For a religion and practice deeply rooted in time, it is no surprise that our ancient rabbis spent a lot of time worrying about the calendar. Not gifted with iPhones and GoogleCal, or the wonderful Jam Family Calendar created by one of our members, they were concerned not with missing an important meeting or child’s sporting event, but with the times and tides, the seasons, and the possibility of missing a festival celebration. And perhaps nothing caused them more consternation than the month of Adar—the month which gets doubled in a leap year. Because while they did proclaim that משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה, as the month of Adar begins, we should increase our joy…they had to understand how that worked in a leap year such as this one. Do we double our joy? Celebrate in the first Adar and then just let it lie? Pretend first Adar does not really exist and focus our joy and celebration in the second Adar? (This is the answer, btw.)
Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, a 1st century sage, makes clear in his teaching that the celebration of Purim, and its surrounding rituals, must take place in the second Adar. The Book of Esther commands that Purim be celebrated “in each and every year,” and ben Gamliel makes the argument that, because each year there is an Adar adjacent to the month of Nisan, that is the one we need to mark. Probed further as to why, he gives the answer that matters: It is meaningful—preferable, even—to connect one redemption with another. There is, he teaches, an innate connection between Purim and Passover, despite their different times and places.
Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander writes beautifully on this connection, highlighting both commonalities and differences. First, he teaches, “the similarities between these two holidays focus on the fact that they represent redemption of the Jewish people from demise, and therefore their celebration is rooted in activities that require concern for each other. For our redemption as a people and as individuals is only possible when we are concerned for the other. When we recognize our commitment to the other. Being unified and not parochial is what merits us to be redeemed.” And, continuing on this theme of unity and communal redemption, Rabbi Brander writes:
Pesach marks the very beginning of the relationship between the Jewish people and God. In its infancy, with the Jewish people bereft of mitzvot, it is God who works wonders in order to save the Jewish people. Yet in the Purim story, which comes at the tail end of Tanach, the Jewish people are led by Esther and Mordechai, gather together in prayer, take initiative, and, with God’s ever-present yet invisible hand guiding them, bring about their own redemption.
The trajectory of Jewish history, as reflected in the arc of the Jewish calendar, takes us from Pesach to Purim, from Itaruta dil’eila (“awakening from above”) to Itaruta dil’tata (“awakening from below”). While our story begins with total dependence upon divine mercy, awaiting and yearning for God’s intervention to save us, we eventually find ourselves in the position of Mordechai and Esther, taking the initiative while trusting that God is guiding their way.
As we move from Purim to Passover, may we continue to lead and stand strong together, while praying for and anticipating a new redemption.
— Rabbi Sari Laufer