Parshas Chukas (5778)
Did you know that the Hebrew names of the months (e.g. Nissan, Iyar, Sivan, etc.) that are presently in use in the Jewish calendar are not really Hebrew names at all? In fact, they are actually Babylonian names that the Jews brought with them when they came back to Israel led by Ezra the Scribe after their 70-year-long exile in Babylon. [See Nachmanides’ commentary to Exodus 12:2 quoting the Jerusalem Talmud in Rosh HaShanah 1:2]
[For reference, here is a list of the 12 Hebrew Months - with the corresponding secular months in which they usually fall:
Nissan (March-April)
Iyar (April-May)
Sivan (May-June)
Tammuz (June-July)
Av (July-August)
Elul (August-September)
Tishrei (September-October)
Cheshvan (October-November)
Kislev (November-December)
Teves (December-January)
Shevat (January-February)
Adar (February-March)]
According to the Bible (see Exodus 12:2), the “official†name of the first Hebrew month in the Jewish calendar is not Nissan, but rather HaChodesh HaRishon (lit. “the First Monthâ€). This month is so-called – and whenever possible should be referred to as such - because it is the “first month†since the Exodus, which took place in Nissan. [Of course, the second Hebrew month, Iyar, is called HaChodesh HaSheini, the “Second Month†(since the Exodus) … and so on.] This way, every time we mention the name of one of the Hebrew months, we will think about the First Month and recall the great miracles of the Exodus.
Nachmanides also writes in his commentary to Exodus 20:8 that just as the Hebrew months have no other official names besides “The First Monthâ€, “The Second Monthâ€, etc, so it is with the days of the week. According to the Bible, their real names are certainly not Sunday (which represents the Sun-God that was worshipped as a deity) or Monday (which represents the Moon-God that was also worshipped as a deity), etc. Rather, the official Biblical name for Sunday, the first day of the week, is Yom Rishon Ba’Shabbos (lit. “The First Day in the Shabbos (Week)â€). Of course, the second day of the week is called Yom Sheini Ba’Shabbos (“The Second Day in the Shabbos (Week)â€, and so on. This way, explains Nachmanides, any time during the week that we mention the day of the week, we will automatically be reminded about the Shabbos and what it stands for.
The obvious question then is if that the real Hebrew names for the months are not Nissan, Iyar, Sivan, etc., then why do we refer to the months this way? If these are merely Babylonian names that our ancestors brought back with them from their exile, why do we still use these names for the months on the Jewish calendar until this very day, and “neglect†their true Hebrew names, HaChodesh HaRishon, etc.?
This is even more difficult when you consider that the name of one of those months, Tammuz (which we are in presently), is actually the name of a Canaanite idol that Jews used to worship (see Ezekiel 8:14)!
Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky ZTâ€L, in his commentary on the Bible, Emes L’Yaakov, explains that when Ezra the Scribe led the Jews back to the Land of Israel for the Second Commonwealth and built the Beis HaMikdash HaSheini (Second Holy Temple) in Jerusalem, there were some key elements that the First Temple had that were simply missing.in the Second Temple.
The Talmud in Yoma 21b tells us that the Second Temple lacked five things, including the Holy Ark in the Holy of Holies, which was present in the First Temple, whereas in the Second Temple, there was only the Even Shesiyah (“The Foundation Stoneâ€) that is still visible until today, but no Holy Ark.
From this - explains Rabbi Kamenetzky – Ezra and the other Sages understood that even though many Jews had returned to Israel, and the Second Temple was built, so long as the Holy Ark and other precious items were missing, it was a sign that we weren’t there yet, and that the Ultimate Redemption had yet to come.
So the Sages decided to adopt the use of the Babylonian names for the months that the Jews had brought back with them from Babylon, so as to remind the Jewish people that even though they had returned to the land and even had a Holy Temple, this was only a partial redemption, and the exile would only end with the Final Redemption.
This is an important lesson for all of us today living in the exile (and even those of us who are lucky enough to be living in Israel are also in “exile†to some degree):
We are not there yet! True, we can return en masse to the Land of Israel just as Ezra and the Jews did 2500 years ago – and many are returning. And although we have no Holy Temple thus far, there are so many opportunities – especially in Israel - to connect with G-d and His Torah like never before.
But we are still missing so much. Security is always a serious issue in Israel. And even if we never had another terror attack or external threat, there is still so much discord and internal strife in Israel between the religious and the secular, between Sefardic and Ashkenazi Jews, etc. etc. There is so much poverty across the land, and there are so many other social issues that need to be addressed. [Not to mention all the major problems and issues world-wide…]
The Babylonian names of the months in the Jewish calendar that we use till this very day stand as a reminder that we are not there yet – and that there is still so much work to be done before the Messiah finally arrives.
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=519