A Rosh Chodesh Nissan 5780 D’var by Rachel Kellner
Instead of going with friends to a musical hallel and a big Rosh Chodesh breakfast this morning, I am davening by myself between virtual college classes. It’s not what I would have planned for had you asked me a month ago, “Hey, Rachel, how do you want to celebrate Rosh Chodesh Nissan?”
Nevertheless, it is where I’m at. The benefit of being here, distanced from friends and much of my family, is that I have time to assess what my tefillah, and what Nissan, is really about.
A useful way to understand what we’re doing in Nissan is comparing it to Adar. We say:
משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה
When Adar begins, one increases rejoicing
Adar is all about joy! We are extra joyful, even despite what is occurring around us. When we think of Adar, we think of Purim: a day of feasting, drinking, singing, dancing and being with people we love. And then we have Nissan.
Do we stop increasing joy? I sure hope not.
One exciting aspect of Nissan is that it’s considered the first month of spring. Pesach, after all, is the holiday of spring. One result of this is that in Nissan, when we see flowering fruit trees, we make the following blessing:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֶלֹקינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁלֹא חִסַּר בָּעוֹלָמוֹ כְּלוּם וּבָרָא בוֹ בְּרִיּוֹת טוֹבוֹת וְאִילָנוֹת טוֹבִים להַנּוֹת בָּהֶם בְּנֵי אָדָם׃
Blessed are you Hashem… for nothing lacks in His world at all, and He created in it good creatures and good trees through which mankind can derive pleasure.
Perhaps you haven’t been noticing many fruit trees while social distancing, and the existence of this bracha seems sort of trivial at a time like this, but I think this bracha tells us exactly what joy in Nissan looks like. As opposed to Adar, which starts and immediately lets us have more joy, in Nissan our joy depends more on us. Joy in Nissan is the joy of opening your eyes and noticing the fruit trees. Joy in Nissan is about awareness and gratitude.
To emphasize this message for Rosh Chodesh, let’s look at Tehillim 114, the second paragraph of Hallel, which we sing today.
בְּצֵאת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָיִם, בֵּית יַעֲקֹב מֵעַם לֹעֵז: הָיְתָה יְהוּדָה לְקָדְשׁוֹ, יִשְׂרָאֵל מַמְשְׁלוֹתָיו: הַיָּם רָאָה וַיָּנֹס, הַיַּרְדֵּן יִסֹּב לְאָחוֹר: הֶהָרִים רָקְדוּ כְאֵילִים, גְּבָעוֹת כִּבְנֵי צֹאן: מַה לְּךָ הַיָּם כִּי תָנוּס, הַיַּרְדֵּן תִּסֹּב לְאָחוֹר: הֶהָרִים תִּרְקְדוּ כְאֵילִים, גְּבָעוֹת כִּבְנֵי צֹאן: מִלִּפְנֵי אָדוֹן חוּלִי אָרֶץ, מִלִּפְנֵי אֱלוֹ-הַּ יַעֲקֹב: הַהֹפְכִי הַצּוּר אֲגַם מָיִם, חַלָּמִישׁ לְמַעְינוֹ מָיִם:
In Israel’s going out from Egypt, the house of Ya’akov from a people of foreign speech. Yehudah was his sanctuary, and Yisrael, his dominion. The Sea saw and fled, the Jordan turned to the rear. The mountains danced like rams, the hills like young sheep. What is happening to you, O Sea, that you are fleeing, O Jordan that you turn to the rear; O mountains that you dance like rams, O hills like young sheep? From before the Master, tremble O earth, from before the Lord of Ya’akov. He who turns the boulder into a pond of water, the flint into a spring of water.
In Nissan, the month containing Pesach, exodus from Egypt is constantly on our minds. If you look at what is happening in this perek of Tehillim, we say that when [the people of] Israel left Egypt, the world reacted very strongly. The sea fled, the mountains were dancing. It was wild! The world was a ruckus of power and celebration and awe! And midway into this perek, we have the question that I think sums up how we should approach today and the rest of Nissan:
מַה לְּךָ הַיָּם כִּי תָנוּס, הַיַּרְדֵּן תִּסֹּב לְאָחוֹר: הֶהָרִים תִּרְקְדוּ כְאֵילִים, גְּבָעוֹת כִּבְנֵי צֹאן
What is happening to you, O Sea, that you are fleeing, O Jordan that you turn to the rear; O mountains that you dance like rams, O hills like young sheep?
We ask, what is happening that would cause such an intense reaction, such praise and awe? What are we noticing in our lives that elicits such a reaction? Do we notice the simple beauty of a blooming fruit tree in spring, or do we walk by? Do we appreciate all the little things, or do we let them drift along without our attention?
What does this mean practically, especially if you find yourself not going outside much? For me, it means creating an ongoing tally of things to be grateful for this month. I am insanely fortunate enough to be living with my parents right now, to have food, and to have access to virtual classes from my school. This list is tiny compared to the long list I can write, thank G-d, and I wish you and everyone you love a month of many things to be grateful for. I hope you stay safe, healthy, and connected this month.
Chodesh Tov.
