Introduction
Adar is the sixth month in the Hebrew calendar in a year that begins with the month of Tishrei, and the twelfth and last month in the Jewish year that begins with the month of Nissan.
The name of the month comes, like the other months since the Babylonian exile, one of its meanings is bravery.
Notable events of this month:
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- On the 13th of Adar, the fast of ”Ta’anit Esther” takes place, commemorating the fast that all Jews undertook following Haman’s decree.
- On the 14th of Adar, the festival of ”Purim” occurs, and in Jerusalem (and in other places – out of doubt, in a more condensed format) an additional day is celebrated – ”Shushan Purim” on the 15th of the month.
A Month of Joy
”When Adar begins, joy increases”. The month of Adar symbolizes the miracle of the Purim festival, the miracle that occurred to the Jews during the time of Mordechai and Esther, when the entire Jewish nation was in immediate danger of annihilation, and only through a miraculous chain of ‘random’ events – everyone was saved from certain death. Because of this, ‘mourning’ turned into ‘joy’ and ‘sigh’ turned into a great and bursting ‘happiness’ that encompasses all the days of the month of Adar.
Since in the month of Adar the Jewish people’s fate was reversed from death to life, it is customary even today, that if one has a lawsuit with a non-Jew, to postpone it to the month of Adar, since it has a special ‘protection’ for every Jew.
”Leap Year”
All Jewish holidays whose origin is in the Bible, depend on the different seasons of the year: Passover must take place specifically ”in the month of spring”, Shavuot – at the time when the ”first fruits” are brought, and Sukkot – at the time when the harvest is gathered.
The seasons are determined by the annual path of the sun which is 365 days, and the Hebrew calendar is constructed from a year of 12 lunar months which are only 354 days, so if we do not ‘interfere’ in planning the calendar, Passover would fall every year 11 days earlier than it was celebrated in the previous year.
To ensure that all holidays indeed fall at the appropriate time, our sages decreed that once in a few years an additional ‘lunar’ month of 29 days will be added, which will close the gap that has been created with time.
Therefore, once every two or three years, the month of Adar ‘splits’ into two separate months: Adar A and Adar B, and then there are 13 months in the year, and it is called a ”Leap Year”.
In Adar I of such a year:
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- We do not recite ”Taanit Esther” on the 13th day.
- The 14th of Adar I is called ”Purim Katan,” and the next day, the 15th of Adar I, is ‘Shushan Purim Katan.’ In all places, the passages of ”Tachanun” are not said during prayers.
- We begin to add joy from the beginning of Adar I, and are mentally prepared to be in joy for the next 60 days…
”Arba Parshiyot” (Four Parshas)
From the Shabbat close to Rosh Chodesh Adar (and in a leap year, Rosh Chodesh Adar II) until Rosh Chodesh Nissan, a special reading is made every Shabbat in the synagogue related to that date, with a total of four parshas read in addition to the ”Parshat Hashavua” (Weekly Torah Portion).
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- During these four Shabbats, after the morning prayers, two Torah scrolls are taken out from the Holy Ark. For the first Torah scroll, seven men go up and read the ”Parshat HashavuAnswer :” Afterward, it is lifted, rolled up, and placed aside. Another man is called up for the ”Maftir,” and the additional reading is read from the second Torah scroll.
- There is also a different ”Haftarah” for each of these four Shabbats, which can be found at the end of most Chumashim (Pentateuch).
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- ”Shabbat Shekalim”
The Shabbat that falls before Rosh Chodesh Adar or on Rosh Chodesh itself, and during it, the ”Parshat Shekalim” is read. This deals with the obligation of every Jew to bring the ”Machatzit Hashekel” (Half Shekel) as a contribution to the public sacrifices that were offered in the Temple. This Mitzvah is discussed in more detail later, on page 62.
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- This Parsha is read close to Rosh Chodesh Adar because on this date, in the Temple, they would announce in all the cities of Israel the obligation of giving the ”Machatzit Hashekel.”
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- In a leap year, this Parsha is read on the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh Adar II or on Rosh Chodesh itself – when it falls on Shabbat.
- ”Shabbat Zachor”
On the Shabbat before Purim, the Torah portion: ”Zachor et asher asa lecha Amalek” (Remember what Amalek did to you), is read. This deals with the obligation to remember the first war with Amalek, which happened shortly after the Exodus from Egypt, as well as the obligation to blot out the memory of Amalek.
- This Parsha is read close to Purim because Haman the wicked was a direct descendant of Agag, king of Amalek, and on Purim, Haman and his ten sons were hanged.
- ”Shabbat Parah”
This Shabbat depends on ”Shabbat Hachodesh” (the fourth in number), and it always falls on the Shabbat before it, so sometimes there is a ‘gap’ of one Shabbat between these Shabbats. On this Shabbat, the portion ”Parah Adumah” is read, dealing with purification from the impurity of death by the ashes of the red heifer.
- During the time of the Holy Temple, there was a requirement to be pure, as every Jew is obliged to bring the Passover sacrifice, and therefore before ‘going up for the pilgrimage,’ we therefore read this Parsha, which deals with purity, as we approach the month in which Passover falls.
- ‘The New Moon’
On the Sabbath before the New Moon of Nissan or on the New Moon of Nissan itself when it falls on Sabbath, we read the Parsha ‘This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months’ (Exodus 12:2), which begins with the definition of the month of Nissan as ‘the first month’ of the Hebrew calendar, and continues with the commandments of the Passover sacrifice, the laws of leaven and matzah, and the Passover holiday.
- In this Parsha, the Children of Israel are commanded to perform the ‘Passover sacrifice,’ and therefore we read it very close to the month of Nissan, in which Passover falls, and everyone goes up for the pilgrimage.
