Shabbat HaChodesh
The special maftir reading established by the Tana’im in the Mishnah for this Shabbat HaChodesh was meant to remind the congregation that the time to offer the korban Pesach, the paschal sacrifice, was quickly approaching, and that they must, therefore, prepare in advance for that rite. This reading from Sefer Shemot includes Hashem’s instructions regarding the very first korban Pesach, that which was offered in Egypt itself, with some of those instructions being unique for that first paschal offering alone. As our haftarah was meant to reflect the basic theme of the maftir reading, it too speaks of the unique laws that would apply to the future paschal offerings that would be offered in the Third Temple during the Messianic era. The selection from the 45th and 46th chapters of Sefer Yechezkel is part of the final perakim of the sefer, a section that posed great difficulties to our rabbis over the years, as so many of the laws taught by Yechezkel contradict tho