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Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Purim & The Month of Adar
- The Month of Adar
Adar’s main claim to fame is naturally the fact that the holiday of Purim falls within the month. It is clearly identified by name in the Book of Esther itself. The month of Adar is identified in that book as being the twelfth month in the Jewish calendar. This year as is the case seven times in every nineteen year lunar-solar cycle there are two months of Adar. So Adar will not only be the twelfth month this year it will also be the thirteenth month of the Jewish calendar year. The rabbis who ordained and perfected the permanent Jewish calendar in the fifth century ordained that Adar is the only month that can be doubled up so to speak. There are many reasons given for this decision based upon weather, agriculture, travel conditions and other vagaries of life. But in a simple sense the rabbis wanted us to enjoy the atmosphere of hope and optimism that is the atmosphere of Adar a little longer. It has been a long exile and very difficult events have occurred to us. It would have been very easy to give in to sadness and depression, loss of hope and a feeling of despair. Adar came to dispel all of those feelings. Purim is the prototype of the Jewish spirit, of our indestructibility and eventual survival and eternity. We can always use a double measure of such spirit and atmosphere. Hence the rabbis in their wisdom decreed that only Adar was to be doubled up in a fairly regular sequence of years. For when Adar enters so does hope and joy and a feeling of eternity.
This month of Adar contains the day of Purim Katan - the minor Purim celebrated on the 14th day of Adar I. This is also to be seen as a harbinger of the great Purim that is yet a few weeks distant. The knowledge that there exists a small and minor Purim is itself a heartening message. Good tidings and hoped for redemptions do not always burst upon the scene suddenly. Rather they usually come incrementally, one step at a time. The preparation for the great Purim is encased in Purim Katan, the minor Purim. If one can commemorate minor achievements, small victories, gradual improvements then one can expect even greater achievements in the future. Life is never an all or nothing instant winner sum game. Purim Katan leads to the great Purim which in terms leads to the holiday of redemption and national freedom, Pesach. So Adar I has great lessons contained within its calendar days. The appreciation of its hopeful messages fuels our optimism even when apparently everything around us is falling apart and undergoing rapid and uncertain change. We should view the advent of Adar, even the first Adar, even the minor Purim as being positive promises of goodness and security and salvation from our enemies and all of the evil that is unfortunately so prevalent in our world. Yes, my beloved friends when Adar enters so does goodness and happiness.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
