Written to be read from the Fast of Esther and the Feast of Purim 5781 (25th February & 26th February 2021)
This month is the month of Adar, the twelfth and final month according to the Hebrew calendar, and as such, the Babylonian Talmud highlights,
“Just as when Av [the fifth month] begins one decreases rejoicing, so too when the month of Adar [the twelfth month] begins, one increases rejoicing. Therefore, in the case of a Jew who has litigation with a gentile, let him avoid him in the month of Av, when Jews’ fortune is bad, and he should make himself available in Adar, when his fortune is good.”
Ta’anit 29a -29b, Babylonian Talmud
These days are also the days of Purim – the Fast of Esther and the Feast of Purim – originally celebrated on the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar according to Jewish tradition (and depending on location). These days have their origins in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible),
“Mordecai recorded these events. And he sent dispatches to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus, near and far, charging them to observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, every year […] The Jews accordingly assumed as an obligation that which they had begun to practice and which Mordecai prescribed for them.”
Esther 9:20-23 (TNK)
[This year, however, these days of Purim are uniquely celebrated by the cities of Shushan and Jerusalem on the thirteenth, fourteenth and sixteenth of Adar as Purim Meshulash (Three-Day Purim). This is for the Feast of Purim not to interfere with the weekly Sabbath celebration. – See Chabad.org. When Shushan Purim Is on Shabbat. Available at When Shushan Purim Is on Shabbat – The Three-Day Purim (Purim Meshulash) – Purim (chabad.org)]
But why? Why is joy increased for Jews in Adar and what’s the reason for Jewish fortune in this particular month? And why are these three days in particular celebrated by the Jewish faith? Is it simply superstition and tradition or do Jews have a genuine reason to rejoice in Adar?
The origin of belief in increased joy and fortune in Adar is biblically rooted in the book of Esther, the story of Queen Esther. In short, this story is one where the Jewish people were under foreign rulership, in the midst of a spiritual crisis, and, from the very first, fated for an end filled with sorrow and dread in the twelfth and final month of the year.
” … Haman plotted to do away with all the Jews, Mordecai’s people, throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus. In the first month, that is, the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, pur – which means “the lot” – was cast before Haman concerning every day and every month [until it fell on] the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar.”
Esther 3:6-7 (TNK)
It is a story where the God of Abraham, Israel and Judah – the Hebrews, the Israelites and the Jews – heard the communal cry of His people.
“When Mordecai learned all that had happened, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went through the city, crying out loudly and bitterly […] Also, in every province that the king’s command and decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing, and everybody lay in sackcloth and ashes.”
Esther 4: 1-3 (TNK)
It is a story where the same God of Abraham, Israel and Moses spoke through Mordecai urging his cousin Esther to speak to her husband, King Ahasuerus, on behalf and for the plight of her people.
“Mordecai has this message delivered to Esther: ‘Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace. On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained to a royal position for just such a crisis.”
Esther 4:13-14 (TNK)
It is a story where one Jewish woman heard the call of duty and conscience, felt the tug of responsibility, and answered by seeking the spiritual strength to stand in courage for her people at the risk of her own fortune.
“Then Esther sent back this answer to Mordecai: Go, assemble all the Jews who live in Shushan, and fast [on] my behalf; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens will observe the same fast. Then I shall go to the king, though it is contrary to the law; and if I am to perish, I shall perish!’ “
Esther 4:15-16 (TNK)
In essence, this story is where one God, working behind the scenes, sought to reverse the curses set upon His people through the enemy’s lottery and the king’s law; where one God turns the tide of an ill-fated time away from His people and towards their enemies; where one God turns a month of damnation into redemption, turns rueful weeks into restful ones, and turns three days of sorrow and mourning into three holy days of joy and feasting.
“And so, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month – that is, the month of Adar – when the king’s command and decree were to be executed, the very day on which the enemies of the Jews had expected to get them in their power, the opposite happened, and the Jews got their enemies in their power.
