Before leaving Egypt, Israel receives a calendar. Freedom's first act is to own your own time.
The mitzvah of the new moon, 'this month shall be for you the first of months', is given while Israel is still enslaved. The message is quiet and radical: free people mark their own time.
In Egypt, time belonged to Pharaoh. In covenant, time belongs to purpose. Shabbat, festivals, the counting of years, these are the architecture of a life that is not owned by anyone else's demands.
This week, reclaim one hour that has been captured by someone else's calendar. Put it toward something that is yours.