The First Month, the Month of Miracle

God said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month is to be the first [rishon] of all the others for you, the first month of your year.                                                              Exodus 12:1-2

Rabbi Yeḥiel Michel Epstein comments that just as the various body parts are not of equal importance, so it is with the months of the year.

The head is the most important part of the body. For this reason, the first month is called rishon (literally the “head” month).

Rabbi Epstein notes that the Torah consistently refers to Nissan as “Ḥodesh haRishon,” always using the ordinal number, never the cardinal.  

While the nations of the world count time from Tishrei, from the creation of the world, Israel counts from Nissan, the time of its freedom from Egyptian bondage.

The root word of Nissan is “ness” (miracle). Perhaps the difference in choice of the first month between Israel and the nations symbolizes the fact that Israel’s existence is essentially a miracle, while the nations of the world function on a natural level.

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. 

Jewish Time

And God said to Moses and Aaron in the Land of Egypt, saying: This month shall be for you the beginning of months, it shall be the first month of the year.                Exodus 12:1-2

It is certainly interesting that we celebrate Rosh haShana (literally "the head of the year") in Tishrei, which according to our verses is the seventh month of the year.

My father explained that time has meaning only to a free person. Time has value only for one who is free to utilize his time for his own benefit.  Therefore, Nissan, the month of redemption from Egypt must be the start of the Jewish year.

Judaism recognizes God's universal relationship with all of mankind, as well as His special relationship with the People of Israel. God as Creator has the same relationship with gentiles as He does with Jews. As Rabbi Yehuda haLevi noted in the Kuzari, the special relationship with the Jews derives from God's redemption of the Children of Israel from Egypt.

Thus, Rosh haShana occurs during the month of creation (specifically on the day of man's creation, according to the Sages), while the Jewish calendar begins with the month of redemption. This is perhaps the intention of the Midrash, which tells us that God said to the Israelites "since I have performed miracles for you in this month, you make it the beginning of months."

Mila and Torah

Great is (the mitzva of) circumcision (brit mila), for if not for it, the Holy One, blessed be He, would not have created His world, as the verse [Jeremiah 33:25] states: “Thus says God: If not for My covenant day and night, I would not have appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth.” Rabbi Eliezer says: great is Torah, for without Torah, the heavens and the earth could not be maintained, as the verse states:  “Thus says God: If not for My covenant day and night, I would not have appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth.”                                                      Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 31b – 32a

The Gaon of Vilna explains that circumcision involves a physical covenant, while the covenant of Torah is a spiritual one, and just as brit mila requires circumcision, as the verse in our Parasha [Leviticus 12:3] states: “And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised,” so too the covenant of Torah requires “circumcision” in the form of “wearying” oneself with the study of Torah, until one masters both the written and oral Torah. And since the covenant of Torah is spiritual its circumcision as well is spiritual.

Rabbi Akiva Eger (1761 – 1837) notes that the Talmud’s connection of Jeremiah’s words “day and night” with Torah is readily understandable, based upon the verse in Joshua [1:8] “you shall meditate therein day and night,” but questions the application to brit mila which may be performed only during the day. (It would seem that we can answer this question by pointing out that once circumcision has been performed, the brit is constant and exists day and night.)

Rabbi Eger quotes Tosefot Yom Tov (Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Heller 1579 – 1654) who suggests reading the verse thus: If not for My covenant, I would not have appointed day and night, (which are) the ordinances of heaven and earth.

Rabbi Akiva Eger himself writes that the intent of our Sages’ elucidation of the verse is to teach that Torah and mila are interrelated. Brit mila, the external covenant, serves as the prerequisite for the internal covenant of “circumcising ones heart”, and once one circumcises his heart, the chambers of his heart will be open to understand the depth of Torah and mitzvot.  Thus, the meaning of “If not for My covenant day and night” is that if not for the physical circumcision, it would not be possible to enter the gates of Torah and “meditate therein day and night”. 

Fountain of Purity and Sanctity

(The priest) shall offer (the sacrifice) before God and atone for (the woman), and she shall be cleansed from the fountain (mim’kor) of her blood. This law applies whether a woman gives birth to a boy or to a girl.                                                 Leviticus 12:7

Ba’al haTurim connects our verse’s use of the word “mim’kor” with its use in Psalms 68:27: “Bless you God in full assemblies, even the Lord, you who are from the fountain (mim’kor) of Israel.”

Interestingly, our Sages understood the verse from Psalms to teach that the “blessings of the groom” must be said with a quorum.

The lesson is that a bride and groom must build their home in Israel on the foundations of purity and sanctity. A Jewish home must be built upon Torah, which is the only true source for Israel.

Shabbat and Mila: Completing Creation

And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.                                                                                                Leviticus 12:3
Ba’al haTurim notes that our verse contains the same number of words and letters as the verse “vaYechulu haShamayim,” [Genesis 2:1] which presents the original Shabbat, teaching that mila overrides Shabbat.

My father suggested that there is an additional lesson to be learned from the commonality of the verses. The verse “vaYechulu” teaches us that Shabbat constitutes the completion of God’s creation. Our Sages tell us that at the end of the sixth day of creation the world was lacking rest, which God created on Shabbat. Similarly, mila completes man’s creation, expressing the partnership between man and his Creator and allowing man to become an active participant in God’s creation.

Mila and Shabbat

And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.                                          Leviticus 12:3

It has been suggested that the reason the Torah commands mila on the eighth day is to ensure that at least one Shabbat will have passed before mila.

My father explained that Shabbat represents the sanctity of time, while mila represents the sanctity of man. Mandating mila on the eighth day means that the sanctity of time will have passed over the infant, as it were, preparing him for the sanctity of man.

There is an interesting and meaningful interplay: the newborn is first endowed with the sanctity of time and then achieves the sanctity of man. Once the sanctity of man has been achieved, it exceeds the sanctity of time, since mila overrides Shabbat. Perhaps the lesson is that in order to truly reach and realize the sanctity of man, one must first accept the divinely ordained sanctity of time.