Two Minute Torah Podcast

Tzav 5768 by Richard S. Moline

Shalom, this is Rich Moline, Director of KOACH, and I’m pleased to welcome you to another edition of KOACH’s Two Minute Torah, a project of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

When Purim arrives, as it will this week, many a Jewish household develops a deep anxiety over the next holiday – Pesah. “If Purim is here, we say. that means Pesah is just a month away.” Truth be told, if we were to look carefully at the calendar, Passover is not a month after Purim, rather, Purim comes eleven months after Passover. (or this year, twelve).

When counting months in the Jewish calendar, contrary to our instincts, the first of the months is not Tishrei, host to Rosh HaShanah (the official New Year), but the month of Nissan. If the first of Tishrei is the first day of the year, why isn’t Tishrei counted as the first month?

Tishrei commemorates the creation – the birthday of the world, The exodus from Egypt, which occurs in Nissan and culminates with receipt of Torah at M. Sinai represents the birth of the Jewish people. Prior to the exodus, prior to Torah, we were, arguably, a tribe. By exiting Egypt and accepting Torah at Sinai, we became a people.

The word for Egypt in Hebrew is Mitzrayim. The word tzar, which is found in the middle of the word Mitzrayim, means “narrow.” We left the physical and spiritual narrowness of Egypt when we crossed the Sea of Reeds. If we look at the word Mitzrayim a bit differently, we come up with an interesting image. The word tzar – narrow - is surrounded by Hebrew letters spelling the word mayim – water.

Think of a birth – the exit from a narrow place surrounded by water. The birth of the Jewish people, the exodus from Mitzrayim, is akin to the birth of a child. This may be one reason Nissan is considered to be the first of the months in the Jewish calendar.

Using this as our premise, Purim comes approximately eleven months later. Why is this important? The central figure in the Passover story, Moses, merits, at best, one passing reference in the Haggadah. Our sages teach that Moses is intentionally marginalized in order to avoid deification and to suggest that ultimately it is God who brought us out of Egypt.

The central text in the Purim story is Megillat Esther – the Scroll of Esther. The Megillah doesn’t marginalize humans, but there is no mention of God whatsoever.

Now let’s now get back to the way we count our months. If Passover falls in month number one – and God is the central influence – what happens by the time we get to month number twelve – to Purim? God has completely disappeared!

As time progresses, we have a tendency to become distant and separate ourselves from the impact of any major experience. Purim brings that distance into focus by occurring in month number twelve, highlighting the passage of another year. It is at the precise moment - when God becomes irrelevant - that Passover comes around to bring God back into our consciousness and back into the lives of the Jewish people.

Purim Samayah! Have a wonderful Purim!