I just have a quick question about the Gemara's hava amina.
What is the significance of the fact that Tishrei was a potential other date by which we would count our leaving Mitzrayim? Why Tishrei and not any other month? Why would I think such a thing when we know for a fact it happened in Nissan?
Thank you for any help that you can provide.
Herschel Hartz, Rockville, Maryland
Rashi explains that being that the Torah itself counts years starting from Tishrei, as is evident from places where it states, "in the second year" and means Tishrei, we would think that even when the Navi states a year "from when Bnei Yisrael went out of Egypt" it means from the year counted from Tishrei. Additionally, while we know that Rosh Hashanah is the normal starting point of counting the years, Bnei Yisrael only went out of Egypt on the fifteenth of Nisan. It therefore seems more likely to start from Tishrei. [The Ritva, Turei Even, and others add other reasons why we would think that it is Tishrei.]
All the best,
Yaakov Montrose