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Adar is one of the happiest months in the Jewish calendar, and not only because the holiday of Purim falls within this month. The Rabbis say that "When Adar enters, we increase joyfulness." (Babylonian Talmud Ta'anit 29a.)
Adar is full of surprises. One of its surprises relates to the weather. Because it is the last month of winter in the Land of Israel, the weather can vary from almost spring-like warmth to real winter weather and even snow in mountainous areas like the Golan, the Galilee, and Jerusalem. Imagine delivering mishloach manot (gifts of food) in the snow! And in the Land of Israel, there are two-and sometimes even three-days of Purim because ancient walled cities like Jerusalem celebrate Purim on the fifteenth (Shushan Purim), rather than the fourteenth of the month. Shushan Purim is the day on which Purim is celebrated in ancient walled cities like Jerusalem and Tiberias. That's because Purim was celebrated in Shushan, the capital of Persia, a day later than elsewhere in the Persian empire. When Shushan Purim falls on Shabbat, that means the celebration is extended for three days, with different mitzvot (good deeds) of the day performed on Friday, Shabbat, and Sunday. Visitors to Israel sometimes feel as though Purim extends over the whole month, and with school, work, home, and synagogue celebrations spread out from Rosh Chodesh until Shushan Purim, they're not far wrong. Adar is the sixth month of the year counting from Tishrei (Rosh Hashana), and the twelfth counting from Nisan (the first of the months of the year) Do we need to add something about the number changes during leap year, or just leave it as is? which is why it is called the twelfth month in the Tanach. (Tanach, the Jewish term for the Hebrew bible, is an acronym that stands for Torah (the Five Books of Moses), Neviim (the Prophets), and Ktuvim (the Scriptures.) What's in a name? The name "Adar" itself, like all the other names for the Jewish months we use today, is the Babylonian name for the month which was adopted by the Jewish people during their exile in Babylon between the First Temple period and the rebuilding of the Second Temple. This fact is particularly significant for our understanding of Adar since this seventy year period was the historical setting for the story of Purim, and the time during which the Jewish people began to employ more than one language to name things-the Jewish name, and the name used by the surrounding culture. Thus, Adar, at one level, remains "the twelfth month," and at another, "the sixth month," and the heroine of the Book of Esther has two names-her Jewish name "Hadassah," and "Esther" the Persian name by which she will be known in Achashverosh's court. Adar- The month of the fish Adar's sign of the zodiac in Adar Sheini continues to be dagim ("fish"-in the plural.) The motif of Jewish survival makes its appearance not only in the sign of the zodiac that symbolizes Adar but also in the events of the month itself. The most familiar event is Purim (the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar), the holiday which commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people from Haman's plot to exterminate them. But another event also underlines this motif-the anniversary of the birth (and the death at the age of 120) of Moshe Rabbenu (Moses our teacher) on the seventh of Adar. This event is symbolic of the enormous potential for redemption and salvation which the Jewish people has historically experienced even under the most painful circumstances. Moshe was born at the point of greatest Egyptian oppression, a time during which male Jewish babies were thrown into the Nile so that they would not survive. Moshe, however, survives and grows up to redeem the Jewish people. The foundation of the miraculous salvation of the Jewish people and their exodus from Egypt in Nisan is laid in the month of Adar. The Fast of Esther Another important date in Adar is the Fast of Esther (the thirteenth of Adar) which precedes Purim. It commemorates the days of prayer and fasting with which the Jewish people prepared the way for their salvation from Haman's evil decree. | |||||||||
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CREDITS: The JCC Association would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions to the Adar portion of the "This New Month" Project.
© 2002 - 2006 JCC Association 'This New Month' Project | |||||||||