| ב"ה הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם רֹאשׁ חֳדָשִׁים רִאשׁוֹן הוּא לָכֶם לְחָדְשֵׁי הַשָּׁנָה (שמות יב, ב) This month shall be to you the head of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year. (Shemos 12:2) The Two-Headed Year The Jewish calendar year has two starting points. Rosh Hashanah, the 1st of Tishrei, marks the anniversary of the creation of the world and mankind. In addition, we are instructed to consider the month of Nissan the beginning of the year, in commemoration of our miraculous redemption from Egypt. Beginning the year in Tishrei is only logical. In addition to marking the years since creation, the calendar year that begins with Tishrei also coincides with the beginning of the agricultural cycle. Tishrei is the season for planting, and we harvest the fruits of our labor in the spring and summer that follow. Nevertheless, the Torah tells us to reckon Nissan as the first of the months, for Jewish life operates on a supernatural plane, and therefore Nissan, the month of miracles, is the starting point from which our entire year extends. Moreover, even the processes that initially seem entirely natural are actually orchestrated from Above, with a precision that is nothing short of miraculous. We therefore count the months starting from Nissan to emphasize that the produce we harvest in the spring and summer is not the natural result of our efforts six months earlier, but of the divine blessing that transcends nature entirely. —Igros Kodesh, vol. 28, pp. 166-168 | |
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