In parshas Bo, God gives the Jewish people their first official Mitzvah,

God said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, [showing them the new moon:] “This renewal will signal the beginning of every new month. This month [Nissan] must be for you the beginning of the months; it must be for you the first of the months of the year. (Shemos 12:1-2)

But this reading takes place not at Rosh Hashanah time, but Passover. If Tishrei is the month we celebrate Rosh Hashanah, why is the Torah saying Nissan is the first month of the year? Isn’t it odd we celebrate our New Year during the seventh month?

Judaism has two New Years! (Actually four, but let’s leave that aside, look to Tractate Rosh Hashanah for more details.) The first of Tishrei, which most of us think of as Rosh Hashanah, is the new year for the counting of the years, while the first of Nissan sets the counting of the months. Why would the counting of the months not coincide with the counting of the years? 

Our modern society has many different countings for the years/seasons. School year start in the fall and end in the summer. Companies set their own 12 month period to monitor finances, known as a fiscal year. And of course we all have our own birthdays that correspond to the day we were born (though in the traditional Korean age system, everyone advances in age on January 1st.)

Meditating on that birthday idea, we have the controversial question, “When does life begin?” Not speaking one way or the other politically, you can’t deny that a person exists before their birth. But regardless of their life in the womb, they can’t vote until 18 years after they’ve exited said womb. So even though we’ve established birth as one important form of counting, there is something to be considered before that.

The Rabbis of the Talmud (Tractate Shabbos) argue over when Hashem created the world. The month of Tishrei or the month of Nissan. Rav Aryeh Tzvi Frumer said that the inner aspects of the world (the soul so to speak) was created on the first of Nissan while the outer aspects of the world (physical reality) was created on the first of Tishrei. I believe another way to think of this idea corresponds to conception and birth.  

When we have an idea that we decide to put into action, that development period is crucial. You don’t want to start a business venture on a whim. It is far better to do research, put together a plan, and find some backers. Then, once you’re ready, have the ribbon-cutting grand opening. 

That’s what’s happening in the Torah portion. The Jewish people are about to be freed for the first time in at least 200 years. They need some time to develop before taking full control of their lives. So too, for us, on the first of Nissan, we are given the opportunity to free ourselves on Passover from whatever enslaves us. It would be great to consider then who we want to be, so we’re ready to actually live up to our goals on Rosh Hashanah. Develop your soul in Nissan so you can give birth to the person you want to be in Tishrei. Conceive of the possibilities!