posted February 28, 2007 11:35 PM         

According to Sefer Yetzirah, each month of the Jewish year has a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, a zodiac sign, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, a sense, and a controlling limb of the body that correspond to it.

Nissan is the first of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar.

The first commandment given to the newly born nation of Israel before the Exodus from Egypt was: "This month [the month of Nissan] shall be for you the first of the months" (Exodus 12:2).

The month of Nissan begins, in particular, the "period" (tekufah) of the spring. The three months of this tekufah--Nissan, Iyar, Sivan--correspond to the three tribes of the camp of Judah--Judah, Issachar, Zebulun--who were situated to the east). In the Torah, Nissan is referred to as "the month of the spring" (chodesh ha'aviv).

In addition, Nissan begins the six summer months, which correspond to six levels of "straight light" (in Divine service--"arousal from above"). This is alluded to in the name aviv which begins with the two letters alef beit, in the "direct" or "straight" order of the alef-beit.

Nissan is referred to as "the month of the redemption." According to the accepted opinion of our sages: "In Nissan our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt and in Nissan we will be redeemed" (Tractate Rosh HaShana 11a).

Nissan is a month of miracles (nissim). The fact that the name Nissan possesses two nuns implies, according to our sages, nissei nissim--"miracles of miracles." Of the redemption of the future it is said: "As the days of your exodus from Egypt, I shall reveal to him wonders." In Chassidut this verse is explained to mean that the wonders of the redemption of the future will be wondrous and miraculous relative to the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt--"miracles of miracles."

Letter: hei.

The letter hei is the phonetic origin of all the 22 letters of the alef-beit.

Our sages teach us that "with the letter hei G-d created this world," as is said at the beginning of the second account of Creation (which corresponds to the Jewish calender, beginning from Nissan): "b'hibaram--b'hei bera'am." Thus, the month of Nissan signifies the annual renewal of the creation of this world.

Mazal: taleh (Aries--lamb).

The taleh symbolizes the Pesach sacrifice, the first sacrifice of the Jewish people to G-d upon their redemption. The Jewish people itself is symbolized as a lamb (amongst seventy wolves). Of all of G-d's creations, the lamb possesses the innate ability to arouse mercy by its voice (the origin of the sense of speech of the month of Nissan).

Tribe: Judah.

Judah is the king (the "first") of the tribes of Israel. His name means to give thanks, in speech (the sense of Nissan). The king rules his people by the power of his speech, as is said "for the word of the king is his rule." The month of Nissan is "the new year for kings" (Mishnah Rosh HaShana 1:1).

Sense: Speech.

The sense of speech implies ones ability to express his deepest feelings and insights to an other. All forms of expression are referred to generically as "speech."

"This world" (created by the letter hei of Nissan) is one that is founded upon (verbal) communication. Personifying the sefirah of malchut (kingdom), it is often referred to as "the world of speech" (or "the revealed world").

The very root for "speech" means as well "to lead." Thus the sense of speech is in essence the sense of leadership.

The central mitzvah of the month of Nissan, on the seder night, is the telling of the story of the Exodus--"the more one tells of the Exodus from Egypt, the more is he praiseworthy." This is the foremost mitzvah of speech of the entire year. Of the 15 stages of the seder (15 = the sum of all numbers from 1 to 5), magid--the telling of the story of the Exodus--is the 5th stage. 5 = hei. The stage of magid begins with the word "hei" (hei lachma anya, "this is the poor-mans bread").

The redemption from Egypt (the existential state of "confinement," the inability to truly express oneself--"all exiles are referred to as Egypt") symbolizes the "freedom of speech."

Controller: right foot.

posted February 28, 2007 11:37 PM         

Our sages say: "In Nissan our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt, and in Nissan we will be redeemed." The name of the month, Nissan, is cognate to the word, Nissim, "miracles." The two letters, nun, at the beginning and end of Nissan, allude, according to our sages, to "miracles of miracles" (nisai nissim).

In the Torah, the month of Nissan is referred to as "the month of spring." From the verse, "Guard the month of spring and make Pesach for G-d your G-d," our sages learn of the mitzvah to make a leap year when necessary, to ensure that the holiday of Pesach will always fall in the season of spring. The word for "leap year," ibur, also means "pregnancy"--a state of being from which a new reality is born.

Spring is the time of the rebirth of nature, of renewed growth and actualization of latent potential. This is intimated in the very first mitzvah that the Children of Israel were commanded, before leaving Egypt: "This month is for you the head of months; it is for you the first of the months of the year." The root of the word for "month," chodesh, is identical to the root of the word "new," chadash. Thus, "this month," the month of Nissan, is the source of all "renewal" that will appear throughout the year. In the above cited verse the root "new" appears three times--a triple renewal ("A triply winded thread is not easily severed").

The redemption of Israel is likened to a process of "sprouting" and "flourishing," tzmichah. One of the names in the Bible for the Mashiach himself is Tzemach, "the sprout," as it is written: "His name is Tzemach and from beneath him [from the earth] he will flourish."

The Torah states: "Today you are going out, in the month of the spring." This verse refers not only to the redemption from Egypt, but to the future redemption as well. When Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi asked the Mashiach, "When will our master arrive?" he answered, "Today!" (hayom!). When Mashiach did not arrive on that day, the prophet Elijah explained to Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi that the Mashiach had in fact referred to the verse, "Today [hayom], if you listen to His voice."

