Rosh Chodesh, the time for Torah

Bamidbar begins with

1. The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert, in the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the second month, in the second year after the exodus from the land of Egypt, saying.

א. וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָֹה אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לֵאמֹר:

Ehrlich (page 252 of Mikra Kipshuto) points out that Rosh Chodesh is consistently the day that the prophet or leader would announce or inaugurate holy things. Sometimes they would be Torah things, and sometimes they would inaugurate a holy thing. Let's look at his other examples. We find out that just a month prior, the Mishkan was set up on Rosh Chodesh, Exodus 40:17

17. It came to pass in the first month, in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the Mishkan was set up.

יז. וַיְהִי בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הוּקַם הַמִּשְׁכָּן:

When Moses begins to speak to them again, the long speech that starts in Deuteronomy, it makes sure to tell us it was Rosh Chodesh, Deuteronomy 1:3

3. It came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had commanded him regarding them;

ג. וַיְהִי בְּאַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה בְּעַשְׁתֵּי עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ דִּבֶּר משֶׁה אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה אֹתוֹ אֲלֵהֶם:

He points out that the four sayings of Ezekiel occurred on the first of the month (Ezekiel 26:1, 29:17, 31:1, 32:1):

1. It came to pass in the eleventh year on the first of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

א. וַיְהִי בְּעַשְׁתֵּי עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הָיָה דְבַר יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר:

17. And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year in the first [month], on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

יז. וַיְהִי בְּעֶשְׂרִים וָשֶׁבַע שָׁנָה בָּרִאשׁוֹן בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הָיָה דְבַר יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר:

1. Now it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third [month], on the first of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

א. וַיְהִי בְּאַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה בַּשְּׁלִישִׁי בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הָיָה דְבַר יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר:

1. Now it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

א. וַיְהִי בִּשְׁתֵּי עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה בִּשְׁנֵי עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הָיָה דְבַר יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר:

The question the husband of the Shunemite woman asks strongly implies that Rosh Chodesh was a time to see the prophet (II Kings 4:23):

23. And he said, "Why are you going to him today; it is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath." And she said, "It's all right."

כג. וַיֹּאמֶר מַדּוּעַ אַתְּ הֹלֶכֶת אֵלָיו הַיּוֹם לֹא חֹדֶשׁ וְלֹא שַׁבָּת וַתֹּאמֶר שָׁלוֹם:

I would also add when Ezra read the Book of Moses to the people, Nehemiah 8:2.

2. And Ezra the priest brought the Law before the congregation, both men and women, and all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.

ב. וַיָּבִיא עֶזְרָא הַכֹּהֵן אֶת הַתּוֹרָה לִפְנֵי הַקָּהָל מֵאִישׁ וְעַד אִשָּׁה וְכֹל מֵבִין לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּיוֹם אֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי:

Ehrlich continues that it seems that it wasn't just to hear from the prophets, but also to start or inaugurate holy things as well. His examples are the example of Exodus 40:17 above, but also when the Levites came to sanctify the Temple in the days of Chizkiyahu (II Chronicles 29:17):

17. They commenced on the first of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord; and they sanctified the House of the Lord for eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month, they finished.

יז. וַיָּחֵלּוּ בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן לְקַדֵּשׁ וּבְיוֹם שְׁמוֹנָה לַחֹדֶשׁ בָּאוּ לְאוּלָם יְהֹוָה וַיְקַדְּשׁוּ אֶת בֵּית יְהֹוָה לְיָמִים שְׁמוֹנָה וּבְיוֹם שִׁשָּׁה עָשָׂר לַחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן כִּלּוּ:

As well as Ezekiel's vision for the sanctification of the Temple (Ezekiel 45:18):

18. So says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish, and you shall purify the altar.

יח. כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה בָּרִאשׁוֹן בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ תִּקַּח פַּר בֶּן בָּקָר תָּמִים וְחִטֵּאתָ אֶת הַמִּקְדָּשׁ:

And also when Ezra decided to bring people back to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:9):

9. For on the first of the first month was the commencement of the ascent from Babylon, and on the first of the fifth month, he arrived to Jerusalem according to the good hand of his God upon him.

ט. כִּי בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן הוּא יְסֻד הַמַּעֲלָה מִבָּבֶל וּבְאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַחֲמִישִׁי בָּא אֶל יְרוּשָׁלִַם כְּיַד אֱלֹהָיו הַטּוֹבָה עָלָיו:

(I'm sure there are many examples of this. It could be that the first of the month is easy to right, it's kind of like rounding out the numbers and seems less random. But that would mean that if the Bible specifies the day something occurred that wasn't the first, it would be ultra-significant.)

This may be significant to how we view this piece of give-and-take when the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 3a finally comes to a concluding proof-verse for the new year of kings starting in the month of Nisan from Chronicles, which is probably the weakest place to find proofs.

אלא אמר ר"א מהכא ויחל לבנות בחדש השני בשני בשנת ארבע למלכותו מאי שני לאו שני לירח שמונין בו למלכותו מתקיף לה רבינא ואימא שני בחדש א"כ שני בחדש בהדיה הוה כתיב ביה ואימא בשני בשבת חדא דלא אשכחן שני בשבת דכתיב ועוד מקיש שני בתרא לשני קמא מה שני קמא חדש אף שני בתרא חדש

"Rather, Rabbi Eliezer says: From here: (II Chronicles 3:2) "He began building on the second month, in the second, in the fourth year of his reign..." What is "in the second"? It is surely the second month from which his reign is counted from [i.e. the second month after Nisan, Iyyar]!  

Ravina asked [a logic-based question]: "I'll say it is the second of the month!"  

If that were true, it should have said explicitly "the second of the month".  

"I'll say it is the second day of the week." 

Firstly, we don't ever find it written "second day of the week". And furthermore, we make an exegetical connection between the latter "second" to the former "second". Just like the former "second" refers to a month, so too the latter "second" refers to a month [in this case, since the rosh hashana of his reign].

If Ehrlich is correct, the real actual reason we can figure it does not refer to the day of a month, is because the beginning of holy things always begins on Rosh Chodesh. The reason, presumably, the Talmud does not say that is either, they never picked up on this "fact", or that they are really trying to prove from the verses alone when Rosh Hashana for kings really starts.

We find their affinity for straight verse proofs from their hava amina suggestion on 2b that perhaps Moses' speech in Deuteronomy preceded Aaron's death, even though Aaron's death in described many chapters earlier in Numbers. We could say that "ein mukdam" is assumed by the Talmud, but if its debatable amongst the rishonim, its difficult to assume that the Talmud takes a definite stand on it. Rather, I believe the Talmud is really just trying to find based on the verses itself the strongest possible proof. In the end, it needs to rely on a hekesh, which is not the best for what they're searching for, but it will do.

If you look at the Yerushalmi, it first states where it is from, Chronicles, and the hekesh, and then goes through some rigamarole, but it stands in stark contrast to the whole give and take of the Bavli. I used to say that halacha l'moshe misinai can be seen as a last resort something the rabbis were sure was quite ancient. Rabbi Herschel Schachter had said as much in a Q&A. Why would he say that? Because if you look for example at the gemara trying to source the various halachot of tefillin in the Bavli, it searches for verse after verse and ends up with halacha l'moshe misinai. So it seems like a giving up tactic. However, having see the Yerushalmi, I can suppose that it is simply the Bavli's style to look for verses first, describe really why it rejects them, before it arrives at the answer it knew all along.