HaChodesh: A Special Month and its First Day

by Rav Hillel Fendel.

This Shabbat we will read not only the last two portions of the Book of Sh'mot – Vayak'hel and Pekudei – but also an additional passage in honor of the special month of Nissan, which begins next week. In fact, the name of this passage is HaChodesh, meaning "The Month."

Why and wherefore do we read HaChodesh? And is it connected with the curious fact that the Torah, which is not a history book, focus sharply in on the first day (Rosh Chodesh) of Nissan in two consecutive years?

The Book of Sh'mot begins, tells a long story of Israelites and their Exodus from Egypt, ending with the construction and completion of the Tabernacle (Mishkan), Israel's portable Holy Temple. Both of these two events center around Rosh Chodesh Nissan.

Chapter 12 in Sh'mot tells us that, shortly before the Plague of the Firstborns, G-d commanded Moshe and Aharon to tell Israel how to commemorate the coming days. On the first day of Nissan in the year 2448, the Israelites were instructed, first of all, how to relate to Rosh Chodesh Nissan: "This [new moon] shall be the head of the month for you, the first month of the year for you" (Sh'mot 12,1). The second of these two commands tells us to ensure that Nissan retains a prominent place in the Jewish calendar.

As Rav Eliyahu Ki-Tov writes in Sefer HaTodaah (Book of our Heritage), the verse states "the first month for you" – lakhem, in Hebrew -  spelled with the same letters as the word melekh, meaning "king."

The first command in this verse, however, is more specific. It instructs us regarding the laws of determining Rosh Chodesh, and also to set a permanent annual calendar. This command might seem trivial, but in fact it is a central tenet in Judaism in more than one way. For one thing, without knowing what day of the week or month it is, we would not be able to observe many of the Torah's commandment, such as the Sabbath and holidays.

No Jews in the Land of Israel? Impossible!
In addition, Maimonides (in his Book of Mitzvot, positive mitzvah #153) writes that the mitzvah of determining the months and festivals is fulfilled exclusively by the Great Court in the Land of Israel, or by virtue of its calculations. The Rambam continues: "Let us assume, for example, that there would be no Jews in the Land – Heaven forbid that G-d would do this, because He promised that he would never totally erase the signs or vestiges of the Jewish nation… - we would not be able to calculate the calendar…"

This tells us two very basic principles of Judaism. One is that the so-critical calculations regarding the beginning of the months and year are not made by individuals, but only on a national basis, by the Court in Jerusalem. Until the Court is reinstated, the calendar that we use is based directly on its original calculations.

The second point is that the lack of Jews in the Holy Land is something that can simply never happen, because it would mean, Heaven forbid, the end of the Jewish Nation – which is impossible as long as the sun, moon and stars exist (see Yirmiyahu 31,34-35); without a Jewish presence in the Land, there is no Judaism!

Back to the first Rosh Chodesh Nissan: G-d further commanded us on that day how to start preparing for the first Passover celebration, including when to take a Paschal lamb, and not to eat leaven but only matzot for the week of the holiday.

The Ten Firsts

Exactly a year later, on the second Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the Torah tells us exactly what happened on that very special day – and it was quite a list! The first thing that happened, as we read in this week's Torah reading in Sh'mot 40,2 and 17), is that the Mishkan was finally erected – after a few months of construction and a few more months of waiting for the month of Nissan to start!

In addition, the Gemara tells us that no fewer than ten "firsts" happened that day. Given that the sanctification period for the sons of Aharon as priests had just ended, it was the first-ever day that the Cohanim, and not the first-borns, served as Priests; it was the first day that the regular daily Temple service was held; it was the first time that the Priestly Blessing was recited; and more.

Why, Then?
When we speak of the special HaChodesh reading, then, we have to figure out why the first one was chosen, referring to the Rosh Chodesh just before the Exodus – and not the second one, which was a festive day having to do with the Grand Opening of the Mishkan!

According to Rashi, the answer is clear: He says (Tr. Megillah 29a) that the HaChodesh passage is connected to the upcoming holiday of Passover, in that many laws of the holiday are included there. It is therefore logical to read from the Rosh Chodesh passage that deals with Passover.

However, the Jerusalem Talmud (JT) has a different take. Based on a question it asks, we can see that the JT feels that the main thing about HaChodesh is that the Mishkan was erected on that day. Let us explain.

The JT asks why it is that during this period when four special passages are read over the course of a few weeks, the passage of the Red Heifer comes before HaChodesh? It ought to be the opposite, the JT states, because the Red Heifer was prepared for purifying the Israelites on the second day of Nissan – which comes after the construction of the Mishkan on the first day! This tells us that HaChodesh is meant to commemorate the Mishkan – so why, then, is the passage that we read taken from Sh'mot 12 and not from Sh'mot 40 or Vayikra 9, which tell the story of the first days of the Mishkan?

Firstly, let us answer the JT's question: The passage of the Red Heifer precedes that of The Month because it "involves the purification of all of Israel" – reason enough to give it precedence.

Let us now try to answer the question on the JT: It could be that the Sages did not want to choose to read about that second Rosh Chodesh, when the Mishkan was dedicated, because of the terrible tragedy that occurred in the midst of the festivities: the deaths of two of Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu, for having offered up a "strange fire." [See Vayikra 10 to learn about this tragic episode.]

Other Possibilities
It could also be that the passage in Sh'mot 12 was chosen because of the critical importance of the mitzvah of having a set calendar, as we explained above. Or it could be because of its relevance to the time of year – Passover; it is as an essential reminder that the month of Nissan is approaching and we must prepare to ascend to Jerusalem in purity.

In any event, even though we read the Passover section for HaChodesh, it is good to have in mind as well that this upcoming day of Rosh Chodesh Nissan marks the anniversary of the Mishkan's presence in Israel – and therefore the beginning of G-d's "dwelling in our midst" (Sh'mot 25,8).