[…]
[And] the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the foe of the Jews.”
Esther 9:1-10 (TNK)
“But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. …
[…] the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor.”
Esther 9:18-22 (NKJV)
To answer the original questions and say why Adar is a month of increased joy and good fortune, why these three days of Purim are not simply a transition from a day of fasting into days of feasting for Jewish faith and heritage alone, and why the days of Purim are not simply derived from Jewish superstition or tradition. It suffices to say the holiday – these holy days – of Purim re-enact the journey of the Jewish people (of a particular place and time) to reinforce how their foundation of faith in God carries them from bitter days to better ones (in all places and at all times). The reversal of death after experiencing these bitter days of fasting, weeping and wailing is the reason to rejoice for Jews in the month of Adar.
So we ask: Why is this important for me? Why do Jewish days of fasting and feasting matter to me if I am not Jewish? And how does moving from bitter to better days relate to my life outside of Jewish faith? With this, it also suffices to say that these holy days prefigure and foreshadow the Joy of God’s salvation. The Joy that wades through the waters of weeping & wailing to reach the shores of life & resurrection on the third day through the Father’s first-born and faithful Israelite servant.
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
[…]
Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’
[…]
she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, ‘Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’ (which is to say, Teacher)”
John 20:1-16 (NKJV)
Yeshua (God saves): the living Joy of God’s salvation concealed in the original Jewish Tanakh and revealed as the redeeming love of God in the Messianic / Christian New Testament. The original Promise of redemption made to Abraham, mediated through Moses, descended from David and made flesh as God’s faithful Israelite. The renewed Salvation available to all people (whether Jew or Gentile), from all places (whether inside or outside of Israel) and through all points in time (from original to the renewed Covenant).
” ‘I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing, I will bless those who bless you and curse him who curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.’ “
Genesis 12:2-3 (TNK)
” … Thus said the LORD: If you could break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that day and night should not come at their proper time, only then could My covenant with My servant David be broken – so that he would not have a descendant reigning upon his throne […] Like the host of heaven which cannot be counted […] so will I multiply the offspring of My servant David, and of the Levites who minister to Me.
Jeremiah 33:19-22
The complete love of God – God’s faithfulness to us and our faithfulness to God – is such that all things are possible and all ends are reversible: such that what has been damned is able to be re-deemed; such that who has turned away is able to be re-turned; and such that what has been spoken, sanctioned or sung against God’s chosen people is able to be re-versed.
” … Thus said the LORD: As surely as I have established My covenant with day and night – the laws of heaven and earth – so I will never reject the offspring of Jacob and My servant David; I will never fail to take from his offspring rulers for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, I will restore their fortunes and take them back in love.”
Jeremiah 33:23-26
The reversal of death in Adar, the last month, and the reality of the resurrected Christ in Nisan, the first month, is the reason for both Jews and Gentiles to re-joice.
“And as they went to tell His disciples behold, Jesus met them, saying, ‘Rejoice!’ So they came and held Him by the feet and worshipped Him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
Matthew 28:9-10 /(NKJV)
Bibliography
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(Anon.). 2003. JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society.
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Alephbeta.org. (2021) Purim. Available at: https://www.alephbeta.org/purim
Bibles for Israel. (2019). Purim: A Call to Courage. Available at: free.messianicbible.com/holiday/purim-a-call-to-courage/?t=Purim
Chabad.org. (2021) Day View – Friday, February 26, 2021. Available at: http://www.chabad.org/Friday, February 26, 2021 / Adar 14, 5781 – Jewish Calendar – Hebrew Calendar (chabad.org)
Chabad.org. When Shushan Purim Is on Shabbat. Available at When Shushan Purim Is on Shabbat – The Three-Day Purim (Purim Meshulash) – Purim (chabad.org)
Sefaria.org. The William Davidson Talmud – Taanit. Available at: http://www.sefaria.org/Taanit 29a:18 with About (sefaria.org) & http://www.sefaria.org/Taanit 29b:1 with Connections (sefaria.org)
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