The Month of Nissan
Hama'aseh Hu Haikar | March 28, 2025
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The Month of Nissan

Hama'aseh Hu Haikar | December 10, 2025

The Month of Redemption

INTRODUCTION

Nissan is the “head” and first of all the months of the year, as the Torah instructs: “This month [of Nissan] shall be for you as a ‘Head of Months’; it is the first month of the year for you.” Clearly, Nissan must contain a unique and foundational instruction for our coming year’s Divine service.

One such lesson is derived by examining the name of the month, for a Hebrew name generally indicates the essential theme. “Nissan” comes from the word “neis,” “a miracle.” In addition, the Talmud states that a name in which the letter “nun” is repeated represents an abundance of “extraordinary miracles” (nisei nissim). This is clearly seen in Nissan, the month in which G-d took us from Egypt with earth-shattering wonders, causing the month to be designated as “the month of redemption.”

Moreover, the word “month” (chodesh) is etymologically related to the word “chidush,” “innovation.” So when combined, chodesh Nissan (the month of Nissan) indicates “something new in the realm of the miraculous.” In other words, we are now granted the ability to introduce a higher, miraculous element [than was introduced in the previous year] in our Divine service, breaking free of our natural restrictions and fulfilling our mission unimpeded.

As its Hebrew name suggests, nature (“teva”) is simply G-dliness that has been so “submerged” (“tavah”) within the framework of Creation that it no longer appears G-dly. The term “miracle” (“neis”), on the other hand, also means a raised banner or pole, for a miracle is undisguised G-dliness “placed high” so that all can view its supernatural dimension with clarity.

During this “month of redemption,” we have the heightened ability to free ourselves from the restrictions of nature and serve G-d in a miraculous manner. This means stepping beyond our own innate abilities and habitual [i.e., natural] efforts.

Nature and Beyond

This, then, is the distinction between Tishrei and Nissan. Legally, the year begins on Rosh Hashanah, the 1st of Tishrei, the “Head of the Year,” while the months are counted from Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the “Head of all Months.” Spiritually, Tishrei is the head as far as the world’s natural conduct is concerned, while Nissan, being the “Month of Miracles,” is the source of G-d’s miraculous relationship with the Jewish people.

2. Barriers in Divine Service

  • A fresh year begins on the first day of Nissan. Immediately, then, every Jew should “shout out loud” (Yiddish: ois’shrai’en) for the entire world to hear – not only proclaiming verbally, but also announcing via actual conduct – that from now on, he will conduct himself in a supernatural manner on a daily basis.

For each of us is expected to fully utilize the abilities G-d has given us, including the power of speech. The main point is that we should express our ability to speak, along with the rest of our abilities, in actuality.

  • Don’t repeat; do better. Seeing that with each successive day [of Nissan] the power for miraculous conduct steadily increases, we can no longer make do with yesterday’s “announcement.” Rather, we should now make a new announcement regarding our even more miraculous conduct of today.
  • Then, when asked why we are repeating ourselves by shouting the same message as yesterday, we should reply, “This is not the same message as yesterday. The miraculous conduct that we proclaimed yesterday has already become natural compared to the far superior conduct of today.”

The main thing is to announce openly and publicly – to the non-Jewish world as well – that we stand prepared to offer the Pesach sacrifice in actuality, in the Third Beis HaMikdash; for we are literally about to exit this final exile and enter the true and complete Redemption, led by Moshiach.

After all, as far as practical service is concerned, we have already completed all that is required of us, including “polishing the buttons” [i.e., we have reached the historic point where we have completed putting the “finishing touches” on the collective service of Jewry in exile]. So the main thing now is to announce that we are ready for the Redemption.

  • Do whatever it takes, on a regular basis, so that everyone on earth will literally see and be amazed that there is a Jew whose natural conduct is beyond the realm of [their] laws of nature. Moreover, the Jew himself is not fazed in the slightest by his own conduct; for him it is the perfectly natural thing to do. Such “miraculous” conduct is, to use a common phrase, “normal behavior” for him, or to borrow a colloquialism, “it just couldn’t be otherwise.”

A Jew should demonstrate how nature is in fact miraculous by performing whatever is required of him in his Divine service, showing that he accomplishes this successfully, despite his soul being housed within a corporeal body and a physical world – a body and a world that are bound by the rules of nature, to the extent that they consider a miracle to be a novelty and a wonder. A Jew, nevertheless, shows that he does not take the rules of nature into account when it comes to performing his Divine service. Instead, he conducts himself in a supernatural manner. Moreover, it does not come as an innovation or wonder to him to act this way, since such conduct quickly becomes his natural way of behaving, to the extent that he now relies and bases his conduct on miracles in the first place. Being a Jew, after all, miracles are natural.

Should We Rely on Miracles?

