At midnight three weeks ago parts of the federal government shut down. At midnight tonight it will be 21 full days, the longest shutdown in US history.
Without getting into the merits or politics of the shutdown, there is a certain mystique about the clock striking midnight.
The secular new year began at midnight on January 1. The 24-hour day begins at midnight. Midnight has clearly set itself apart as a special time. Why?
The truth is that the modern concept of telling time, from 12:00 am until 11:59 pm, is artificial. Virtually no days are precisely 24 hours. 12:00 am is rarely the actual middle of the actual night.
For example, tonight the midpoint between sunset and sunrise will be at 12:52 am, not 12:00 am.
The artificial time used in secular time-telling is meant to mimic real time – the natural phenomena of the earth and sun’s relationship, which results in an average of 24 hour cycles. As a matter of convenience, we count a consistent 24 hours.
Thus, midnight is not the actual middle of the night (sometimes referred to as true midnight). But it does symbolize the middle of the night.
So, the question remains – what is it about this midpoint that has garnered such status for itself?
(Yes, there are historical reasons, from sundials to geography, about how this developed. My question is more basic: Why does the middle of the night, a time when people are usually asleep or inactive, play such a central role in our lives? G-d certainly could have designed and destined people to focus on a different time!)
To be certain, Judaism does not subscribe to artificial time. Shabbat begins tonight at sundown (5:29 pm in Boise, with candle-lighting set for 18 minutes prior to sunset). Yet, in this week’s parsha Bo we find midnight featured in its full glory.
The tenth and final plague is described in the Torah as follows:
Moshe said, "So said the Lord, At the dividing point of the night, I will go out into the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die.”
… It came to pass at midnight, and the Lord smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt.
Why did Moshe indicate when this plague would take place? He didn’t do so for any of the other plagues.
***
My mentor, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, offered the following mystical explanation.
The purpose of the last plague was not only to have the Egyptians become aware of G‑d’s might, but also to rain personal destruction upon them. At such a time, it was possible for the Attribute of Justice to declare: “How are they [the Jews] different from them [the Egyptians],” for there were Jews in Egypt who were mired in idolatry. It was thus conceivable that some of the Jewish people would also suffer dire consequences.
In order to remove any possible complaint about the Jewish people, G‑d brought the final plague at precisely midnight, so that it emanated from a level at which logic (and the complaint of the Attribute of Justice) had no standing.
The explanation is as follows: The first part of the night is symbolic of and related to severity, and thus, during this part of the night, it becomes increasingly dark. The second part of the night is symbolic of and related to kindness, for which reason during this period the darkness lessens.
The moment of midnight unites the two opposites, kindness and severity, since, at that time, there descends an illumination of G‑dliness that wholly transcends the natural order. For only something entirely higher than two opposites can unite them.
[Interestingly the Hebrew term for midnight is חצות (chatzot), which stems from the root of חצי (chatzi), meaning half. The midpoint is the union of the two halves.]
In other words, at the time of the final plague, there was a manifestation of the essential love that G‑d has for the Jewish people — a love that transcends all logic and reason. Because of this love, when the Attribute of Justice asks: “How are they different from them,” G‑d responds that, whatever their state, the Jewish people are His children. And the love of a father for his children cannot be affected by any logical complaint.
***
12:00 am may not be the real midnight. But, the real midnight is a magical moment.
Midnight may not be the true beginning of the day. But, it does empower us to overcome our differences and work together. It is a moment of uniting opposites, of transcendence and unconditional bonding.
For some people midnight might be the moment they reconcile with a child or parent. For others it may be putting aside the clutter of life and social media to focus on Torah study. Or it might be sacrificing the logical devotion to my job for the sake of a sacred Shabbat.
What’s the midnight of your life?