But from the loftier perspective of Divine affinity and willingness, Nissan is the choicest time of year for approaching and cleaving to God. That is, the possibility of our clinging to God is greater in Nissan than in any other month of the year. The word "Nissan" can be understood in Hebrew to mean "our miracles. This is because, as we have noted, Nissan constitutes a bond, as it were, between time-bound existence and the realm that transcends time. Throughout history many miracles have taken place in this month.
Even the bread that we eat in Nissan - Matzah - is Holy. Matzah contains none of the leaven that represents the evil inclination. It is bread that possesses Divine holiness.
It is impossible to subsist without bread, but in Nissan the bread is Divine. The difference between ordinary leavened bread and Matzah is the amount of time involved in its preparation.
Once again we see that the month of Nissan constitutes the height of attachment between natural existence and the Divine source. Therefore it is singled out as a time of redemption - "In Nissan the Jewish People were redeemed, and in Nissan they will be redeemed once again" - speedily in our days, Amen. Basis of Jewish law and philosophy. Torah - the Five Books of Moses. Mitzvah pl. Tosafoth - A collection of teachings that subjects the Talmud to its very own method.
It is printed on the page of the Talmud itself. Copy to clipboard. The focus should be on doing God's will -- getting rid of leavened food and negating the ego. Indeed, freshness and renewal most easily comes when we let go of the heaviness of self-importance and give ourselves permission to be simple.
For the more we open our hearts to God's presence and love, the more ridiculous our pomposity feels. The formal act of searching to remove chametz is called Bedikat Chametz. The examination begins at night.
Every nook and cranny has to be checked. The examination must be done by direct light -- i. It is customary to hide 10 pieces of bread remember where you put them! The kabbalists use the Sefirot to describe the ways in which God reveals His presence to us, for instance through his continual outpouring of goodness. Since we live in a world in which free choice is authentic, we acknowledge that if it is possible to be good, and we find it attractive, we will find doing evil equally as compelling.
Each one of the 10 Sefirot has a negative counterpart. Passover is a time that all the forces of evil can be defeated, just as they were in Egypt over 3, years ago. The timing is critical. Rabbi Chaim Vital tells us that the first 13 days of Nissan hint at the first 13 years of one's life. When the 13th year is over, and the 14th year is about to begin, something crucial happens to us. The yetzer tov positive impulses becomes just as forceful in the battle for one's personality as the yetzer hara negative impulses.
It is then that the ability to examine and introspect begins, in the same way that when the 13th day of Nissan ends, we now can search, discover and ultimately destroy the actual chametz that is so much part of our lives. The climax of our search for chametz is our stating that "whatever chametz is in our possession, is now considered to be as ownerless as the dust of the earth.
As you sit down to the Seder, to relive the enslavement and the Exodus, you will eat the matzah and drink the wine. These are tools to help you write your own personal story of redemption, added to the millions of stories that are part of our unwritten history.
May we all merit to see the buds of Nissan blossom into full and genuine redemption. And may we spend the next Seder together, in a free and rebuilt Jerusalem. Anonymous , April 6, AM. Your email address is kept private. Our editor needs it in case we have a question about your comment.
Get Our Emails. Current Issues. America's Lost Boys and Me. Henry Heimlich and Being Someone's Angel. The Raucous Party Next Door. Eliezer supported Tishrei as the anniversary of the creation of Adam and hence of all humanity. Within the universalist compass of Tishrei, issues of sin and renewal applicable to all human beings were emphasized.
The fact that Tishrei is the new year for counting of the reigns of gentile kings also reflects this worldly perspective.
By attributing different yet complementary roles to the new years of Nisan and Tishrei, teachers of Torah have helped integrate perspectives of world, nation, and individual within the Jewish religion.
Want to learn more about the High Holidays? Sign up for a special High Holiday prep email series. Together with the Gemara, it makes up the Talmud. Rosh Hashanah. It is mentioned numerous times in the Bible, in reference to its ceremonial use in the Temple and to its function as a signal-horn of war.
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Something seems off. It is a Monday night and Rosh Hashanah , the traditional Jewish new year, is still six months away. Why the celebration and talk of a new year? This ritual is very familiar, however, to the members of Congregation Ahaba Veahva , a Synagogue that follows the Egyptian-Jewish rite. This ritual takes place annually on the first of Nisan. The name denotes a celebration of the unity of God and the miracles that he wrought during this month surrounding the Exodus from Egypt.
The way the congregation celebrates it and how this custom survived illuminates important dynamics of how Jewish ritual has been standardized over time. The Seder al-Tahwid, however, is a remnant of an ancient custom of the Jews of the near East variably referred to as Mustaribun or Shamim to commemorate the first day of the Jewish month of Nisan as a minor Rosh Hashanah as per Exodus On their website, Congregation Ahaba Veahva explains the celebration as follows:.
The Great Exodus of Egypt: On Rosh Chodesh the first of the month of Nisan , beni Yisrael the children of Israel heard the nes miracle that they were going to be redeemed on the night of the 15th, later in that very month.
We hold this evening to remember the miracles and the hesed kindness that Hashem God does for His nation. The only printed version of the Seder al-Tahwid liturgy is found in an anonymous 10 page pamphlet printed in Alexandria.
The prayers focus on many themes found in the Rosh Hashana prayers such as blessing, sustenance and messianic redemption in the year to come. The liturgy is found in a somewhat longer form in a tenth century manuscript fragment from the Cairo Geniza , the repository of documents found in the late nineteenth century in the synagogue in old Fustat. The celebration of al-Tahwid begins with special liturgy on the Sabbath closest to the day and on the day itself the community refrains from unnecessary labor similar to intermediate days of Jewish holidays.
They also recite a Kiddush a prayer that sanctifies a day, recited over a cup of wine followed by a festive meal and the recitation of liturgical poetry. One such poem presents a debate among the twelve months to determine which one will have primacy. In one stanza, for example, Nisan argues that the following month of Iyyar cannot be chosen since its zodiacal sign is Taurus, the same species as the golden calf that Israel made in the wilderness.
Other prayers more explicitly cast the day as the beginning of the new year.
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