Torah Essay in memory of Edythe Benjamin ??? ?? ????, beloved mother of Barbara Hanus This week’s parsha, Parshat Bo, teaches us that Nissan is the first of the lunar months of the year and the onset of national Jewish history, though Tishrei is considered the beginning for counting years agriculturally (Mishneh Rosh haShana 1:1). Shevat is the fifth month from Tishrei, the first month for counting trees, and it is the eleventh month of the Jewish national calendar which begins in Nissan. As we approach the first of the month of Shevat, we must take a look at the...