the Egyptians (Ra worship) and to look to the moon for a new means of reckoning times and seasons....