True, “we are not meant to rely on miracles” (Pesachim 64b); however, that is only if the matter is considered miraculous to us. Once the miracle has become natural – as is the case with Jewry, particularly during Nissan, insofar as goodly and holy matters and our Divine service of Torah and mitzvos are concerned – then such conduct is considered “miraculous” only in the eyes of the non-Jewish world, which judges according to the rules of nature. That being the case, we are able, and indeed should, “rely on ‘miracles’.” And we should rely (someich) on them all the way – just like the law regarding kodshim [animal sacrifices requiring the one bringing a sacrifice to rest his hands on the animal’s head (semichah) and pressing down with all his might, immediately before it is slaughtered]. In other words, we should do whatever it takes to accomplish our mission, relying on miracles as a matter of course. Jews, after all, are a holy nation by their very nature.

However, we should not make do with becoming accustomed to this mode of conduct. For once miraculous conduct becomes second nature, we should raise ourselves to an even higher level [than our newfound standing], and subsequently make that level part of our nature as well. We should climb to ever-superior levels of “miraculous conduct.”

  • Simply put, this means [having] a change of attitude towards all those things that, until now, we shied away from taking upon ourselves, thinking that we lacked the natural ability to accomplish them. These include matters pertaining to our regular Torah study, donations to tzedakah, prayers, conducting our daily and mundane affairs for the sake of Heaven, and “knowing Him in all your ways.”
  • Being the start of a new year, now is the most appropriate time to take on new activities that we possibly lacked the ability to carry out until now and would have required a “miracle” to enable us to accomplish them.
  • Now, however, we will certainly succeed in these matters – and succeed in a natural manner.

We’re Only Human, Aren’t We?

When a Jew is asked, “How is a human being, with a corporeal body that is bound by the rules of nature, able to conduct himself in a supernatural manner, to the extent that such conduct becomes his natural conduct?” he answers:

Member of the Holy Nation

I was born a Jew [though not through my own choosing], and was given a neshamah [soul] that is an actual part of G-d. I belong to the Jewish people, who are mamleches kohanim vegoy kadosh [a kingdom of priests and a holy nation], and have been that way for thousands of years, from the time of the Giving of the Torah. This is not a mere historical fact; rather, it is perpetuated via the constant, eternal and true link that every Jew shares with Matan Torah and with all Jews of every previous generation.

Train Others as Well

  • In accordance with the “major principle of the Torah” to “love your fellow Jew as yourself,” we should not only conduct ourselves in the above fashion, but also influence other Jews to act likewise.

For that reason, each Jew, in each era and location, is part of the “kingdom of priests” and the “holy nation,” and since [by virtue of their G-dly souls] the Jews are absolutely one with G-d, I have the ability to make my nature supernatural, to the extent that it comes as no wonder at all.

  • This is particularly since: a) the soul of every Jew was present at Mount Sinai; and b) the attribute of truth [which is the attribute of Yaakov Avinu, whose soul includes the souls of all Jewry] is the “central shaft that stretches from one extreme to the other” [see Tanya, ch. 2, and it exists at every level and runs through every single generation].

Aren’t We Restricted by Exile?

Yes, it is true that we are presently in the Diaspora and in exile, and [unlike the Temple era, when we witnessed open miracles on a regular basis], nowadays, we no longer witness the miracles [that were commonplace in the Beis HaMikdash]. However, [it is a basic principle that] the very lowest spiritual levels are directly linked to the very highest of levels. In our case, this means that the miracles that occur nowadays [as well as the ability for a Jew to conduct himself in a miraculous fashion during exile – when “the person on whose behalf a miracle is being performed does not even recognize that a miracle is taking place altogether”] – are in fact extremely superior forms of miracles, even beyond those that occurred during Temple times.

Each Jew a Powerhouse

We should therefore appreciate the amazing powers that are given to each Jew in exile, and certainly during the [final and harshest period, known as the] “footsteps of Moshiach.” For in this latter time, even according to nature… all of the predicted due-dates [auspicious times] for the Redemption have long passed [without the Redemption materializing]. We now find ourselves just a fraction of time before the actual Redemption.

All of Jewish History Stands Behind You

Our ability to conduct ourselves in this manner is all the more understandable in light of the vast cumulative buildup of spiritual service that has been performed by Jewry throughout the many generations… amidst self-sacrifice that was entirely supernatural. Through this, the Jews have purified and refined the world’s physicality [its coarseness certainly having been nullified via our granting predominance to spirit over matter], thus transforming physicality into something spiritual.

It is absolutely certain that a Jew nowadays finds it far easier to perform his Divine service in a supernatural manner, and even outdo the performance of all previous generations.

  • The power of a congregation helps each individual. If someone has been unable to openly [conduct himself in a miraculous manner] up until now, then witnessing the fact that other Jews have already achieved this serves to empower and embolden him to follow suit.

