Parashat Bo features the first mitzvah given to the Nation of Israel: that of sanctifying the months. Ramban explains that the Torah is teaching us that the Jewish people should count the months from this month of redemption in order to remember God’s miracles for us, and that the Torah purposely does not use names for months or days – so that as we count, we remember God’s wonders.  Why, then, do we use the Babylonian month names for the “Jewish calendar” today?

Ramban points us to a verse from Yirmiahu, which seems to suggest that the redemption from Babylonia will surpass that of the Exodus from Egypt. Is that really a justification for changing the calendar? And how can we say that anything erases the Exodus?

The exodus from the Babylonian exile does not negate the Exodus from Egypt – it extends it with the amazing realization that God, after exiling Israel, is willing to redeem us again. 

This month is unto you
Exodus from Egypt
From slavery to freedom
Remembering Shabbat
Remembering the Slavery in Egypt
Babylonian Exile
Exile and Redemption
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