printer
friendly version
email
this page
VAYAKHEL-PEKUDEI 5764-2004
"Celebrating
the Month of Nisan"
Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald
This
coming Shabbat, the final Shabbat in the Hebrew month
of Adar, is also known as Shabbat Parashat HaChodesh.
An additional Torah scroll is taken out on this Shabbat
and Exodus 12:1-20 is read, announcing the arrival of
the month of Nisan. Parashat Hachodesh is the last of
four special Shabbatot that surround the festival of Purim.
Shabbat Shekalim and Shabbat Zachor, precede
Purim, and Shabbat Parah and Shabbat HaChodesh,
follow Purim.
Our
rabbis instituted that on the Shabbat immediately preceding
the first of Nisan, or on Rosh Chodesh itself if it occurs
on Shabbat, Parashat Hachodesh is to be read. The Torah
in Exodus 12:2 states, "Ha'cho'desh ha'zeh lah'chem
rosh chah'dah'shim, ree'shohn hoo lah'chem l'chad'shay
hah'shah'nah." This month shall be for you the
head of the months; it is the first for you of the months
of the year.
Even
though the Jewish New Year is celebrated on Rosh Hashanah,
in the month of Tishrei, the Hebrew months are numbered
from Nisan, the month in which the Exodus took place.
By numbering the months in this manner, all the other
months recall the month of Nisan. Thus, Iyar and Sivan
are called the second and third months from Nisan, reminding
us of the exodus from Egypt.
Nisan,
therefore, is the first, the "king" of all months.
In fact, this concept is alluded to in the word (Exodus
12:2) "lah'chem"--to you, which contains
the same letters as the word "meh'lech"--king.
As the king of all months, Nisan must be honored more
than any other month, and therefore, as a token of respect,
the new month of Nisan is announced in public on Shabbat,
and is made "unique" by chanting a special reading
from the Torah and the Haftorah.
Some
of our later scholars point out a cogent distinction between
the Jewish New Year that is celebrated on Rosh Hashana,
and the new year that begins in Nisan. The Hebrew word
for year, shana, is related to the word "Yashan--old,
and also to the word shayna--sleep. In effect,
Rosh Hashanah itself emphasizes the old, set, and fixed,
and conveys the idea that the laws of nature with which
G-d ordained or created the world, are absolute and immutable.
They are old. There is nothing new.
On
the other hand, the Hebrew word for month--chodesh,
is related to the Hebrew word chadash--new. Therefore,
the month of Nisan underscores the miracles and wonders
that are beyond the boundaries of nature. When G-d took
the Jews out of Egypt in the month of Nisan, He suspended
the laws of nature, and established a new path, and a
new way of life that pertains to the Israelites alone.
Those miracles remain with the Jewish people for all time.
It
is in the month of Nisan that the children of Israel pray
that the strength of their youth will be restored to them
by both natural and supernatural means. It is in the month
of Nisan that we expect the divine presence to be revealed.
That is why it says, "La'chem" "this
month is for you," as if to say that something new
should happen during this month--a new release, a new
redemption.
Nisan
is indeed a month "for you," for us, and for
the people of Israel. As the rabbis in the Talmud declare
(Rosh Hashanah, 11a), Israel was redeemed in Nisan, and
Nisan will be the month in which their future redemption
will take place.
There
is additional significance to be noted regarding the month
of Nisan. In ancient times, each new month was declared
to have commenced on the basis of the testimony of witnesses
who had sighted the new moon in the evening as it first
appeared over Israel. On the other hand, the secular calendar,
that is the solar calendar, is based on the sun. The nations
of the world flourish during the time of light--when there
is abundance and economic prosperity. The Jews, on the
other hand, are able to prosper and survive even at night.
From whence do they draw the strength to endure despite
the darkness? It is due to the fact that the Jewish people
are compared to the moon itself--constantly renewing itself.
The Jews are not intimidated by dark and bleak periods.
In fact, it was during times of great adversity, the enslavement
in Egypt, that the Jewish people were melded into a nation
and gained the strength to survive and prosper in the
light that was to come.
May
this coming new month of Nisan be a month of renewal,
and of inspiration, a month of joy and of peace, for Israel
and for the entire world.
May
you be blessed.
