מִשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אָב מְמַעֲטִין בְּשִׂמְחָה וְכוּ׳. אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַב שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר שִׁילַת מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַב: כְּשֵׁם שֶׁמִּשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אָב מְמַעֲטִין בְּשִׂמְחָה — כָּךְ מִשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אֲדָר מַרְבִּין בְּשִׂמְחָה.
§ The mishna teaches that from when the month of Av begins, one decreases acts of rejoicing. Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Sheilat, said in the name of Rav: Just as when Av begins one decreases rejoicing, so too when the month of Adar begins, one increases rejoicing.
משנכנס אדר – ימי נסים היו לישראל פורים ופסח:
Whoever enters Adar: Days of miracles these were for the Jews - Purim and Pesach
בִּשְׁלָמָא רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי מִסְתַּבֵּר טַעְמָא, דְּאֵין מַעֲבִירִין עַל הַמִּצְוֹת. אֶלָּא רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל מַאי טַעְמָא? אָמַר רַבִּי טָבִי: טַעְמָא דְּרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל, מִסְמָךְ גְּאוּלָּה לִגְאוּלָּה עָדִיף.
The Gemara asks: Granted, according to Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yosei, the reason for his opinion is logical, based on the principle that one does not forego performance of the mitzvot; rather, when presented with the opportunity to perform a mitzva, one should do so immediately. However, with regard to Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, what is the reason for his opinion? Rabbi Tavi said: The reason for the opinion of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is that juxtaposing the celebration of one redemption, Purim, to the celebration of another redemption, Passover, is preferable.
כי כל המצות והתורה אי אפשר לכל אחד לקיים ולא בכל זמן, אבל האמונה הוא דבר שאין לו ביטול, וזהו העצה הגדולה לכל אחד הצריך ישועה אף דאינו יכול לצאת משיקועו, על ידי ההתחזקות באמונה דהשם יתברך עמו בכל מקום שהוא אז ממילא גם כשהוא עדיין בחושך אין שטן ואין פגע רע דד' אור לו, ועל ידי זה הולך ואור עד נכון היום להיות מאיר לו לגמרי דע"כ סמכינן גאולה לגאולה דאדר לניסן (מגילה ו' :) דעל ידי התגלות האורה ושמחה דפורים שמתוך ההעלם יזכה אחר כך להתגלות האור בהיר דניסן שבו נגאלו ועתידין להיגאל גאולה שלימה.
Because all the commandments and the Torah cannot be kept by everyone, nor at all times, but faith is something that cannot be abolished. And this is great advice for all who need salvation: Even though one is not able to leave his wallowing – by way of strengthening himself in the faith that God, may He be blessed, is with him in every place that he is, then automatically even when he is in the dark, there is no Satan and no bad occurrence, since God provides him with light. And through this, the light keeps progressing until the day is established and it provides him fully with light. As this is why we ‘juxtapose a redemption to a redemption', of Adar and Nissan. For through the revelation of the hidden light and joy of Purim, one merits afterwards the revelation of the clear light of Nissan, in which they were delivered and in which they will be completely delivered in the future.
In a world of doubt, Pesach is in danger of being reduced to a quaint commemoration of a Biblical story, with little relevance to our lives. Indeed, why should we celebrate the freedom of Yetziat Mitzrayim when we are in the midst of an exile that is thousands of years long?
Purim provides the basis for celebrating Pesach in exile by revealing that the relationship between Hashem and the Jewish nation—which began with the Exodus and the receiving of Torah at Sinai—never ended. The relationship is somewhat masked by the seeming irrelevance and randomness of world events. But on Purim we unmask the world and find the hand of the Creator behind every event in history ...
The upcoming Pesach may seem far removed from the Exodus that occurred thousands of years ago. Yet Purim opens our eyes to the realization that the distance is no reason to despair. The relationship that began with the miracles of the Exodus grows and progresses even amidst God’s hidden state. A properly celebrated Purim rejuvenates and enlightens us. It guides us, as it did in Persia, to kiymu v’kibblu, a renewed acceptance of Torah. We leave Purim empowered with the courage and commitment necessary to devote each aspect of our lives to the fulfillment of the mission for which we were chosen on Pesach.
