Dear Friends,

Two thousand years ago, our spiritual tradition developed the notion that, although the Jewish festival of Purim begins in the middle of the Hebrew month of Adar, we are filled with joy from the outset of the month.  It is interesting that the anticipation of Purim in the middle of the month is a cause for a joyous beginning to the month, whereas Passover's arrival in the middle of the month or Hanukkah's toward the end of the month are not so.  What is it about Purim, a holiday celebrated as a Jewish Mardi Gras of sorts, that provokes our tradition toward such a teaching? Could our ancestors' overcoming the wicked aims of Haman of Persia remain a greater cause for joy and celebration than the Macabees' improbable victory over the Greek Assyrians?  Can it rival in significance the miraculous gifts of freedom and redemption experienced by our ancestors upon their liberation from Egyptian bondage?

The wisdom of our spiritual heritage is that it recognizes not only the experience of our collective Jewish past but also our very immediately human and personal present experience.  Passover reminds us that, regardless of the hardships of our personal enslavements in life (those conditions that demand of us unreasonably and prevent us from achieving our potential), a complete reversal in our circumstance is possible.  We begin the Hebrew month of Nissan by taking hopeful action, anticipating changing tides even prior to their arrival -- though the Bread of Freedom (Matzah) has not yet arrived, we clean our living spaces, ever hopefully, in anticipation of freedom's blessings.  Passover encourages our enduring conviction that we as individuals, as families, or as a People can overcome our difficulties and challenges.  Nissan is therefore a month of hope, leading toward liberation.

The story of Hanukkah is one which celebrates our willingness and commitment to protect and defend actively all that we cherish. Whether the values that we believe in, the principles that we stand for, or the people whom we love, their constancy and well-being demands our watchful care and, from time to time, our active intervention on their behalf. Courage to act and action itself can be said to be the spirit of the month of Kislev, allowing us opportunity toward the end of the month to witness and celebrate the beautiful flames that we cherish and to delight in them.  

Both the celebration of Purim and the joy with which we fill our lives from the outset of the month of Adar recognize most realistically that not every Hanukkah or Passover is successful.  Try as we may, hope sometimes escapes us and liberation can be illusive, whether personal or communal.  As well, not every attempt to protect those whom we love or that which we stand for is successful.  The month of Adar provides for us opportunity to lighten the burdens of the serious concerns that fill our days.  The festival of Purim asks of us to give gifts to one another to raise our spirit and to rejoice precisely because we can always find reasons not to do so!

Each of us can find sufficient reason to worry more or to work harder.  None of us can find hope or sustain courage if we do not grant ourselves opportunity to rejoice.  For a People with a vast repository of memories that could easily discourage our hopefulness and with a history of far too many opportunities to develop our courage in defense of our beliefs and our loved ones, the Hebrew month of Adar and the Festival of Purim, and the uninhibited and unabashed joy that they offer and even require of us, is a much needed component of our annual spiritual calendar.   We rejoice from the outset of the month of Adar not because the story of Purim offers greater reason to rejoice than those of Passover and Hanukkah.  Rather, just as hope and courage demand our conviction, spiritual cultivation, and commitment, joy demands its moment of our focus and attention as well! 

I look forward to celebrating Purim with each of you and all of you.

 Hag Purim Sameah -- Happy Purim!

Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Spiritual Leader