Notwithstanding, the answer of Mashiach may also be seen to allude to the above cited verse, "Today [hayom] you are going out, in the month of the spring." From this we may learn that the spiritual service upon which the future redemption is dependent is the service of "going out" of one's initial "introverted" or "pregnant" state of being, to be "born" in full manifestation to the external reality of the world. The revelation of Mashiach himself is referred to as "Today [hayom] I [G-d] have given you birth." This parallels the natural flourishing of the month of spring.

The greatest miracle of the month of Nissan--the month of redemption--is that in Nissan nature itself experiences true renewal. The prophet says: "Just as in the days of your going out of Egypt, I will show you wonders." From this we learn that the miracles of the future redemption will be "wonders" as compared to the miracles of the exodus from Egypt. Chassidut explains that the miracles of the exodus from Egypt were so powerfully "supernatural" that they "broke" the natural order of the world. In the future redemption, however, the miracles will unite with nature and will illuminate the world through nature. Now, the myriad of miracles "enclothed" in nature are concealed by the cloak of nature. In the future, nature will become a transparent pane through which the brilliant, Divine light of the miracle of true renewal of all reality will shine. Of the future it is said: "Night (nature) as day (miracles) will shine."

By "gently" uniting with nature, refining and illuminating it, the realm of the miraculous will "gladden" the realm of the natural. This is compared to the mitzvah incumbent upon a husband to "gladden" his wife. The Arizal teaches that each of the twelve months of the year possesses a particular permutation of G-d's essential four-letter Name, Havayah, which derives from (the initial letters or the final letters of) a verse in the Bible. The permutation of the month of Nissan, the first of the months of the year, is the natural spelling of Havayah, which derives from the initial letters of the verse in Psalms: "The heavens will be happy and the earth will rejoice" (Yismichu hashamayim v'tagel ha'aretz). The heavens (the spiritual dimension of reality) and the earth (the physical dimension of reality)--nature--rejoices.

Joy brings forth "revelation" (hitgalut, from the same root as v'tagel, "rejoice"). "The new heavens and the new earth," potential in G-d's infinite light ("standing before Me") become revealed in (a truly "new") nature (a "nature" of unbounded joy in G-d's consummate revelation to His creation). This is the greatest of miracles--"the miracle of miracles"--of the month of Nissan, the month of redemption.

posted February 28, 2007 11:40 PM         

Nissan, the first month of the Jewish calendar, is the month of love. The Biblical name for the month, Aviv, is phonetically related to the Hebrew word for "love," ahavah.

In Nissan, nature reawakens and expresses anew its love for its Creator. Similarly, in this month the Jewish soul renews its love for its Redeemer, who delivers it from Egypt, i.e., the restrictions and limitations of nature. The Hebrew name for Egypt, Mitzraim, is phonetically related to the word for "restriction," meitzar.

Recalling the exodus from Egypt, G-d tells His people: "I remember the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, when you went after Me in the desert, in land not sown." On the central holiday of this month, Pesach (Passover), we read the Song of Songs, the love song between the Divine groom, G-d, and His beloved bride, the Jewish People. "How beautiful and how pleasant you are, O love of delights!"

The three pilgrim festivals--Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot--correspond to our three forefathers--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. G-d calls Abraham "My beloved one." Abraham was the first to lovingly spread Divine consciousness in the world.

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The first day of creation was Sunday. On the Sunday of every week, the creation of the world is renewed, and all creation receives a new, higher life-force than it had ever before possessed.

The spiritual essence of the month begins to shine on its first day, called in Hebrew Rosh Chodesh. The most important Rosh Chodesh Nissan was that of the second year after the exodus, when the Tabernacle (Mishkan)--the complex which housed the revelation of G-d on earth--was erected and began to function. This Rosh Chodesh occurred on a Sunday.

We are taught in the ancient Kabbalistic text Sefer Yetzirah that every season, month, and day of the week was created with a specific letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Spring was created with the letter alef (੬ the month of Nissan was created with the letter hei (䩬 and Sunday was created with the letter beit (ᩮ Thus, in the month of Nissan, the predominant letters are those which spell "love" (?ᩮ

The experience of love is one of light shining to one from another; love is a two-way relationship. "As the reflection of one's face in water, so is the reflection of one's heart in another's." When G-d redeemed us from Egypt, He "exposed" Himself to us by revealing Himself, and we "exposed" ourselves to Him by following Him blindly into the desert. This is the meaning of the verse from the Song of Songs: "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine."

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Chassidut teaches us that there are three levels of experience in love: clinging, passion, and desire.

The couple cling to each other through their deeds; their passion for each other is expressed through their emotions; and their innermost desire for one another is expressed as their consciousness merges.

Each of these three aspects of the couple's love for each other is enhanced by our observance of Torah and mitzvot. Their clinging is fostered by the performance of mitzvot; their mutual passion is fostered by their individual prayers; and their desire for each other is fostered by their study of the Torah.

On the Seder night, we perform active commandments, such as eating matzah and maror, drinking the four cups of wine, and so forth. As we do so, we aspire to feel G-d's love for us as we cling to Him.

Reciting the Hallel on the Seder night is a form of prayer, in which we feel the passion of our heart to draw close to G-d.

Reciting the Haggadah itself is the Torah of the Seder night. Through reciting the Haggadah, our love of G-d ascends to its highest point, as our desire for Him makes us yearn to be absorbed into His very essence and unite with Him totally.