Laws and Customs of the Month of Adar - Rabbi Shmuel Mekamel shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to “Lema’an Yishme’u,” a podcast of Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 The Sages instituted the reading of four additional passages on the Shabbosos of the month of Adar. In other words, in addition to the reading on every Shabbos—the weekly parsha—there are four passages they instituted to be read on the Shabbosos of Adar. In practice, we read Parshas Shekalim, the first of the four, already on Shabbos Mevarchim Adar—or, in some years, on Shabbos Rosh Chodesh Adar itself. Parshas Shekalim describes the mitzvah of the half-shekel: how every Jew gives it “to atone for your souls.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu asked every Jew to give a half-shekel: “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less.” It is something equal for everyone. And when it is given with vitality—Hakadosh Boruch Hu showed a coin of fire—it can atone even for the gravest sin, the sin of the Golden Calf. Every year, the contribution was brought, and it was used to buy the daily offerings, the korban tamid offerings, in the Beis Hamikdash. The Mishnah says, “On the first of Adar, announcements are made concerning the shekels.” They would set out collection boxes for the sacred shekels, the half-shekels. In remembrance of this, every year we read the passage about the half-shekel. In fact, the Sages instituted this in their own time, when people were still giving half-shekels. But today, when we do not yet have the mitzvah of the half-shekel, we read it and recall the mitzvah. Of course, the established custom of giving a remembrance of the half-shekel takes place before Purim, on the Fast of Esther or before the Megillah reading. And the reason it was instituted specifically at this time, before Purim, is that we know the Midrash says that Hakadosh Boruch Hu knew Haman

02:21 Speaker 2 would one day weigh out ten thousand silver shekels to destroy and kill the Jewish people, G-d forbid—to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews. So Hakadosh Boruch Hu tells the Jewish people to let their shekels precede the shekels of wicked Haman. That is why, even before Purim, before we recount Haman’s decree, we make announcements concerning the shekels on Rosh Chodesh Adar; and even before Rosh Chodesh Adar, we read Parshas Shekalim. We also know something very interesting that the Maggid of Mezritch says: every Jew is, in fact, a half. Hakadosh Boruch Hu says that we are a half, and that Hakadosh Boruch Hu and the Jewish people are two halves of a whole, each completing the other. The second passage we read is Parshas Zachor. There is a Torah mitzvah to remember what Amalek did and not to forget it. Hearing this reading fulfills a positive Torah commandment, and the Sages instituted that it be read from a Torah scroll once a year, so that we hear, remember and recall what Amalek did to us, and do not forget our hatred of him and the enmity we must bear toward him. We know that Amalek came “on the way, when you were leaving Egypt.” For example, we know that when the Jewish people arrived in the days of Yehoshua and were entering the Land, the spies Yehoshua bin Nun sent came to Rachav’s house. She told them: “We heard how Hashem dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you,” and that “all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.” The miracle of the Splitting of the Sea filled them with dread and fear. It was not something they heard about that then disappeared from the headlines. Forty years later, Rachav says of the inhabitants of the land, “All the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.” Forty years after the Exodus from Egypt, its impact was still being felt. And then

04:24 Speaker 2 Amalek came—not forty years later, or even decades later, but right “on the way, when you were leaving Egypt,” a very short time after the Exodus—and fought. While all the nations had melted away, all the inhabitants of the land, all the inhabitants of Canaan, were afraid and trembling before the Jewish people, he came and said: “I’m not afraid.” It wasn’t that he thought nothing would happen to him. We know the parable of a scalding bath: a wicked man jumps into it to cool it down. He knows he will be burned, scalded by the water, but it is worth it to him if he can cool that scalding bath. He wants to open the way for the enemies of the Jewish people, to challenge the Jewish people, and to tell them: “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Look, I dare to go to war against them.” The meaning of the war against Amalek is very, very deep. When a Jew makes some resolution and suddenly feels a chill—something trying to cool him down, to dampen his enthusiasm for the resolution he is committed to or the mitzvah he is about to fulfill—he needs to remember that this is all the work of Amalek. We must remember and not forget what Amalek did to us: “Amalek is the first of nations, but his end is utter destruction.” So the Sages instituted that once a year this should be done through a public Torah reading. Of course, this is in addition to the parshiyos in which it is read when we reach Parshas Beshalach and Parshas Ki Seitzei. They instituted a special reading once a year, taking out a Torah scroll specifically to read the passage “Remember what Amalek did to you,” which appears at the end of Parshas Ki Seitzei. By hearing it read from the Torah, we fulfill a positive Torah commandment. Why, in fact, was it instituted

