"When Adar arrives, we increase our joy." (Talmud -
Taanit 29a)
The Hebrew month of Adar is synonymous with joy because Adar has
traditionally been a month of hope and good luck for the Jewish
people. Adar is the last of the months on the Jewish calendar, and
in this way represents completion.
The sages say that Adar is the best month to try to remove your
personal barriers to holiness. And by removing those barriers, you
create the potential for the greatest joy.
They also say that prophecy can only come to someone who is
happy. Jeremiah, Samuel, King David and others were not moping
around in a bad mood when they received prophecy. Tradition says
that some of the prophets even used music to help put them in an
elevated mood in order to experience prophecy. True happiness is not
achieved by satisfying our physical desires, as the body would have
us think. Just as the prophet uses music to lighten his mood in
order to access the spiritual world, true happiness comes through
using the pleasures of this world to elevate our consciousness in
order to bind our thoughts to spirituality.
The astrological sign of Adar is the Fish (Dagim in Hebrew, or
Pisces). This was a sign of fruitfulness and bounty - and good luck.
The Dagim are also a hint to the holiday of Purim: the topsy-turvy
turn-around of events in Purim is symbolized in the two fish
swimming in opposite directions.
Adar is characterized by joy because it is the month of
transforming dread into joy. Adar was the month that Haman selected
for grief and mourning, but for the past 2,400 years it has instead
been a time of Jewish rejoicing and celebration. In 1991, when
Saddam Hussein tried to rain missiles down on Israel, he was
defeated on Purim day. Adar contains the power to succeed against an
opposing force, both on a national level and on an individual level.
If you look inside yourself and recognize your worst enemy --
whether it is anger, confusion, pride, or jealousy -- this is the
month in which you may conquer it. When you see God's hand in your
life -- and realize how He gives you the potential to defeat your
enemies, then you have discovered the source of life's greatest joy.
This Adar, may we be inspired to conquer enemies -- whether they
come from afar, or from deep inside ourselves. That is the great
opportunity of this month.
Other Adar Events:
Moses, the greatest leader of the Jewish people, was born (and
died) on the 7th of Adar. There was a miraculous victory over the
Syrian general Nicanor by the Maccabees. The order was given to
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (leading to the return to Israel and
founding of the Second Temple).
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