The Calendar Handed to Israel Like a King Entrusting His Heir

"This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: a parable of a king whose son was taken captive, and he clothed himself in vengeance and went and redeemed his son, and they would count the dating-era from the redemption of his son. So the Holy One, blessed be He, said: count the dating-era from the going out of Egypt: "This month shall be for you." A parable of a king who married many wives and wrote them neither a record of standing nor a dating-era; but when he married a wife of good family, he wrote her a record and wrote her a dating-era. So all the wives whom Ahasuerus married, he wrote them no record; but when he married Esther he wrote her a record, "in the tenth month, which is the month of Tevet" (Esther 2:16), and wrote her a dating-era, "in the seventh year of his reign." So the Holy One, blessed be He, said: when I created My world, the nations of the world said I gave them neither a month nor a Sabbath; but when Israel arose I gave them new moons and the intercalation of years. Therefore it is said, "This month shall be for you." Rabbi Berekhyah said: "This month shall be for you": if you are meritorious, you count by its fullness; and if not, you count by its waning. By its fullness: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David, Solomon, "and Solomon sat upon the throne of the LORD as king" (I Chronicles 29:23) - behold, the moon at its full. If you are not meritorious, you count by its waning: Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Zedekiah, "and they put out the eyes of Zedekiah" (II Kings 25:7) - behold, the moon at its waning. "This month shall be for you": it is handed over to you. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: a parable of a king who had a sundial and would look at it and know which hour of the day it was; once his son came of age he handed him his sundial. So the Holy One, blessed be He, said: until now the reckoning of months and years was in My hand; from here onward they are handed over into your hands, as it is said, "This month shall be for you." Rabbi Yosi bar Hanina said: a parable of a king who had a signet ring, and so on. Rabbi Yitzhak said: a parable of a king who had storehouses and a key for each one, and so on. Rabbi Hiyya said: a parable of a carpenter who had his craftsman's tools, and so on. And the rabbis say: a parable of a physician who had a case of remedies, and so on. Rabbi Hoshaya taught: the court below decreed and said, "Today is the New Year." The Holy One, blessed be He, says to the angels: set up the platform, let the defenders stand, and let the prosecutors stand, for the court below has decreed and said today is the New Year. If the witnesses tarried in coming, or the court reconsidered to make it a leap year for the next day, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the ministering angels: remove the platform, let the defenders depart, and let the prosecutors depart, for the court below decreed and said the New Year is tomorrow. What is the reason? "For it is a statute for Israel" (Psalms 81:5): if it is a statute for Israel, then "it is a judgment for the God of Jacob" (Psalms 81:5).