(יב) לִמְנ֣וֹת יָ֭מֵינוּ כֵּ֣ן הוֹדַ֑ע וְ֝נָבִ֗א לְבַ֣ב חׇכְמָֽה׃
(12) To number our days, surely make us know that this will bring us heart-wisdom.
As the seasons alternate and return, how do we avoid the despair of winter, or Ecclesiastes, and the movie Groundhog Day. Ein chadash tachat hashamesh?
Yet the sea is never full;
To the place [from] which they flow
The streams flow back again. (8) All such things are wearisome:
No man can ever state them;
The eye never has enough of seeing,
Nor the ear enough of hearing. (9) Only that shall happen
Which has happened,
Only that occur
Which has occurred;
There is nothing new
Beneath the sun!
(9) But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, with their shortened spirits and from harsh slavery.
מקצר רוח. כָּל מִי שֶׁהוּא מֵצֵר, רוּחוֹ וּנְשִׁימָתוֹ קְצָרָה, וְאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהַאֲרִיךְ בִּנְשִׁימָתוֹ:
מקצר רוח THROUGH ANGUISH (lit. shortness) OF SPIRIT — If one is in anguish his breath comes in short gasps and he cannot draw long breaths.
(א) אַרְבָּעָה רָאשֵׁי שָׁנִים הֵם. בְּאֶחָד בְּנִיסָן רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לַמְּלָכִים וְלָרְגָלִים. בְּאֶחָד בֶּאֱלוּל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לְמַעְשַׂר בְּהֵמָה. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר וְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמְרִים, בְּאֶחָד בְּתִשְׁרֵי. בְּאֶחָד בְּתִשְׁרֵי רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לַשָּׁנִים וְלַשְּׁמִטִּין וְלַיּוֹבְלוֹת, לַנְּטִיעָה וְלַיְרָקוֹת. בְּאֶחָד בִּשְׁבָט, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לָאִילָן, כְּדִבְרֵי בֵית שַׁמַּאי. בֵּית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בּוֹ:
(1) They are four New Years, One being the first of Nisan, the New Year for kings; And for the Festivals, On the first of Elul is the New Year for animal tithes;...On the first of Tishrei is the New Year for counting years, and for Sabbatical Years and Jubilee Years, for planting, and for vegetables,On the first of Shevat is the New Year for the tree; ...
בְּנִיסָן נִגְאֲלוּ — כִּדְאִיתָא. בְּתִשְׁרִי עֲתִידִין לִיגָּאֵל — אָתְיָא ״שׁוֹפָר״ ״שׁוֹפָר״. כְּתִיב הָכָא: ״תִּקְעוּ בַחֹדֶשׁ שׁוֹפָר״, וּכְתִיב הָתָם: ״בְּיוֹם הַהוּא יִתָּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל״. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר: בְּנִיסָן נִגְאֲלוּ, בְּנִיסָן עֲתִידִין לִיגָּאֵל —
It was taught in the baraita: In Nisan our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt, as it is explicitly stated in the Torah. The baraita continues: In Tishrei in the future the Jewish people will be redeemed in the final redemption. This is derived by shofar and another instance of the word shofar. It is written here, with regard to Rosh HaShana: “Sound a shofar at the New Moon” (Psalms 81:4), and it is written there, with regard to the final redemption: “And it shall come to pass on that day, that a great shofar shall be blown” (Isaiah 27:13). It was also taught in the baraita: Rabbi Yehoshua says: In Nisan our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt; and in Nisan in the future the Jewish people will be redeemed ...
The goal of Masechet Rosh Hashanah is to transform Rosh Hashanah to the New Year! To actually shift the calendar, or to record the shift So much of our calendar was based upon the agriculture of Eretz Yisrael that only a new year independent of those, and tied to individual and communal judgement, which is much more portable, could perhaps be sustained in a diaspora. After all, shofarot, eyes, and ears are portable! This can be stretched to represent the Yetzirah level, D’rash, or derived meaning.
So to what purpose the January 1st New Year:
To synch our calendars with that of our neighbors,
To number our days, growing wiser
To avoid the kotzer ruach, and to feel we can leave behind crushing world events. A firth new year of Hope.
Chamisha Roshei shanim heim
“Phil: Do you know what today is?
Rita: No, what?
Phil: Today is tomorrow. It happened.”
- 'Groundhog Day'