Months: Numbers and Names

This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.                                  Exodus 12:2

Naḥmanides notes that the Torah consistently refers to the months by their number, starting from Nissan, as our verse teaches, and never does the Torah give a name to any month.

In establishing Nissan, the month of redemption from Egypt, as the month from which the People of Israel number their months, the Torah teaches that we must always remember the miracles of the exodus. Just as Israel counts days from Shabbat as a constant reminder of the day of rest, so too the nation counts months as a constant reminder of its redemption from Egyptian enslavement.

However, in contrast to months which are counted from Nissan, years are counted from Tishrei, as the verse states: "the harvest festival (Succot) at the turn of the year." [Exodus 34:22] Thus, when our verse states "this month shall be unto you…" the intention is to stress that Nissan is not the beginning of the year, rather the starting point for Israel's calendar, as a reminder of redemption.

Naḥmanides addresses the fact that since the return to Zion, Israel's practice changed and the months are named rather than being counted, as our Sages taught "the names of the months were brought up from Babylonian exile." [Breishit Rabba 49:9] Naḥmanides explains that Israel's return from Babylonian exile constituted fulfillment of the prophecy: "Therefore, behold, the days come, says God, that it shall no more be said: 'As God lives, Who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' but: 'As God lives, Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries to which He had driven them'; and I will bring them back into their Land that I gave unto their fathers," [Jeremiah 16:14-15] and therefore Israel uses  the names of the months which were used in Babylonia as a means of remembering its second redemption and the nation's return to its homeland following it exile.

We can add that according to Naḥmanides’ analysis, the change from numbering to naming the months is essentially a technical, rather than substantive, change. The purpose of Israel's redemption from Egypt was to bring God's nation into its Land, His Land, as is clearly stated "He brought out of there, to bring us to the Land He promised our fathers, and give it to us." [Deuteronomy 6:23] Therefore, remembering the redemption from Egypt includes remembering its purpose, to bring Israel to its Land.

Thus, whether by numbering or by naming its months, Israel should remain cognizant of the centrality of its Land.