 |
|
 |
D'var Torah for Pesach
2007
The Passover Calendar
Now that the Passover sedarim have concluded, we’ve already had our fill of matzah, we long for shots of single malt instead of Manishewitz and the dishes are finally done, it’s time to kick back, enjoy the rest of the holiday, and consider a theme which is at the center of our Jewish calendar.
When Purim arrives, many a Jewish household develops a deep anxiety over the next impending holiday – Pesah. “If Purim is here, that means Pesah is just about a month away.” Truth be told, if we were to look carefully at the calendar, Passover is not a month after Purim, rather, Purim comes eleven months after Passover.
When counting months in the Jewish calendar, contrary to our instincts, the first of the months is not Tishrei, host to Rosh HaShanah (the official New Year), but Nissan – the month in which we are currently immersed. If the first of Tishrei is the first day of the year, why isn’t Tishrei counted as the first month?
Tishrei commemorates the creation – the birthday of the world, if you will. The exodus from Egypt, which occurs in Nissan and culminates with receipt of Torah at Mt. Sinai (Shavuot), represents the birth of the Jewish people. Prior to the exodus, prior to Torah – to a legal system which includes modes of moral and ethical behavior – we were a tribe. By exiting Egypt and accepting Torah at Sinai, we became a people.
The word for Egypt in Hebrew is Mitzrayim. The word tzar, which is found in the word Mitzrayim, means “narrow.” We left the physical and spiritual narrowness of Egypt when we crossed the Sea of Reeds. If we look at the word Mitzrayim a bit differently, as
M tzr AYIM we come up with an interesting image. The word tzar – narrow - is surrounded by Hebrew letters spelling the word mayim – water.
Think of a birth – the exit from a narrow place surrounded by water. The birth of the Jewish people, the exodus from Mitzrayim, is akin to the birth of a child. This may be one reason Nissan is considered to be the first of the months in the Jewish calendar.
If we use this as our premise, Purim comes approximately eleven months later. Why is this important? The central figure in the Passover story, Moses, merits, at best, one passing reference in the central text of Passover, the Haggadah. Our sages teach that Moses is intentionally marginalized in order to avoid any deification and to suggest that ultimately it is God who brought us out of Egypt, not Moses or any other human being.
The central text in the Purim story is Megillat Esther – the Scroll of Esther. The Esther story is yet another chronicle of Jewish history and survival. Yet instead of humans being marginalized, in contrast to the Haggadah, there is no mention of God at all.
Let’s now get back to the way we count our months. If Passover falls in month number one – and God is the central influence – what happens by the time we get to month number twelve – to Purim? God has completely disappeared!
So it is with us. As time progresses, we have a tendency to become distant and separate ourselves from the impact of any major experience (think our birthright students!). Purim brings that separation into focus by occurring in month number twelve, highlighting the passage of another year. It is at the precise moment - when God becomes irrelevant - that Passover comes around to bring God back into our consciousness and back into the lives of the Jewish people.
Shabbat Shalom - Hag Samayah!
Written by Rich Moline, Director of KOACH, the Center for Conservative Judaism on Campus
|
 |
|
 |