As we read the Four Parshiyos during throughout the month of Adar, we transition from Shekalim to Zachor, then to Parah, and finally to HaChodesh. The significance of Shekalim is clear. It serves as a reminder that everyone should prepare their half-shekel contribution, which would be collected during Adar for the purchase of new communal sacrifices in Nissan. Zachor reminds us that we must fulfill the commandment to eradicate Amalek before we can properly observe Purim. Parah, in turn, reminds us to purify ourselves in preparation for Pesach, so we can partake in the Korban Pesach. But what is the purpose of HaChodesh? Why does the Torah emphasize that this is the first month?
These four special Torah readings frame the month of Adar because Adar is not the end of the year; rather, it carries forward into Nissan, marking a new beginning. Haman mistakenly believed that since the Jewish people were born into a nation in Nissan, their fate would come to an end in Adar, at the close of the year. After all, everything that comes into existence eventually ceases to be. However, he failed to grasp the unique nature of the Jewish people—their inherent renewal, the power of techiyas hameisim (resurrection of the dead), the ability to begin anew.
This is why, when Hashem gave the Torah, the very first mitzvah He commanded was, "This month shall be for you the beginning of the months" (Shemos 12:2). The Jewish people do not measure time as the rest of the world does. Anyone who has ever attended a Jewish event knows this well: Jews do not follow conventional timekeeping. Instead, we operate on our own calendar, on our own schedule.
We count time according to the moon, though not exclusively—rather, by both the moon and the sun—ensuring the occasional addition of an entire leap month. This fluidity reflects the Jewish relationship with time: we are not merely subject to time; we have control over it. The month of Nissan marks the beginning of a new time that we actively create. This is the essence of Rosh Chodesh, wherein we determine when Rosh Chodesh falls, and in doing so, we set the dates for the Yomim Tovim. We wield the power to sanctify time.
The Jewish people exist beyond time, unfettered by its constraints. While the rest of the world is bound within time’s limitations, we transcend them. This is the foundation of Klal Yisrael. Hashem declared to Moshe Rabbeinu that in this month, He would establish the Jewish people as a nation unlike any other; a people who operate outside the framework of time itself.
This is why Chassidic tradition does not refer to the month as Chodesh Nissan (the month of Nissan), but rather “Chodesh Nissim,” the month of miracles. The entire month is one of miracles. As we recite in the Haggadah, "Ya’chol me’Rosh Chodesh"—there is an initial thought that the Seder could have been held already on Rosh Chodesh Nissan. Though a Pasuk clarifies that it is not, the very existence of this consideration highlights the profound power of Pesach that is already present from the beginning of the month.
Thus, these four special Torah readings prepare us for Pesach. The first two relate to Purim, marking the first redemption, while the latter two shift the focus to Pesach, the second redemption. We thus place one redemption beside the other, linking them together.
And so, as we conclude these four Parshiyos, transitioning from Adar into Nissan, the month of miracles, may we be privileged to witness the ultimate, true redemption.
