Parashat HaShavua - Pekudei
Flower buds are on the trees. Crocuses have emerged from the ground signaling spring. We have started preparing for Passover. The Hebrew month of Nissan – also known as חודש האביב, the month of Spring – begins this coming Sunday. And in this week’s parsha, Parshat Pikudei, it is the first day of Nissan as well.
It’s a rare occurrence that the date of events read about in the parsha coincide with the actual calendar date. It happens this week: This coming Sunday is the first of Nissan, and this Shabbat, as we complete the book of Exodus, we read in the Torah:
"וַיְהִי בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הוּקַם הַמִּשְׁכָּן"
“In the first month of the second year, on the first of the month, the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was erected.” (Exodus 40:17)
In other words, the Israelites completed the Mishkan, the temporary structure for worshipping God in the desert, on the first of Nissan.
We are told that when the Israelites completing the construction of the Mishkan,
״וּכְבוֹד ה׳ מָלֵא אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן” – "the presence of God filled the Mishkan"
Finally, at this moment – on the first of Nissan – after collecting materials, designing, constructing, and formally dedicating the Mishkan building, the Israelites made it possible to feel the presence of the divine on Earth.
The first of Nissan appears earlier in the book of Exodus as well. One year earlier, the Israelites left behind their slave life, following Moshe and God out of Egypt and into the wilderness. That process began on the first day of Nissan. In Exodus 12 (also read publicly this week, as part of the special Maftir!), Moshe is asked to prepare for the celebration of Passover, and the subsequent Exodus from Egypt, by setting this day, the first of Nissan, as the first day of the new year; creating a calendar as the first step toward their new group identity:
“.הַחֹ֧דֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם רֹאשׁ חֳדָשִׁים רִאשׁוֹן הוּא לָכֶם לְחׇדְשֵׁי הַשָּׁנָה”
“This month shall be for you the first of months, [setting] for yourself the months of the year.”
Then, 28 chapters (and exactly one year) later, in the final verses of the book of Exodus, the divine presence rests within the Mishkan built by the Israelites.
Did it just so happen that God commanded Moshe to formally complete the Mishkan on the same day that the Exodus began from Egypt? Is this anniversary just a coincidence? Though the Torah does not make the connection explicit, the date clearly already holds meaning – it is after all, in the Torah’s words, “the first day of the first of the month” – it’s New Year’s Day! While we generally think of “Rosh Hashanah” as taking place in the fall, for the Torah, we begin the year in the spring – as Nissan is the “first of the months.”
The Rabbis of the Talmud, noting the numerous events and multiple significances connected with the first of Nissan, say that this specific date was gifted multiple “crowns.” These “crowns” include not only the resting of the divine presence in the Mishkan, and the beginning of Jewish history through their Exodus from Egypt, but this New Year’s Day was also “the first day of Creation.” (Masekhet Shabbat 87b). One date holding many meanings: national, spiritual, and natural. With all of these coinciding on this “Rosh Hashanah” of the Spring, the first of Nissan holds both a universal significance – marking the beginning of the world’s creation – as well as a meaning particular to the Jewish people, in its connection to our emergence as a nation.
Perhaps we can think of the first of Nissan, and this time of year, as the initiation of three separate ways of thinking of ourselves in the world:
We encounter the natural world anew, as “the beginning of Creation,” and experiencing the renewal of life in Spring.
We celebrate the beginning of our identity as a covenantal people, in the Exodus story and the celebration of Passover.
Thirdly, we see the culmination of national collaboration, as modeled by the Israelites completing the Mishkan, the ultimate communal endeavor, bringing the divine presence into our world for the first time.
We experience the renewal that comes from noticing the lengthening and warmer days. Seeing the first plants emerging from their slumber awakens in us a sense of awe, and connection to the universe. And, at this time of year we also build a connection with our national identity, as we lead up to Passover, and recall the events that led to our emergence as a people.
But then why choose to complete the Mishkan on this day as well?
Perhaps we should see the “Rosh Hashanah” of God’s presence dwelling in the Mishkan as the culmination of the other two processes: we move from our sense of renewal in the world writ large, and our sense of shared destiny as Jews, to the possibility of God and Godliness being present in this world. The dedication of the Mishkan reminds us that the most sacred endeavor of all is when our community works together to make space for holiness. The Mishkan was a project that involved all sectors of society – a very physical project requiring many different talents and resources – with one ultimate spiritual aim. The connecting thread is that harnessing human creative power and collective energy can bring holiness into our midst.
This combination of new beginnings on the first of Nissan is no coincidence. We celebrate the first of Nissan as the time for renewal – of the world, of our creativity, and for building communal holiness as well.
As we see the new season’s flowers emerge from the soil, may we feel renewed, redeemed, and energized in our commitment to create holiness through our communal collaboration.
Shabbat shalom!
Rabbi Benji Shiller
Co-Chair, High School Limudei Qodesh Department
