what's the chiddish in parshas haChodesh
What’s The Chiddush In Parshat Hachodesh?
As we’ve discussed previously, the arba parshiyoit
are the four special torah portions that we read on each of the four
shabbatot which lead up to the month of Nissan and Pesach. This
week is the fourth and final of these special parshiyot, parshat
hachodesh. This reading consists of several passages from the
parsha of Bo in the Book of Shemot. What’s the significance of
these passukim and why do we read them now?
Parshat Hachodesh always takes place on the shabbat
preceding rosh chodesh Nissan. On this shabbat we take out an extra
sefer torah and read passages from parshat Bo in which Bnei Yisrael
were given the mitzvot of rosh chodesh, korban pesach and matzah. In
the times of the Beit Hamikdash this was done to remind the people that
rosh chodesh Nissan was approaching and that it was time to get ready
to be “oleh le'regel”, to make the pilgrimage up to Yerushalayim for
Pesach. Even though today we cannot be oleh le'regel, we continue this
practice of reading parshat hachodesh so that the memory of this great
mitzvah will not be forgotten.
We would be remiss in our discussion of parshat
hachodesh without mentioning the special status of the month of
Nissan. Nissan is described in the Torah as “rosh hachadashim”,
the “head of the months”. This means that although we count the new
year from Rosh Hashana which is in the month of Tishrei, the months
themselves, are counted from the month of Nissan. When the Torah
specifies a date it does not mention the name of the month but rather
the sequential number of the month. Therefore, the first month is
Nissan and the seventh month is Tishrei. The commentators explain that
Nissan was given this prominence because it was the month that God took
us out of Egypt and performed for us many great miracles. By
doing so, He revealed and proclaimed that the entire world is His and
that He is constantly guiding and directing everything that happens in
it.
Our rabbis tell us that Nissan lays claim to many
distinctions or “crowns”. Aside from being the first of the months and
the month of our redemption, it is also the month that the Mishkan, the
sanctuary which Bnei Yisrael constructed in the desert, was dedicated.
Beginning on that first rosh chodesh Nissan and continuing for another
eleven days, each of the nessiim, or princes of the tribes, brought
their special offerings for the dedication of the Mishkan. After
that came the eight days of Pesach which meant that the majority of the
days of that first month of Nissan were joyous. It’s for this
reason that to this day, we do not say tachanun or make eulogies during
the entire month of Nissan.
In addition to all of these special “crowns”
possessed by the month of Nissan, there is one more that the Rabbis
tell us Nissan will yet claim in the future. That is, that it
will also be the month in which our third and final Beit Hamikdash will
be built. We hope and pray that that day should come soon, when the
mitzvot of parshat hachodesh will not only be remembered but will once
again be joyously performed.
Rabbi Eliezer Kessler
Houston, Texas
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