Parshas Terumah
By Rabbi David Zauderer
Rabbi Yosef Rosen ZTâ€L (1858-1936), known as the Rogatchover Gaon (“The Genius of Rogatchovâ€), once quipped that the beginning of the Hebrew month of Adar (the new month of Adar began this Tuesday evening February 25th) two weeks before the Jewish holiday of Purim should really be the saddest time of the year.
The Rogatchover explained his reasoning as follows:
The Talmud in Ta’anis 29a teaches: [We learned in the Mishnah:] “As the [Hebrew] month of Av arrives, we cut down on rejoicingâ€. Rav Yehuda the son of Rav Shmuel bar Shilas said in the name of Rav: Just as with the beginning of Av we decrease our rejoicing, so with the beginning of the [Hebrew] month of Adar we increase our rejoicing. Rav Papa said: Therefore, if a Jew has a lawsuit against a non-Jew, he should try to postpone it, because [in Av] the Jew’s mazal (“fortuneâ€) is bad. He should rather go to court in Adar when his mazal is good.
We see from the Talmud – said the Rogatchover - that come the month of Av we should begin to decrease our rejoicing – and it doesn’t tell us to stop decreasing. It is only once we reach Adar that we are finally told to stop decreasing and start increasing our rejoicing again. Thus it comes out that the intersection of the end of Av and the beginning of Adar - two weeks before Purim - is actually the time of least rejoicing throughout the year!
All kidding aside, the period that we are in right now – which includes not only the holiday of Purim itself (which begins this year on Monday evening March 9th) but also the entire month of Adar – is the most happy and joyous time of the year. It is the time of year when we remind ourselves of the great and miraculous salvation that G-d wrought for us on Purim.
There are different opinions among the Halachic authorities as to how one should increase his rejoicing during this month. Some suggest that whatever brings one happiness – or if one has a particular simchah that he would like to celebrate - it should be done in Adar. Others suggest that one should drink wine throughout the month to help increase his joy.
[Ed. Note: Apparently, there’s another reason why some people drink lots of wine throughout the entire month of Adar – as illustrated in the following humorous story:]
Siach Sarfei Kodesh relates that every year on Purim, Rav Avraham of Sochatchov would relate the following story about the Krakower Pijak [pronounced pee-yock, ‘pijak’ is the Polish word for “drunkardâ€]:
There was a simple boorish drunkard in Krakow, whom everyone nicknamed the “Krakower Pijakâ€. He had the singular custom that he would drink his fill and become drunk two weeks before Purim and two weeks afterward. Thus he was ‘shikker’ (drunk) all Adar long, every year!
Rav Avraham then related that the pijak used to explain this strange ‘minhag’ (custom) as follows: What did Haman think – that he could succeed in killing all the Jews in one day? Maybe some of them would hide in caves and cisterns and he would not succeed in catching them all! He should have chosen the entire month of Adar – not just one day!
Rav Avraham used to say that this is ‘a shvere kasha’ (a difficult question), and in the name of the pijak he answered, "This is what Haman was trying to do – to be even more wicked! He thought to himself that maybe, just maybe, he would not succeed in killing all the Jews (as in the end of course was true, Thank G-d), and then the opposite would happen: those Jews would come and create a ‘Yom Tov’ (Jewish holiday), celebrating his downfall. But because Haman chose only one day, they will only have a Yom Tov for one day!"
Had Haman established the entire month, the whole month would have become a Yom Tov. Haman did not want us to celebrate an entire month as a Yom Tov and rejoice all month long. "But I got his number!" said the pijak. "I know that wicked Haman's true intentions – he wanted to reduce our ‘simchah’ (joy); he wanted to force us to have only one day! But I know the truth – the simchah needs to be all month long! That is why I drink two weeks before and two weeks after Purim!"
Interestingly, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ZTâ€L (1910-1995) writes that “increasing our rejoicing†doesn’t require our doing any particular action such as drinking wine. Rather, it means that one should do his best during the entire month of Adar to consciously remove any worry or sadness from his heart
Truth be told, it is not so easy to stop worrying or being saddened about what’s going on out there in the world these days. Maybe this little song I wrote will help us all feel the joy! Enjoy!
DON’T WORRY, BE JEWISH!
[Sung to the tune of ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ by Bobby McFerrin]
Here is a little Purim song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry, be Jewish!
All our enemies, with G-d’s help, we defeat
They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat
Don't worry, be Jewish!
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh …)
They say Iran’s got nuclear weapons
But G-d’s gonna make sure nothing bad happens
Don't worry, be Jewish!
Hamas may want to drive us into the sea
But it’s our Promised Land, made for you and me
Don't worry, be Jewish!
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh …)
Some people worry about the virus from China
But G-d runs the world, so I couldn’t feel finer
Don’t worry, be Jewish!
You might be broke and file Chapter Eleven
But you’ve still got a rich Father in Heaven
So don't worry, be Jewish!
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh …)
If they’re protesting on campus, you’ve got nothing to fear
Cuz we’ve got morals and our conscience is clear
Don’t worry, be Jewish!
And when an anti-semite yells “Hey, Jew!â€
Just take the compliment and say “thank you!â€
Don’t worry, be Jewish!
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh …)
Here is a little Purim song I wrote
I hope you learned it note for note
Don't worry, be Jewish!
And if you ever feel like you are in trouble
Just drink some L’Chaims until you see double
Don't worry, be Jewish!
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh …)
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=605