Nissan as new year of love

החודש הזה לכם.

"This month shall be for you [the head of the months]" (Shemos 12:2).

The Sefas Emes opens with the mitzvah of sanctifying Nissan as the first of months, emphasizing the word "lachem" (for you).

דניסן ג"כ ר"ה ויש מחלוקת אי בניסן נברא עולם כו'.

For Nissan too is a Rosh Hashanah, and there is a dispute as to whether the world was created in Nissan.

Nissan is one of the "new years," and the Gemara records a machlokes (Rosh Hashanah 10b-11a) over whether the world was created in Tishrei or in Nissan.

ושניהם אמת ור"ה הוא בניסן למלכי ישראל כי תשרי ר"ה בדין ובבחי' היראה.

And both are true: Nissan is the Rosh Hashanah for the kings of Yisrael, for Tishrei is a Rosh Hashanah of judgment and in the aspect of yirah (awe).

Both opinions hold. Tishrei is the new year of din (strict judgment) and yiras Shomayim, while Nissan serves as the new year for the kings of Yisrael — a different mode entirely.

וניסן ר"ה בחסד ובחי' אהבה ולכן הוא רק לכם.

And Nissan is a Rosh Hashanah of chesed and in the aspect of ahavah (love), and therefore it is only "for you."

Nissan's new year flows from chesed (kindness) and Hashem's love for Bnei Yisrael; that is why the Torah calls it "lachem" — it belongs uniquely to Klal Yisrael.

והיינו דאיתא במדרש מגיד דבריו כו' חוקיו ומשפטיו משבחר בישראל קבע בו ר"ח של גאולה כו' ע"ש.

This is the meaning of the Midrash on "He tells His words [to Yaakov], His statutes and judgments [to Yisrael]" (Tehillim 147:19): once He chose Yisrael, He fixed within it [this month] the new moon of redemption; see there.

The Midrash teaches that Hashem's special love in choosing Yisrael is what established Nissan as the month of geulah (redemption) — a gift of love rather than of judgment.

כי הגם שבתשרי זמן המשפט.

For although Tishrei is the time of judgment,

Tishrei remains the formal season of mishpat (judgment) for all the world.

אבל יש משפט פנימי המיוחס להשי"ת בעצמו.

nevertheless there is an inner judgment that is attributed to Hashem Himself.

Beyond the ordinary judgment there is a deeper, inner mishpat that belongs to Hashem alone — a judgment rooted in His own love and mercy.

וע"ז ביקש דוד המע"ה מלפניך משפטי יצא כו'.

Concerning this Dovid HaMelech requested, "From before You let my judgment go forth..." (Tehillim 17:2).

Dovid prayed that his judgment should issue specifically from Hashem's inner presence — from this higher mishpat that inclines to merit.

כדאיתא בזוהר דמכילין דמלכא נוטין לזכות תדיר ע"ש פ' האזינו.

As it is taught in the Zohar that "the measures of the King always incline to merit"; see there, Parshas Haazinu.

The Zohar teaches that Hashem's own inner "measures" of judgment always tilt toward acquittal and merit, unlike strict external din.

ולכן כ' בזוה"ק תצוה דמאן דנטיר הני יומי מפסח עד עצרת אין צריך לבוא במשפט בתשרי.

Therefore the Zohar HaKadosh in Parshas Tetzaveh writes that whoever guards these days from Pesach until Atzeres (Shavuos) need not come into judgment in Tishrei.

One who properly observes the days of Sefirah, from Pesach to Shavuos — the season of chesed and ahavah — is spared the strict judgment of Tishrei, having already been judged through Hashem's inner, merciful mishpat.

ע"ש כי קצרתי.

See there, for I have been brief.

The Sefas Emes refers the reader to the Zohar's fuller treatment, noting that he has only summarized.

וסיום הענין מובן מעצמו למשכילים:

And the conclusion of the matter is self-understood to the discerning.

The Sefas Emes leaves the rest for the thoughtful reader to complete on his own.

Summary: Nissan, like Tishrei, is a Rosh Hashanah, and both creation-opinions are true — but they differ in character. Tishrei is the new year of din and yiras Shomayim, while Nissan is the new year of chesed and ahavah, given to Bnei Yisrael as "lachem" out of Hashem's love in choosing them and fixing in it the month of geulah. Beyond the strict judgment of Tishrei there is an inner judgment belonging to Hashem Himself, whose measures always incline to merit — which is why one who guards the days from Pesach to Shavuos need not face judgment in Tishrei.