B"H
Friday, Nissan 7, 5782 / April 8, 2022
This Shabbat, we read from the Torah, Parshat Metzora, in the book of Leviticus. This Shabbat, being the last Shabbat before the holiday of Pesach, which begins Friday night, April 15, is called, Shabbat HaGadol. – The Great Shabbat.
One reason is that on the Shabbat before the Exodus, G-d performed a great miracle for the Jewish people in Egypt. The Exodus from Egypt took place on a Thursday. On the Shabbat before each family had to take a sheep for the Passover sacrifice. The sheep was the idol of the Egyptians, and this would have caused great danger for the Jewish people as they were going to sacrifice the Egyptian idol. G-d performed a great miracle on that day and the Egyptians couldn’t harm them.
In the Torah, the months are referred to by numbers, not by name. The month of Nissan is called the "first month". Pesach (Passover) is on the fifteenth day of the first month. Rosh Hashana is on the first day of the seventh month and Yom Kippur on the tenth day of the seventh month.
Q. Why are the months called by numbers in the Torah?
A. The reason for this is connected with the holiday of Pesach and the Exodus. The Torah commands us, “Remember the Exodus all the days of our life.” In the Hagadah, which we will recite at the Seder, we say, "In every generation one is obligated to view himself as if he has gone out from Egypt."
One way to remember and integrate the Exodus into our daily activities is by referring to the months by numbers. This way, each month is in relation to the first month, Nissan. For example, Tishrei is the seventh month from Nissan. Thus, we always remember the month of Nissan and, by implication, the miracle of the Exodus.
The name of this month, "Nissan," comes from the Hebrew word "Nes" which means "miracle". Nissan is a special month in which the greatest miracles took place for the Jewish people – the miracle of the Exodus and the miracle of the splitting of the sea.
G-d designated Nissan as the first month for the Jewish people, to teach us that the existence and future of the Jewish people is not a natural phenomenon but is essentially a miracle.
On the lighter side:Before Pesach, a poor man came to the wealthy banker Rothchild and said, "Mr. Rothchild, I would like to bet you 100 rubles that there is something which I can get and you cannot!
“Impossible,” said Rothchild. But Mr. Rothchild was very curious. He put down a crisp 100 ruble note on the table. The poor man picked up the 100 ruble note, put it safely into his pocket, and said, "Mr. Rothchild, I can get a letter from the rabbi attesting to the fact that I need help, so that I can beg for alms. Canyou get such a letter?"
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montreal candle lighting time: 7:13 / Shabbat ends: 8:19