06:15 Speaker 2 specifically in the month of Adar, on the Shabbos before Purim? The reason is that wicked Haman, as we know, was a descendant of Amalek, and this is the time when we recount the wiping out of Amalek. We also know that the haftorah should relate to the parsha. So, as with all four of these readings, for Parshas Shekalim we read a haftorah about shekels. For Parshas Zachor, we likewise read about Amalek’s downfall in the days of Shmuel: the command to King Shaul to kill Agag, and how the prophet Shmuel ultimately killed him. In the Prophets, we read the account of the wiping out of Amalek after reading “Remember what Amalek did to you” in the Torah. In the haftorah we read about the second occasion, in the days of the prophet Shmuel; and on the third occasion, in the Writings, we read very soon afterward, on Purim, about the downfall of wicked Haman, who was descended from Amalek. The third of the four passages is Parshas Parah. It is a very precious mitzvah that we have been given: Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants to purify us. We know what it means to fulfill mitzvos in a state of purity, something the Jewish people merited when they observed the laws of purity. In fact, we know that nine red heifers were prepared, most of them during the Second Beis Hamikdash period, when purity became widespread among the Jewish people. We know that the ashes of the red heifer were preserved even later. I believe we find a mention of the ashes of a red heifer as late as the days of the Amoraim. The writings of Kabbalah also relate something about the holy Arizal. It is written about him—I think the Ben Ish Chai says it—that he could not have reached his spiritual level had he not merited purification with the ashes of the red heifer. On a straightforward level, this is something we need to understand: how exactly did the ashes of a red heifer reach the holy Arizal? But this is the tradition we have received,

08:25 Speaker 2 And the great purification of “I will sprinkle pure water upon you” is about observing Torah and mitzvos on an entirely different level—approaching them in a state of purity. The mitzvah to be pure is, of course, a mitzvah that applies before making the pilgrimage for the festivals. One may not enter the Beis Hamikdash, or the Temple Mount, in a state of ritual impurity; one must become pure. There is no halachic requirement to remain pure all the time, but we know that, as it says, during the Second Temple period, purity became widespread among the Jewish people. There were chaverim who were careful about the laws of ritual impurity and purity, and they would even eat their ordinary food in a state of purity. That means even things that were ordinary food—not sacred food, or even terumah, which must be eaten in a state of purity. Even their everyday meals at home were eaten in a state of purity. They made sure that all their eating was done in purity. They wore pure clothing and sat on pure chairs. They were even careful about the needles used to sew their clothes, as in the well-known Mishnah: “A needle lying on the steps of the cave—once a wave passes over it, it is pure.” If they wanted to purify a needle, the wave would wash over it and it would become pure. We see that they were careful even about such small details, so that those too would be done in purity. But there are times of the year when becoming pure is obligatory. The Torah commands us, “Three times a year all your males shall appear”—there is a mitzvah to make the pilgrimage for the festivals. And of course, besides the three pilgrimage festivals, on Pesach there is the special mitzvah of the Korban Pesach. Someone who is nearby and, G-d forbid, does not offer the korban when he is able to do so is liable to kareis. We know that there are only

10:22 Speaker 2 two positive mitzvos whose neglect carries the penalty of kareis: the mitzvah of circumcision—someone who does not fulfill it is liable to kareis—and the mitzvah of the Korban Pesach. Someone who does not offer the korban, who does not eat the Korban Pesach, is liable to kareis. So all the Jewish people wanted to offer and eat the Korban Pesach, and for that they had to become pure. Therefore, even those who were not careful about the laws of ritual impurity and purity throughout the year would all come to be purified before Pesach, through the ashes of the red heifer on the third and seventh days. That was how they attained purity. And of course, we will merit complete purity in the future, when “I will sprinkle pure water upon you.” So we remind and encourage the Jewish people to prepare for the pilgrimage by becoming pure, and that is why we read Parshas Parah. The fourth of the four special readings, right at the end of Adar, close to Nissan—or sometimes on Rosh Chodesh Nissan itself—is Parshas Hachodesh. There we read the commands and warnings concerning the mitzvah of the Korban Pesach: how to eat it and all the laws of the mitzvah, including, of course, eating it in a state of purity and not eating it together with chametz. So these are the four special readings that we add before Pesach, during Adar and toward the end of the month. After Purim, we read about the mitzvos that belong to Nissan, preparing for the pilgrimage on Pesach. Adar is a joyous month. Our Sages say, “When Adar begins, we increase in joy.” In fact, the Gemara in Taanis says that just as we diminish joy when Menachem Av begins, so we increase joy when Adar begins. Rashi explains: “They were days

