The Sixth Month (Parts I and II):
Adar I and Adar II
One of the things I love a lot about modern Judaism is the day-to-day practicality of it. As you may know, the Hebrew calendar does not exactly line up with the English calendar. The Hebrew calendar in a non-leap year is 11 days shorter than the English calendar.
An 11 day variance isn't that big, but add up many years and we'd be totally off. And yet, year in and year out, we will still celebrate certain holidays and read certain parshiyot ~around~ the same time every year. This is because the Jewish calendar CORRECTS itself 7 times within a 19 year cycle with the שנה מעוברת - Shana Me'uberet, literally a "pregnant year" or a Leap Year. This year is called the "pregnant year" because it has an extra month, Adar I or Adar Aleph, in addition to the "regular" Adar - Adar II. Both of these months of Adar have the same Kabbalistic / Zodiac qualities, so this podcast is a twofer!!
The most memorable part of Adar is that it contains the Jewish holiday of Purim. Purim tells the story of the valiant Jewish Queen Esther and her heroic saving of the Jewish people in the face of the dastardly plan of *GROGGER SOUNDS* Haaammaaaan!
Since there's an Adar Aleph and Adar Bet, there is both Purim Katan (Small Purim) and Purim proper (Adar I - Purim Katan and Adar II - Purim). Both on the 14th days of their respective Adars.
There are certain differences between the two Purims, but still on Purim Katan, we do try to tap into the energy of the holiday. As we have spoken about before, the reason we celebrate certain holidays on certain dates is because the energy of the events still remains symbolically on the date.
Adar comes from "adir / אַדִיר" means strength. It's a powerful month and a lucky month. In the Talmud we read, "משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה" - "When the month of Adar arrives, we increase in our joy!" Some interpret that to mean that each day of Adar, we become happier and happier. There are a few associations / explanations for this, but the easiest explanation is the association with the miraculous, happy holiday of Purim.
The Midrash tells us that Haman looked through all the months in the Jewish year and decided Adar was the perfect month to annihilate the Jews. It's a month without holidays and he learned it was the month that Moshe / Moses passed away. What he didn't know, is that Moshe was also born in this month - and this energy lends to its luck and miraculousness.
Cont’d…
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