Temple Sinai of Bergen County, Tenafly, Reform

If I forget Thee, O, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I remember thee not; if I set not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy (Psalm 137: 5-6)."

On Shabbat Ha-Chodesh, Jerusalem is always on my mind. For the haftarah we read on this Shabbat, Ezekiel 45:16 to 46:18, envisions a restored Jerusalem in a messianic age of peace at last. Ezekiel restored hope to those of our ancestors who were exiles in Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and destroyed the Beit Ha-Mikdash — the Temple Solomon had built. He foretold a glorious restoration of the city and the Temple and a renewal of the sacrificial offerings and the accompanying worship over which the Cohanim would once again preside. "Jerusalem restored! The city united and whole!" (Psalm 122: 3)

Ezekiel’s vision, shared by the psalmist, was that the City of David would be a city of peace in a golden age of peace. So there is a messianic theme to this special haftarah. But that is not our only theme for spiritual contemplation on this Shabbat.

This Shabbat is the one before Rosh Chodesh Nisan, which will begin when this Shabbat ends. In addition to the regularly prescribed Torah reading, Tazria, we read from a different section of the Torah for maftir, usually from a second scroll. That section, Exodus 12:1-20 (from Parshat Bo), begins with the Eternal telling Moses and Aaron (still in Egypt), "This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you."

What a strange calendar we keep! We celebrate a new year in the seventh month. Then, the first month of the calendar — Nisan — does not mark a new year. Or does it?

"There are four new years," the Rabbis tells us in the Talmud (B. Rosh Ha-Shanah 2b). The first of Tishrei, the date of Rosh HaShanah, commemorates the world’s beginning. There is, of course, a new year for trees and a new year for tithing. But the first of Nisan is also a new year, for this first month among the months was to mark forever Israel’s rebirth as a free people. With Nisan, the people Abraham founded was to begin its life anew, as a free people destined to receive Torah.

Ramban (Nachmanides) explained why Nisan was the first month. First, it was to impress upon us the significance of the Exodus. While it is not the first month of the year, it is the first month for you, he taught.

Lachem — "for you." That is a key word in the opening line of this additional reading from the Torah for maftir on this Shabbat. "This month shall mark for you the beginning of months." It is a gift. A gift of time. From that time forward — when Moses and Aaron first heard these words — our people were to begin to take responsibility for reckoning time, for taking note of times and seasons, and for marking the appropriate times of the festivals and holy days.

There is a Midrash that compares Israel to a small child whose father, the king, guards his precious storehouses himself. But as the child grows and becomes responsible, the parent hands over the responsibility to the adult child. So while Israel was enslaved in Egypt, say the Rabbis, the Holy One guarded all the times and seasons. But when Israel went free, the people were ready to assume responsibility for determining the new moon and the proper times for observing the festivals (Exodus Rabbah 15:30).

The maftir reading reminds us that Passover is right around the corner. When the Beit Ha-Mikdash stood, our ancestors made ready for their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, there to present their Pesach offerings. Ezekiel understood this full well, as he was of priestly stock, a Cohen. And he imagined a renewal of the priestly ritual in a restored Temple in a rebuilt Jerusalem — in an age at the end of exile that would usher in a time of universal peace. Which brings us full circle.

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may those who love you prosper. . . . For the sake of my people, my friends, I pray you find peace." (Psalm 122:6, 8)