In Old Testament terms, a new year has just begun. Today, on the 14th March and on Laetare or “Rose Sunday“ during this year’s Lenten season, it is, according to the Hebrew calendar, the 1st of the month of Aviv or Nisan – the month of the Exodus and of the Passover feast. In biblical times, this month was the beginning of the new year.
“Now ADONAI spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying, ‘This month will mark the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year now.‘“
Exodus 12: 1-2
“This day, in the month of Aviv, you are going out.“
Exodus 13: 4
“Observe the month of Aviv and keep the Passover to ADONAI your God, for in the month of Aviv ADONAI your God brought you out from Egypt by night.“
Deuteronomy 16: 1
It was also in the month of Aviv that the people of Israel entered into the promised land under their leader Joshua – crossing the river Jordan.
“Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.“
Joshua 4: 19
In biblical Hebrew, the word “aviv“ refers to a certain stage in the growth of grains. It means “barley ripening“. The seeds are now in their full size and filled with starch, but not dry yet. The beginning of the biblical new year is thus not only connected to a certain moment in the history of the people of Israel, but also to the natural cycle of agricultural life. In modern Hebrew, “aviv“ simply has become the word used for “spring time“.
Exodus, Pesach, and the season of spring are at hand now. As I was reading the passage in the book of Deuteronomy quoted above that mentions the “month of Aviv“, I remembered some lines from the Song of Songs that refer to this time of the year beyond winter:
“Get yourself up, my darling, my pretty one, and come, come! For behold, the winter has past, the rain is over, it has gone. Blossoms appear in the land, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land.“
Song of Songs 2: 10-12
In Israel, winter is the season of rain. One of the earliest blossoms to appear at the end of winter is the almond blossom. Besides, just like in other parts of the world, a certain well-known plant seems to especially signify this new season of life springing up from the ground again. Because just a few verses above we read in the Song of Songs these words:
“I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Like a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the daughters.“
Song of Songs 2: 1-2
The Hebrew word translated here as the “rose of Sharon“ appears also in a passage in the book of the prophet Isaiah, where the Revised Standard Catholic Edition renders it as “crocus“. Many biblical scholars have suggested that the “rose of Sharon“ is in fact a crocus.
All these cross connections have now led us to Isaiah 35, and there could almost be no better text than this one to speak right into the current Lenten journey toward the Paschal feast, fitting to the “Rejoice“ or “Rose“ Sunday that has given us a mid-term relief and outlook. As mentioned above, “Rose Sunday“ is this year coinciding with the beginning of the month of Aviv, with the beginning of spring:
“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.
Isaiah 35: 1-10
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.‘
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.“
Speaking of the month of Aviv, there is yet another interesting reference to it in Sacred Scripture. In the book of Nehemiah it is called the “month of Nisan“, which is just another – Babylonian – name for Aviv.
In the month of Kislev, which marks the beginning of winter, Nehemiah – who is “the cupbearer to the king“ (Nehemiah 1: 11) in exile – receives news about the state of “the Judeans, the remnant who had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem“ (Nehemiah 1: 2).
“They said to me, ‘The remnant who have survived the captivity there in the province are in great distress and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire.‘
Nehemiah 1: 3-4
Upon hearing these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days. I prayed and fasted before the God of heaven.“
“Then in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before. So the king said to me, ‘Why is your face so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.‘
Nehemiah 2: 1-5
I was very frightened, but I said to the king, ‘May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?‘
The king asked me, ‘What is your request?‘
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, ‘If it seems good to the king and if your servant has found favor in your sight, send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried that I may rebuild it.‘“
So in the month of Aviv, the king allows Nehemiah to leave for Judah, that he may undertake the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. The following chapters deal with this project, and how it is accompanied by the mockery and opposition from Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab.
“‘What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the heaps of rubble that are burnt?‘
Nehemiah 3: 34-35
Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said: ‘Even if a fox climbed on what they are building, it would break down their stone wall!‘“
Have you ever felt as if the Lenten journey is a fight – at times even a fight with such discouraging or ridiculing voices similar to the voices of Sanballat and Tobiah?
Here is Nehemiah‘s reaction to the ever growing threats of the enemies:
“From that day on, half of my men were doing the work, while half of them took hold of the spears, shields, bows and breastplates, and the leaders were behind the entire house of Judah. Those building the wall and those bearing heavy burdens kept one hand on the work and the other holding a weapon. So each of the builders had his sword strapped to his side while they were building, and the shofar blower was beside me.“
Nehemiah 4: 10-12
Among the spiritual weapons available to us, joy – a joy the roses on “Rose Sunday“ symbolize – has a tremendous power:
“Go! Eat choice food, drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who have nothing ready. For today is kadosh to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of ADONAI is your strength.“
Nehemiah 8: 10
This passage from Isaiah 66, by the way, is the introit at Holy Mass on “Rose Sunday“:
“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; that you may suck and be satisfied with her consoling breasts; that you may drink deeply with delight from the abundance of her glory.”
Isaiah 66: 10-11