This Shabbat is the Shabbat before the arrival of the new month. The new month of Adar Rishon begins on Monday and tomorrow is the thirtieth day of Shevat. In honor of the arrival of Adar Rishon, we read the beautiful haftarah of "Tomorrow is the New Moon". The haftarah comes from the book of First Samuel, chapter 20.

The story tells of the friendship between David and Jonathan. Jonathan was the son of King Saul. He was to inherit the throne of Israel after the death of his father, King Saul. However, many of the Israelites wanted David to be king because he had killed the giant Goliath. King Saul was intensely jealous of David and wanted to kill him. However, Jonathan was a true and loyal friend and protected the life of David.

On the festival of the New Moon, Rosh Chodesh, which was a major holiday in Biblical times, David was invited to celebrate with King Saul at the palace. Jonathan wanted to alert David if it was safe for him to come to the palace because of Saul's intense anger. Jonathan thought of a scheme to inform David if he could come to the palace. If Jonathan told his arrow bearer that the arrows were near by then David could return. If Jonathan told arrow bearer that the arrows were far away, then David would have to flee.

When Jonathan returned to the palace, King Saul wanted to know about David's whereabouts. When Jonathan said that David went to Bethlehem to be with his friend, Saul became enraged and threw his spear at his beloved son! Jonathan now knew that it was unsafe for David to return to the palace.

Jonathan told his arrow bearer that the arrows were far off. However, he shared some final words with his best friend. David and Jonathan kissed one another and cried. They would never see each other again. Jonathan would die in battle against the Philistines.

This haftarah is a beautiful story of friendship. The rabbis felt that the friendship of David and Jonathan was a model for all of us to emulate. It was unconditional support. This haftarah is a very appropriate selection as we begin the new month of Adar Rishon..