The Month of Redemption

INTRODUCTION

Nissan is the “head” and first of all the months of the year, as the Torah instructs: “This month [of Nissan] shall be for you as a ‘Head of Months’; it is the first month of the year for you.” Clearly, Nissan must contain a unique and foundational instruction for our coming year’s Divine service.

One such lesson is derived by examining the name of the month, for a Hebrew name generally indicates the essential theme. “Nissan” comes from the word “neis,” “a miracle.” In addition, the Talmud states that a name in which the letter “nun” is repeated represents an abundance of “extraordinary miracles” (nisei nissim). This is clearly seen in Nissan, the month in which G-d took us from Egypt with earth-shattering wonders, causing the month to be designated as “the month of redemption.”

Moreover, the word “month” (chodesh) is etymologically related to the word “chidush,” “innovation.” So when combined, chodesh Nissan (the month of Nissan) indicates “something new in the realm of the miraculous.” In other words, we are now granted the ability to introduce a higher, miraculous element [than was introduced in the previous year] in our Divine service, breaking free of our natural restrictions and fulfilling our mission unimpeded.

As its Hebrew name suggests, nature (“teva”) is simply G-dliness that has been so “submerged” (“tavah”) within the framework of Creation that it no longer appears G-dly. The term “miracle” (“neis”), on the other hand, also means a raised banner or pole, for a miracle is undisguised G-dliness “placed high” so that all can view its supernatural dimension with clarity.

During this “month of redemption,” we have the heightened ability to free ourselves from the restrictions of nature and serve G-d in a miraculous manner. This means stepping beyond our own innate abilities and habitual [i.e., natural] efforts.

Nature and Beyond

This, then, is the distinction between Tishrei and Nissan. Legally, the year begins on Rosh Hashanah, the 1st of Tishrei, the “Head of the Year,” while the months are counted from Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the “Head of all Months.” Spiritually, Tishrei is the head as far as the world’s natural conduct is concerned, while Nissan, being the “Month of Miracles,” is the source of G-d’s miraculous relationship with the Jewish people.

2. Barriers in Divine Service

  • A fresh year begins on the first day of Nissan. Immediately, then, every Jew should “shout out loud” (Yiddish: ois’shrai’en) for the entire world to hear – not only proclaiming verbally, but also announcing via actual conduct – that from now on, he will conduct himself in a supernatural manner on a daily basis.

For each of us is expected to fully utilize the abilities G-d has given us, including the power of speech. The main point is that we should express our ability to speak, along with the rest of our abilities, in actuality.

  • Don’t repeat; do better. Seeing that with each successive day [of Nissan] the power for miraculous conduct steadily increases, we can no longer make do with yesterday’s “announcement.” Rather, we should now make a new announcement regarding our even more miraculous conduct of today.
  • Then, when asked why we are repeating ourselves by shouting the same message as yesterday, we should reply, “This is not the same message as yesterday. The miraculous conduct that we proclaimed yesterday has already become natural compared to the far superior conduct of today.”

The main thing is to announce openly and publicly – to the non-Jewish world as well – that we stand prepared to offer the Pesach sacrifice in actuality, in the Third Beis HaMikdash; for we are literally about to exit this final exile and enter the true and complete Redemption, led by Moshiach.

After all, as far as practical service is concerned, we have already completed all that is required of us, including “polishing the buttons” [i.e., we have reached the historic point where we have completed putting the “finishing touches” on the collective service of Jewry in exile]. So the main thing now is to announce that we are ready for the Redemption.

  • Do whatever it takes, on a regular basis, so that everyone on earth will literally see and be amazed that there is a Jew whose natural conduct is beyond the realm of [their] laws of nature. Moreover, the Jew himself is not fazed in the slightest by his own conduct; for him it is the perfectly natural thing to do. Such “miraculous” conduct is, to use a common phrase, “normal behavior” for him, or to borrow a colloquialism, “it just couldn’t be otherwise.”

A Jew should demonstrate how nature is in fact miraculous by performing whatever is required of him in his Divine service, showing that he accomplishes this successfully, despite his soul being housed within a corporeal body and a physical world – a body and a world that are bound by the rules of nature, to the extent that they consider a miracle to be a novelty and a wonder. A Jew, nevertheless, shows that he does not take the rules of nature into account when it comes to performing his Divine service. Instead, he conducts himself in a supernatural manner. Moreover, it does not come as an innovation or wonder to him to act this way, since such conduct quickly becomes his natural way of behaving, to the extent that he now relies and bases his conduct on miracles in the first place. Being a Jew, after all, miracles are natural.

Should We Rely on Miracles?