והנה תמצא אשר בשביל מה הקפידו חז"ל לקבוע היו"ט הזה באדר הסמוך לניס"ן דייקא מיסמך גאול' לגאול' עדיף היינו לסמוך ענין ההשגח' והגאול' הנסתרת לגאול' הנגלית אל אחד בראן יוצר אחד יצרן וזה נרמז ברמז הלל המצרי אנא י"י הושיע' נ"א וכו' הצליח' נ"א ר"ת ניס"י אד"ר היינו הושיע' והצליח בשתי ההנהגות הן הנהגות נסי ניס"ן הנגלים הן הנהגת נסי אד"ר הנסתרי' ...
Behold you will find that because of this the Sages, may their memory be blessed, were exacting to fix this holiday specifically in the (second) Adar that is adjacent to Nissan – ‘juxtaposing a redemption to a redemption is preferable’. That is to juxtapose the idea of providence and a concealed redemption to the idea of a revealed redemption. One God created them [both]; one Maker made them [both]. And this hinted to in the Egyptian Hallel, ‘O Lord, save please (na), etc. bring success please (na)’ (Psalms 118:25). The acrostic of Nissan Adar is na! That is that there should be salvation and success in both configurations, both in the miraculous configuration of the miracles of Nissan and the configuration of the hidden miracles of Adar ...
The four special sabbaths prior to Passover articulate the basic components of Israel’s nationhood. During the winter months the fabric of community has frayed. Traditionally Hanukkah was always a minor holiday without benefit of a tractate in the Mishnah. The absence of any major holiday between Succot and Pesah has allowed individual concerns to take precedence. Before the seder can work its magic we need to reaffirm the centrality of Judaism’s communal spirit. To relive the exodus experience, Israel must first reassemble itself as a nation. The preparation for Passover is mental as well as physical with the former preceding the latter ...
By reaffirming the fundamental building blocks of Judaism – individual responsibility for the common good, national history, religious ritual, and sacred time – these four sabbaths recast our mental state and fortify ties loosened by inattention. They meld a disparate multitude into a holy assembly ready to relive the moment of national redemption.
Jewish history speaks to our generation in the voice of two biblical commands to remember. The first voice commands us to remember that we were strangers in the land of Egypt, and the message of that command is: Don’t be brutal. The second voice commands us to remember how the tribe of Amalek attacked us without provocation while we were wandering in the desert, and the message of that command is: Don’t be naive.
The first command is the voice of Passover, of liberation; the second is the voice of Purim, commemorating our victory over the genocidal threat of Haman, a descendant of Amalek. “Passover Jews” are motivated by empathy with the oppressed; “Purim Jews” are motivated by alertness to threat. Both are essential; one without the other creates an unbalanced Jewish personality, a distortion of Jewish history and values.
One reason the Palestinian issue is so wrenching for Jews is that it is the point on which the two commands of our history converge: The stranger in our midst is represented by a national movement that wants to usurp us.And so a starting point of a healthy American Jewish conversation on Israel would be acknowledging the agony of our dilemma.
Imagine an Orthodox rabbi, a supporter of the settlers in Hebron, delivering this sermon to his congregation: My friends, our community has sinned against Israel. For all our devotion to the Jewish state and our concern for its survival, we have failed to acknowledge the consequences to Israel’s soul of occupying another people against its will.
Now imagine a liberal rabbi, a supporter of J Street, telling his congegration: My friends, our community has sinned against Israel. For all our devotion to the Jewish state and our concern for its democratic values, we have failed to acknowledge the urgency of existential threat once again facing our people.
When American Jews internalize or at least acknowledge each other’s anxieties, the shrillness of much of American Jewish debate over Israel will give way to a more nuanced conversation.