Next week marks Rosh Hodesh Adar I—the beginning of a new month on the Jewish calendar, a month known for joy and celebration. This year is a leap year on the Jewish calendar, which in Hebrew is called a Shanah Me’uberet, or a “pregnant year.” A Jewish leap year occurs seven times in a 19-year cycle, with 13 months instead of a regular year’s 12. During a time where we have faced so many unique challenges, a second month of joyful Adar is indeed welcome.
Every Hebrew month has its own identity, typically due to whichever holidays occur within them: Elul rings of teshuvah and preparation for our High Holy Days; Kislev is a dark time made bright by the lights of Hanukkah; and the month of Av is marked by both a day of mourning for the loss of the ancient temples (the ninth of Av) and a day to celebrate love (the 15th of Av). Adar, of course, is a time of celebration, laughter, and levity, the month when we mark the holiday of Purim. This year, with two full months of Adar, how might we seek out ways to make these days more joyful, more festive, more lighthearted? Our tradition teaches that from the start of Adar, all of our joy should be increased.
So, let us bless this new month of Adar, which we receive twofold this year. May it be a time of rising joy, increasing celebration, and diminishing worries.
— Cantor Emma Lutz
Prayer for the New Month of Adar I–Tefillat HaChodesh Adar Aleph
By Marcia Falk
יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁיִּתְחַדֵּשׁ עָלֵינוּ חֹדֶשׁ אדר א׳ לְטוֹבָה וְלִבְרָכָה, לְשָׂשׂוֹן וּלְשִׂמְחָה, לְשָׁלוֹם וְאחֲוָה, רֵעוּת וְאַהֲבָה, לַעֲבוֹדָה וִיצִירָה, פַּרְנָסָה וְכַלְכָּלָה, לְשַׁלְוַת הַנֶּפֶש, וּבְרִיאוּת הַגּוּף, לַחַיִּים שֶׁל דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ, וְאַהֲבַת תּוֹרָה, לְחַיִּים שֶׁיִּמָלוּ בָּם, מִשְׁאֲלוֹת לִבְּנוּ לִבֵּנוּ לְטוֹבָה, כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן
May the month of Adar I be a month of blessings:
Blessings of goodness, blessings of joy,
Peace and kindness, friendship and love,
Creativity, strength, serenity,
Fulfilling work and dignity,
Satisfaction, success, and sustenance,
Physical health and radiance.
May truth and justice guide our acts
And compassion temper our lives
That we may blossom as we age
And become our sweetest selves.
May it be so.