Nisan – the month of springtime – is actually the first month of the internal Hebrew calendar.
On the first day of Nisan in the year 2448 (1313 BCE), two weeks before our liberation from Egypt, Moshe was shown the crescent new moon and instructed to establish the Hebrew calendar through sanctifying the new month.
“This month shall be for you the head of months, the first of the months of the year.” (Sh’mot 12:2)
It was the first commandment officially given to the newborn Hebrew nation, even before we went free from Egypt. This event commenced the lunar calendar that Israel has been following ever since.
As the Hebrew calendar is lunar with solar adjustments, the beginning of the lunar calendar is Nisan and the start of the solar calendar is Tishrei.
The solar calendar is the international calendar, whereas the lunar calendar is the internal Hebrew calendar.
Nisan’s first day therefore marks the new year by which our people measures the reigns of national leaders.
The ideal Hebrew concept of melekh (generally translated into English as “king”) differs greatly from the monarchs that rule over other peoples.
A melekh is the concentrated expression of the collective Israeli soul – Knesset Yisrael – that manifests itself in our world through millions of bodies revealed in space and time as Jews.
The melekh doesn’t actually rule over Israel but rather embodies the national mission and aspirations of his people to the extent that he becomes a microcosm of the entire nation and his personal identity is absorbed into Israel’s broader collective identity.
Rosh Ḥodesh Nisan greets us once a year and reminds us what real leadership means for the Children of Israel.
