"Aviv" and "Nisan": Case studies in adaptation over originality - Torah portion Bo
Moses speaks to the people, "Remember this day when you exited Egypt," and then goes on to actually name the month: הַיּוֹם אַתֶּם יֹצְאִים בְּחֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב Today you are exiting, in the month of Aviv. (Ex 13:4) Why is this unusual? Because in the Torah, months are only ever referred to by number, except on occasion for the month of "Aviv." But Aviv is not just a name like "March" (named after Mars, the Roman god of war) - it's a descriptive term which pertains to the agricultural season. We actually encounter the word aviv a few chapters earlier, in the plague of hail: וְהַפִּשְׁתָּה וְהַשְּׂעֹרָה נֻכָּתָה כִּי הַשְּׂעֹרָה אָבִיב וְהַפִּשְׁתָּה גִּבְעֹל And the flax and the barley were struck down, because the barley was a fresh ear (aviv) and the flax was budding. (Ex 9:31) Meaning, the crops were devastated because they had already started to bloom. An aviv is a fresh, green ear, appearing in late winter or early spring (depending ...