THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION

Dvar Torah for Adar

Today we celebrate the beginning of the month of Adar. Besides Rosh Hashanah, there isn't a month which we celebrate it's arrival with as much fanfare as Adar. The Talmud says, "MiShenichnas Adar, MArbim BiSimcha", when the month of Adar arrives we should increase our joy. This year, since it's a leap year, we celebrate two Adars! However, how does this work? How do we increase our joy just because the calendar has turned to a new month? Besides, doesn't the Torah tell us the "worship G-d with happiness"? We should have joy all year long, not just in one month?

Rabbi Noah Weinberg explains that even the things that give us the most joy in our life can seem like a burden. When a person has a child their is the most profound joy a person can feel. But we can lose that feeling if we don't REMIND ourselves how much joy they give us. Be it our spouse, family, friends, community, we can lose that loving feeling. Adar is a time for renewal. The story of Purim is about the Jewish people rededicating themselves to the Torah. As the Gemara expalins, the Jewish people solidified their love and commitment to the Torah. Even though they received the Torah centuries before, it took the story of Purim to remind them that Hashem was always with them and that their true calling was to follow the Torah. So too, Adar is a time to to remind ourselves of the joy we have in our life.
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Rabbi Joshua Strulowitz
Congregation Adath Israel
"Bringing Tradition to Life"
www.adathisraelsf.org
1851 Noriega St.
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 564-5665