This year Hashem granted us two months of Adar. Since the war In Israel began after the holiday of Simchat Torah the feelings and the thoughts of the people of Israel were so heavy and sad. Our hearts are with the soldiers, the hostages, and all the wounded families. As the months go by and the situation regarding the war and our dear hostages has not been greatly improved, we start each day with a heavy heart. It is felt by all. As we try to go about our daily lives in the best way possible it is almost impossible. How can we rejoice and feel great joy knowing that there are still so many people in pain? So many families living in such great uncertainty? Families that have no home and are still living in hotels all over the country, and families of our dear hostages, knowing that their loved ones are hidden away somewhere in the depths of the Hamas tunnels?
This year is a leap year. It is said that from the time the month of Adar comes in we are commanded to be in great joy. To add joy to our lives, add more happiness to everything we do. This year Hashem granted us with two month of Adar. This is clearly to show us that He loves us and wants to pick up our spirits more than ever before. To remind us that He is in charge and that He is the one who sees our pain and the only One who will redeem us. Hashem is the one who will save all of Am Yisrael in the best way possible. Soon.
It is said that in Nissan we will be redeemed. It is also written that only with great joy can we be redeemed. This is why the month of Adar falls before the month of Nissan. Because we must be happy and rejoice so that our soul will be elevated, and in this way G-d will be able to take us out. Each and every one of us of our own Egypt, of our own exile, and of course, collectively out of the nation’s exile. We are living in times of great and instant pleasures. Almost anything we can think of, we can click and see it in a second. I will explain. The internet and the fast moving times of the computer, can give a great illusion to instant love and joy, with the click of a finger. It creates great highs and great lows. In one second we see something that made us laugh and a second later the complete opposite. On one hand joy and on the other hand great depression and great lows. Today nothing’s ever enough. It is so easy to attain anything we’d like with the browsing of our fingers, and on the other hand the generation, the children of today, feel so empty and are always looking for the next great adventure or thrill to keep them going.
So what is true happiness? When Hashem commands us to add great happiness to the month of Adar what is the Hashem referring to? What kind of happiness do we need to add and increase when we come into the month of Adar? I work with many people daily from all walks of life. I mentioned in the past that I’m a driving instructor. Many different types of girls and women come into my car each day. I see how important it is to make them smile aside from the driving skills I try to relay over to the students. I see how important it is to give another person a good word, a smile. We’re so busy today running around trying to achieving great success physically that we rarely stop to smell the flowers. Once it took so much time to acquire food or anything physical. There was no such thing as just to buy bread. One would have to grow the wheat, plow the fields and cut them down. The whole process of how long it would take until they would actually put the bread on the table or any type of food on their table sometimes could take even a whole day. Today, the food is so accessible, we have washing machines, we have refrigerators, we have everything at our disposal. And yet we have no time. Once they had so few resources and so much time on their hands. They had to prepare food and wash their clothing down in the lake, and yet they had more time to think and to thank the Almighty for everything they had.
Everything moves so fast today. When do we have time to talk to the One Above? We can do almost anything today. When do we ask Hashem for help? If we want something we just do it. We turn on the radio to hear a song, and if we don’t like the song on the radio we put on Spotify. There’s never a quiet moment. If we need something, we look on Google. Whatever we need physically we can find. What about the soul? How can we make ourselves really happy?
When the month of Adar comes there is a certain sense in the air. There is a certain energy that one can feel if they just stop long enough to look, feel, and smile, at themselves or at somebody else. The One Above is the one who gave us two months in order that we look for true happiness. To look within ourselves to see what makes us happy, who makes us happy, and how can we make Hashem happy? How can we increase our joy in this month? I feel that the connections between people today are hard to come by. Everyone is so busy we almost forget to stop to look at the small things. How can we cause another person smile? Asking the person how they’re doing, this increases joy. When two people meet and are concerned about one another this create happiness. When they truly ask how the other one is doing from the bottom of their heart, this increases joy between one another. And of course, between us and the Almighty. There is joy in a smile given from the heart. There is joy in a good word given to another person. There is joy in gratitude to one another and to the One Above.
We have two months. To stop for a second to say thank you, to say hello, to give a hug, to smile. Not everyone is capable of singing and dancing and jumping and spreading joy in the world. However each and every one can spread even just a little bit more joy in their own day, in their own surroundings by a small gesture. So when you get up today, when you read these words, when you walk down the street, when you go into a store, on the bus, on the train, look up at the sky, look at your fellow man, and smile. Say thank you. Chant a small melody under your breath. Hug someone else. See the joys of being alive despite all the challenges we all have every second of the day. Remember that these two months were granted to us especially so that we may rise above our sadness, challenges, and grieves of the war and any other any other experiences that are hard that we may be going through at the time. And then we can enter the month of Nissan. We will all be filled with even that much more happiness.
During these two months every little joy, every little happiness, every Jew around the world, every person will be added up to one entity of happiness. Sometimes it’s hard to get to great joy. But everyone can give a smile. Everyone can say thank you for something. And everyone can sing a little melody to bring up their day just a little bit more. All these small drops create one great ocean. One great feeling of love joy, and belief that the One above loves us and Is happy with us and wants to redeem us. Hashem sees our little efforts and considers them tremendous efforts when we are together as one. This leads us into the true redemption in the month of Nissan. Please G-d, this year with great mercy. Amen.
