As the month of Nissan approaches and Passover draws near, the Jewish people are called upon to prepare not only their homes, but also their hearts.
That is one of the enduring messages of Shabbat HaChodesh, when we read the special Torah portion proclaiming the advent of the first month of the Jewish calendar: “This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2). It is a moment of national renewal, the threshold of redemption, the point at which a slave people first began to emerge into freedom.
And fittingly, the accompanying Haftorah from Ezekiel 45:16-46:18 is likewise centered on renewal, one rooted in purification, discipline and the proper ordering of national life before G-d.
The prophet opens with instructions for offerings to be brought by the people and by the prince on behalf of Israel. Then comes a striking command: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse the Sanctuary" (Ezekiel 45:18).
That is no coincidence.
Just as Nissan marks the beginning of Israel’s national calendar, Ezekiel teaches that a true beginning requires cleansing. Before the festivals can be observed, before the people can gather in worship, before the rhythm of sacred national life can proceed, the Sanctuary itself must be purified.
In other words, renewal does not happen automatically. A new month on the calendar is not enough. A nation seeking redemption must first engage in moral and spiritual preparation.
That message is as timely today as ever.
We live in an age in which the Jewish people, after centuries of exile and persecution, have merited to witness the restoration of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. The return to Zion, the ingathering of exiles and the rebirth of Hebrew are all part of a historic process that previous generations could scarcely have imagined.
But Shabbat HaChodesh reminds us that national rebirth is not only a matter of borders, armies and institutions. It is also a matter of values.
A people can be physically restored and yet still be in need of inward repair. A nation can achieve astonishing success and yet still require spiritual recalibration. Ezekiel’s vision insists that before redemption can be fully realized, there must be cleansing.
One need not look far to see how relevant this is in the present moment. Israel continues to confront enemies who seek its destruction, while Jews around the world face a wave of hatred and delegitimization that has grown more brazen and more dangerous. At the same time, the Jewish world is grappling with internal division, political rancor and deep cultural tensions.
In such an environment, it is tempting to think only in terms of immediate threats and tactical responses. Those are of course necessary. A nation under siege must defend itself.
But the Haftorah urges us not to lose sight of the deeper task. The Jewish future will not be secured by military strength alone, vital though it is. It will also depend on whether we know how to renew ourselves spiritually, clarify our priorities and restore a sense of sacred purpose to our national existence.
That idea is reinforced in the reading when Ezekiel declares: “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a festival of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten" (45:21).
Passover is not presented here merely as a commemoration of the past. It is embedded in a larger framework of national worship, covenantal order and collective responsibility. The Exodus was never meant to be remembered as a one-time escape from bondage. It was meant to shape the character of the Jewish people in every generation.
Freedom without purpose quickly descends into emptiness. Independence without holiness becomes hollow. National revival without covenant is incomplete.
The Haftorah also emphasizes the sanctity of time and public devotion. “Thus says the Lord G-d: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened" (46:1). A society worthy of redemption is one that knows the difference between the ordinary and the holy. It is one that opens its gates, literally and figuratively, for Shabbat, for renewal and for an encounter with the Divine.
That, too, is part of the challenge before us.
Can the Jewish state remain not only a refuge for Jews, but also a vessel for Jewish ideals? Can Jewish communities in Israel and abroad maintain not only continuity, but also seriousness of purpose? Can we rise above the noise of politics and headlines to remember why our people survived in the first place?
Shabbat HaChodesh answers with a quiet but firm insistence: every true beginning demands preparation. Every redemption requires purification. cc
As Nissan arrives, the Jewish people are summoned once more to begin again. To cleanse. To remember. To reorder our lives around what is holy.
For that is how redemption begins: not only with deliverance from without but with renewal from within.