12:28 Speaker 2 of miracles for the Jewish people—Purim and Pesach.” And people wonder: What does Rashi mean? What does Purim and Pesach have to do with Adar? But we know that all the joy of Adar is thanks to Moshe Rabbeinu. When the wicked Haman wanted to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, children and women, in a single day, he looked for a suitable time when he could easily destroy the Jewish people, when no good fortune would save them. He went through the months, and in each month he found some merit on their behalf. So he said there was no suitable month in which to carry out his evil plan. Only when the lot fell on Adar was he happy. He said, “This is the month in which the savior of the Jewish people died”—meaning Moshe Rabbeinu, who passed away on 7 Adar. And our Sages say that he did not know that although the savior of the Jewish people passed away in Adar, it was also the month in which the savior of the Jewish people was born, and that is when the Jewish people’s fortune grows strong. Looking at the zodiac signs of the months, too, he found in each of them some merit that could shine upon the Jewish people. But Adar’s sign is fish, which are eaten. And Hakadosh Boruch Hu said, “Wicked one, fish are swallowed, but they also swallow.” In the end, Adar arrived, the wicked Haman was swallowed up, and that Amalekite met his downfall. So Adar is the month that was transformed “from sorrow to joy and from mourning to Yom Tov.” Haman wanted to choose a month in which the Jewish people had no merit, thereby ensuring their downfall. But he did not know that it was the month in which

14:33 Speaker 2 the savior of the Jewish people was born, when the Jewish people’s standing and merit grow stronger. And so the Jewish people merited the downfall of the wicked Haman and the wondrous miracle of Purim. Thus, the entire month—the month in which the savior of the Jewish people was born—has an effect on the Jewish people, and their fortune grows strong in it. That is why the entire month is connected with Moshe Rabbeinu. Throughout the month, the Jewish people’s fortune grows stronger; therefore, the whole month is a month of joy. And that is why Rashi says that this time is connected with the redemption of the Jewish people, Purim and Pesach. In fact, the redemption of Purim, too, came through the merit of Pesach, through the merit of Moshe Rabbeinu, the savior of the Jewish people. When Moshe Rabbeinu’s fortune grows stronger, the fortune of all the Jewish people grows stronger. Increasing joy in Adar should, of course, include all the things that bring joy. As we know from halachah concerning the joy of Yom Tov, women have what is appropriate for them, men what is appropriate for them, and children what is appropriate for them. Women rejoice in clothing and jewelry; men rejoice in eating meat and drinking wine. We know that children enjoy various sweets. In Adar, too, we should increase joy in material ways. We need to make sure there is joy at home. But of course we begin with “The precepts of Hashem are upright, gladdening the heart.” We should increase our study of Torah, whose words bring joy, during Adar. It says, “Guard the month of spring.” We must make sure Pesach falls precisely in the spring month. “He brings prisoners out at a favorable time”—a month suited to going out, the month in which the Jewish people left Egypt. It was a suitable month for departure, the month of spring. To keep Pesach exactly in the spring month, during springtime, we know that the seasons follow the course of

