This year is a Jewish leap year, which means there are two months of Adar. We’re fortunate, because it allows us time to contemplate the significance of Adar and Purim separately.
The sages say that “from the time that Adar enters, joy is increased.” It’s a beautiful statement, because it speaks of happiness that abounds for an entire month. The curious part of the statement is whether it’s prescriptive or descriptive.
In other words, perhaps the sages are describing the month, telling us that the month itself will bring elements of joy. Or perhaps they’re prescribing joy to us, commanding us to increase our joy during this month. In the first option, we’re the recipients of joy, while in the second, we’re creators of that joy.
It seems the second option makes the most sense. How could the month itself bring joy? Clearly we’re being instructed to “make merry” and kid around while we make others laugh. In Israel, there’s a practice among young people to have an anonymous “Purim Buddy.” If you’re someone’s “Buddy,” you’re charged with doing little anonymous acts of humour to bring a smile to that someone’s face. It’s a wonderful concept.
We make our own joy. We don’t wait for someone to make us smile. We find the smile within us and bring it outward so that it’s contagious to others. While it’s a beautiful idea, it’s rather strange for the sages to be instructing us in this way. Why not tell us to be joyous at all times and thus create a happier world? There seems to be something special about Adar that triggers the sages’ observations and instructions.
The midrash teaches us a powerful detail about Adar. When discussing how God appears “behind the scenes” in the Purim narrative, one of the examples has to do with Haman’s lottery. The holiday Purim is named for his lottery to pick the day on which to slaughter the Jews. It’s interesting that Haman draws lots to choose the optimum day. He is, in effect, leaving it to the gods to decide which day is most opportune.
It’s the perfect place for God to intervene. The lottery falls in the month of Adar. According to the midrash, Adar is the astrological sign for the nation Israel. It’s when the stars are aligned in our favour.
When the sages instruct us to be happy in Adar, they’re informing us of an opportunity. We construct our own happiness, and we should be doing so every day. But in Adar, the stars themselves are aligned to make us happy. We could truly increase and heighten our joy by mirroring below what is going on above.
We know in life that we certainly create our own happiness, but the midrash has taught us that sometimes you also need the stars to line up in your favour. Sometimes you need a little good mazal – the Hebrew world for constellation.
So whistle a happy tune, share your favourite joke, smile at a funny memory. Adar is coming. What an opportunity to increase our joy.
Rachael Turkienicz is director of rachaelscentre.org.
