Rosh Hodesh Nissan

 בס"ד

This Sunday was the first of the Jewish month Nissan. As a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt, the month of Nissan was honored by declaring it to be the first of the months on the Jewish calendar. There is in fact a debate in the Talmud on which month the world was created and the prevailing opinion is Tishre which is six months earlier. However there is more than one new year. For example the new year for trees is the 15th of Shevat. 

The Sefer Yetzira 5:7 (ספר יצירה ה ז) mentions Nissan as and aspect of the letter ה. It says that the letter Heh (ה) was made king over speech (דשִׂיחָה); and with it was formed Aries in the universe, Nissan in the year, and the right foot of the body. This hints at the holiday Passover in it. Pesach פֶסַח literally says that the mouth פֶה speaks סַח or שַׂח and part of its celebration is to talk alot at the seder. Feet also convey the aspect of walking out of Egypt. Aries is the lamb and it recalls lamb that was the meal for the Passover seder when the holy Temple stood.

In Nissan the sun entering the constellation Aries. This makes it not visible during this month. For stargazers though Orion is visible in all its glory. At 8:30 PM the three stars of its belt are in a comfortable position above the horizon and parallel to it. As always they form a line from the bright star, Aldebaran, in Taurus the bull on the right to the brightest of star, Sirius, to the left. It happens that presently Mars is prominently to the right of Aldebaran. The two brightest stars in Orion, Rigel and Betelgeuse point to the prominent zodiac sign, the Gemini twins. It is high in the sky. 

Sirius was an important star to the Egyptians because its first appearance of its season coincided with the start of the rising of the Nile. As such this was the time that the planting of crops began. The star made an impression on me because it is bright in the evening sky on February 5, the date I made aliya.

לע"נ  האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח

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