16:40 Speaker 2 The sun. The sun’s cycle is 365 days. That is the length of the solar year. The moon’s cycle determines the Jewish months—the Hebrew dates are set according to the moon. The lunar month is about 29 days, so each year a gap of about eleven days develops between the lunar and solar calendars. That means that sometimes Nissan would not fall in the spring. Since this gap develops every year, we have to add a month every few years to keep Nissan in the spring. So every two or three years, an extra month is added, making it a leap year. Now, in a leap year we have Adar I and Adar II, and there are many disagreements among the halachic authorities about which is the primary Adar. For example, if a person made a vow to do something by Adar, does that mean Adar I or Adar II? If, G-d forbid, someone passed away in Adar and the year of their yahrzeit is a leap year, when is the yahrzeit—in Adar I or Adar II? And of course, for a happy occasion: if a child was born in Adar and reaches bar mitzvah age thirteen years later, when does he celebrate his bar mitzvah, in Adar I or Adar II? The same question applies to the custom of celebrating a birthday. The Rebbe says that a birthday celebration is only a custom, so of course it is right to observe both days, in Adar I and Adar II, and celebrate both as birthdays. But in

18:56 Speaker 2 any case, we see that the halachic authorities discuss Adar in a leap year at great length. Is Adar I the primary Adar, or is Adar II? In any case, regarding the mitzvos of Purim, our Sages established—though there was actually a disagreement about this too—that while the principle of not passing over a mitzvah might suggest celebrating Purim in the first Adar, the halachah in practice is that Purim is celebrated in the Adar closest to Nissan. The miracle took place in the Adar closest to Nissan. We place one redemption next to another—the redemption of Purim next to the redemption of Pesach—and therefore the mitzvos of Purim are celebrated specifically in Adar II. But of course, in a leap year we need to rejoice. The increase in joy should extend throughout all the days of Adar. Indeed, in a leap year the two months of Adar give us sixty days, and all undesirable things are nullified in sixty. Through the joy of the sixty days of Adar, we nullify everything that is not joyful. The 14th of Adar I is Purim Katan. As we said, the main mitzvos of Purim are observed in Adar II, the Adar closest to Nissan. But the 14th and 15th of Adar I are also marked as days on which Tachanun is not said. They are special days when we celebrate and increase a little in feasting, as the Rema says at the end of Orach Chaim: “One who is glad of heart has a continual feast.” We should increase in joy. When there is a question of whether to increase in joy, he cites that verse from Mishlei. Interestingly, it is Mishlei chapter 15, verse 15. The Rebbe points out that everything is by Divine Providence: the chapter and verse numbers are both fifteen. “The moon stands at its fullness”—fifteen, fifteen, the fullest completeness. Because

21:08 Speaker 2 increasing in joy is a very central element. And “their beginning is bound up with their end”: Orach Chaim begins with “I have set Hashem before me always” and ends with “One who is glad of heart has a continual feast.” So we have two “always” statements, with the beginning bound up with the end. On the one hand, we must remember “I have set Hashem before me always,” but it must always be in a way of “One who is glad of heart has a continual feast.” That is why we celebrate and mark Purim Katan. We know that on Purim Katan in 5687, the Frierdiker Rebbe held a farbrengen, and that farbrengen was among the factors that ultimately led to his well-known arrest. We celebrate his liberation on 12–13 Tammuz. At that farbrengen, the Frierdiker Rebbe spoke about the Torah learning of young children and how it is the foundation of the Jewish people. That is what the wicked Haman wanted to stop among the Jewish people, and his downfall came through those Jewish children’s steadfast devotion. It is the foundation, an essential element of the entire Jewish people. The Frierdiker Rebbe spoke with tremendous force. He knew that people were present who opposed him and were looking for any material they could use to convict him and send him into exile—or even worse. But he was undeterred. He stood with mesirus nefesh and spoke with great firmness. Ultimately, as is well known, he was arrested on 15 Sivan 5687. And in fact, the Rebbe says that even those days of imprisonment—even the moment of the arrest and the moment that led to it—were already when the Frierdiker Rebbe sowed the seeds of the Geulah. The entire growth of the Geulah came from his mesirus nefesh and his firm resolve not to be intimidated by the darkness of exile, not to be intimidated by all the concealments and obstacles. He resolved that he would not

23:32 Speaker 2 listen to those who wanted to stop him. On the contrary, he grew stronger and sought to encourage the teaching of Torah to young children. That is what ultimately brought about the Geulah, a most joyous Geulah. And the Rebbe says that on these days, the 14th and 15th of Adar I, Purim Katan, we should hold a farbrengen and recall these matters: the maamar the Frierdiker Rebbe delivered and its special message for Jews—that we must strengthen the teaching of Torah to young children and overcome every concealment and obstacle, without being intimidated by any darkness or concealment.