True, “we are not meant to rely on miracles” (Pesachim 64b); however, that is only if the matter is considered miraculous to us. Once the miracle has become natural – as is the case with Jewry, particularly during Nissan, insofar as goodly and holy matters and our Divine service of Torah and mitzvos are concerned – then such conduct is considered “miraculous” only in the eyes of the non-Jewish world, which judges according to the rules of nature. That being the case, we are able, and indeed should, “rely on ‘miracles’.” And we should rely (someich) on them all the way – just like the law regarding kodshim [animal sacrifices requiring the one bringing a sacrifice to rest his hands on the animal’s head (semichah) and pressing down with all his might, immediately before it is slaughtered]. In other words, we should do whatever it takes to accomplish our mission, relying on miracles as a matter of course. Jews, after all, are a holy nation by their very nature.

However, we should not make do with becoming accustomed to this mode of conduct. For once miraculous conduct becomes second nature, we should raise ourselves to an even higher level [than our newfound standing], and subsequently make that level part of our nature as well. We should climb to ever-superior levels of “miraculous conduct.”

  • Simply put, this means [having] a change of attitude towards all those things that, until now, we shied away from taking upon ourselves, thinking that we lacked the natural ability to accomplish them. These include matters pertaining to our regular Torah study, donations to tzedakah, prayers, conducting our daily and mundane affairs for the sake of Heaven, and “knowing Him in all your ways.”
  • Being the start of a new year, now is the most appropriate time to take on new activities that we possibly lacked the ability to carry out until now and would have required a “miracle” to enable us to accomplish them.
  • Now, however, we will certainly succeed in these matters – and succeed in a natural manner.

We’re Only Human, Aren’t We?

When a Jew is asked, “How is a human being, with a corporeal body that is bound by the rules of nature, able to conduct himself in a supernatural manner, to the extent that such conduct becomes his natural conduct?” he answers:

Member of the Holy Nation

I was born a Jew [though not through my own choosing], and was given a neshamah [soul] that is an actual part of G-d. I belong to the Jewish people, who are mamleches kohanim vegoy kadosh [a kingdom of priests and a holy nation], and have been that way for thousands of years, from the time of the Giving of the Torah. This is not a mere historical fact; rather, it is perpetuated via the constant, eternal and true link that every Jew shares with Matan Torah and with all Jews of every previous generation.

Train Others as Well

  • In accordance with the “major principle of the Torah” to “love your fellow Jew as yourself,” we should not only conduct ourselves in the above fashion, but also influence other Jews to act likewise.

For that reason, each Jew, in each era and location, is part of the “kingdom of priests” and the “holy nation,” and since [by virtue of their G-dly souls] the Jews are absolutely one with G-d, I have the ability to make my nature supernatural, to the extent that it comes as no wonder at all.

  • This is particularly since: a) the soul of every Jew was present at Mount Sinai; and b) the attribute of truth [which is the attribute of Yaakov Avinu, whose soul includes the souls of all Jewry] is the “central shaft that stretches from one extreme to the other” [see Tanya, ch. 2, and it exists at every level and runs through every single generation].

Aren’t We Restricted by Exile?

Yes, it is true that we are presently in the Diaspora and in exile, and [unlike the Temple era, when we witnessed open miracles on a regular basis], nowadays, we no longer witness the miracles [that were commonplace in the Beis HaMikdash]. However, [it is a basic principle that] the very lowest spiritual levels are directly linked to the very highest of levels. In our case, this means that the miracles that occur nowadays [as well as the ability for a Jew to conduct himself in a miraculous fashion during exile – when “the person on whose behalf a miracle is being performed does not even recognize that a miracle is taking place altogether”] – are in fact extremely superior forms of miracles, even beyond those that occurred during Temple times.

Each Jew a Powerhouse

We should therefore appreciate the amazing powers that are given to each Jew in exile, and certainly during the [final and harshest period, known as the] “footsteps of Moshiach.” For in this latter time, even according to nature… all of the predicted due-dates [auspicious times] for the Redemption have long passed [without the Redemption materializing]. We now find ourselves just a fraction of time before the actual Redemption.

All of Jewish History Stands Behind You

Our ability to conduct ourselves in this manner is all the more understandable in light of the vast cumulative buildup of spiritual service that has been performed by Jewry throughout the many generations… amidst self-sacrifice that was entirely supernatural. Through this, the Jews have purified and refined the world’s physicality [its coarseness certainly having been nullified via our granting predominance to spirit over matter], thus transforming physicality into something spiritual.

It is absolutely certain that a Jew nowadays finds it far easier to perform his Divine service in a supernatural manner, and even outdo the performance of all previous generations.

  • The power of a congregation helps each individual. If someone has been unable to openly [conduct himself in a miraculous manner] up until now, then witnessing the fact that other Jews have already achieved this serves to empower and embolden him to follow suit.
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Hama'aseh Hu Haikar | March 28, 2025