“The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying: This month shall be for you the first of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you” (Exodus 12:1–2). “The Lord spoke to Moses.… This month shall be for you the first of months” – that is what is written: “The voice of my beloved, behold, he is coming” (Song of Songs 2:8),1In standard editions of Shemot Rabba, there is an obscure reference inserted here into the text.
There are in fact similar midrashim to what follows in Pesikta deRav Kahana, Pesikta Rabbati, and Shir HaShirim Rabba. as it is stated: “My beloved spoke and said to me” (Song of Songs 2:10): ‘What are you doing here in the place of the impure, “whose flesh is the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of horses”’ (Ezekiel 23:20)? “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and go” (Song of Songs 2:10).
He [Moses] said to Him: ‘Master of the universe, You said that we would be enslaved four hundred years,2A reference to Genesis 15:13, where God informs Abraham that his descendants will be slaves in a land not theirs for four hundred years. but they have not yet been completed.’ He said to him: ‘They have already been completed, as it is stated: “For behold, the winter has passed”’ (Song of Songs 2:11); immediately, the righteous uncovered their heads, which had been covered,3They were covered as a sign of mourning. as it is stated: “The blossoms have appeared in the land” (Song of Songs 2:12) – these are the [members of the] tribe of Levi, all of whom were righteous.
Alternatively, “the blossoms [hanitzanim]” – these are the priests, “the sons of Aaron, Elazar his son, Pinḥas his son” (I Chronicles 6:35).4The reference is to the High Priests, who wear the sacred diadem [tzitz]. Alternatively, “the blossoms” – these are the kings: David, Solomon, Reḥavam, Asa, Aviya. Alternatively, these are the Levites: “Asaf the leader and his deputy Zekharia” (I Chronicles 16:5).
Once the Holy One blessed be He saw that it was so, He said: “The time of the songbird has come” (Song of Songs 2:12) – the time has arrived for the Levites to recite songs and psalms before Me. Another matter: “The time of the songbird has come” – when the Holy One blessed be He heard Israel reciting the song,5I.e., the Song of the Sea, Exodus 15:1–18. Alternatively, the psalms said while eating the paschal lamb.
He said: “The sound of the turtledove is heard in our land” (Song of Songs 2:12) – that He heard the voice of Israel due to the merit of Abraham, who sacrificed a turtledove and a young pigeon.6See Genesis 15:9–10. What is written thereafter? “The fig tree has formed its unripe figs” (Song of Songs 2:13) – these are the righteous and the upright. “The vines in blossom give scent” (Song of Songs 2:13) – these are the middling who repented.
From that point on: “Arise my love, my fair one, and go” (Song of Songs 2:13). When the children of Israel left Egypt, the Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘You have no other month that is greater than this one; it is therefore called first, as it is stated: “The first of months.”’ Another interpretation: “It shall be the first [month of the year] for you” – as it were, the Holy One blessed be He is called first, as it is stated: “I am first and I am last” (Isaiah 44:6).
Zion is called first, as it is stated: “Throne of glory, exalted from the first, the place of our Temple” (Jeremiah 17:12). Esau is called first, as it is stated: “The first emerged…” (Genesis 25:25). The messiah is called first, as it is stated: “The first to Zion, behold they are here” (Isaiah 41:27). May the Holy One blessed be He, who is called first, come and build the Temple that is called first, and exact retribution from Esau, who is called first; and let the messiah, who is called first, come during the first month, as it is stated: “This month shall be for you the first of months…”