Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses the strange and cryptic aggadah regarding the diminishment of the moon. As the story goes, at the dawn of creation, the moon slyly suggests to God that it does not make sense that two kings share the same crown. In other words, he was hinting that the sun and the moon together should not be equal, and between the lines lobbying that he should be the superior one. In response to this impudence, God shrank the moon, though the story records a give-and-take where the moon has certain claims afterwards, and God tries to appease the moon. Even more striking is the passage regarding the single sin offering goat brought on Rosh Chodesh. The Gemara reports that this is as if God Himself is bringing a sin offering for having shrunk the moon.

There are many interpretations to this Aggadah, but for today’s piece, I would like to focus on one aspect. Even if it is God who is bringing this offering, we must wonder why aren’t we the ones that offer it. How could it make sense that we should have to take responsibility for God’s sin?

The Chasam Sofer (Balak) discusses the sin from a broader spiritual perspective. The serpent enticed Chava with the argument that God Himself is withholding your access to the Tree of Knowledge because He does not want you to be like Him, on His level. This is similar to the Moon’s inner motivation, a state of jealousy and mistrust, assuming the powerful entity uses this power inappropriately to suppress the others. The Moon sought top position because it thought it would be taken advantage of by the superior entity. His paranoid outlook was a projection of his own tendencies and what he would do if he came into power, which is why he lost it.

Chasam Sofer asserts, a trend originates from a source. For example, we might say the mussar movement, chassidus, the enlightenment and modern psychology all stemmed from an awakening and development in society having to do with paying more attention to individual subjective states and emotional autonomy. In any case, Chasam Sofer says, the moon started the trend which somehow trickled down and enabled the serpent and Chava’s process. This is what God means by His “sin,” that somehow this negative trend was introduced to the world. Obviously, it is for some deeper reason that only God can know. But since it is subjectively negative, it is called a “sin.”

I will add, we bring the sin offering because we are complicit, since through Adam and Chava’s participation we bought into the trend and the mistrust. In truth, this approach can answer a bigger question. Why must all of mankind suffer for Adam’s sin? The answer might be the same. Somehow, in our consciousness we continue the trend. How can we know this? Perhaps the moment we stop this trend the Mashiach will come and paradise will be restored. (This approach and is alluded to in what the Rambam says in the Moreh Nevuchim (I:2). Actually, he hints at much, much more in that tiny, unobtrusive chapter, like he does throughout the Moreh, hiding things in plain sight. As he says he will do in his introduction. But that's for another article.”