“Nasi” – The Offerings of the Tribal Princes of Israel
One year after the Exodus, on the first of Nissan, the dedication of the portable Sanctuary began. The dedication lasted twelve days, during which offerings were brought daily to the Mishkan, delivered by the prince of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
In memory of this, it is customary during the days of the month of Nissan preceding Pesach to read daily the passage from the Torah describing the offerings of the prince of a different tribe.
Our website provides the text of the prayers from the Siddur “Tehillat Hashem” published by “F.R.E.E. Publishing House.”
8 Nissan
On the eighth day of the month of Nissan, we ask the Almighty to reveal the sparks of holiness of the tribe of Menashe. Of course, all of Yaakov’s children are filled with holiness, all the tribes of Israel are blessed – yet it was not for nothing that Yaakov declined to bless Menashe as the firstborn, but blessed him together with Ephraim. Even on Chanukah, the offering of Menashe, read in the Torah on the last day of the holiday, appears among the other tribes, not on its own.
Only in the month of Nissan does the tribe whose name contains the words “G-d has made me forget in the land of my affliction” – the tribe of Menashe – not only reveal itself on its own but also becomes a source of blessing.
In this lies the strength of the month of Nissan, the “miracle of miracles,” the month of redemption. For in the future redemption, all that seemed to us an obstacle in serving the Almighty will be revealed as a source of the highest light, with all the advantages of light that emerges from darkness. In this lies the uniqueness of this day of the year: the light of redemption, which is about to be revealed in all its beauty.
