Since this year is a Jewish leap year we have the advantage of having two months of Adar – Adar I and Adar II. In Jewish thought, Adar is considered an auspicious month for Jewish people. Of course this relates to the joy associated with Purim. However this Purim joy permeates all of Adar.
There are two expressions in the Talmud about the auspiciousness of Adar. One is “When Adar enters we increase our joy.” The other is “Adar’s ‘Mazal’ is strong. Mazal is often translated as luck. However in this context, Mazal is a reference to the transcendent element of the soul. In other words during the month of Adar, our collective Jewish soul is more in touch with its transcendent element and thereby more infused by the spiritual energy associated with the Mazal. Kabbala teaches that this stems from the fact that our first leader Moshe – whose soul is connected to every Jew for all times – was born in Adar (today – Adar 7).
This idea finds expression in Halacha where a Jew is advised to schedule a potentially negative experience, such as a lawsuit with a non-Jew (some also include surgery), for a time during Adar. For the strength of our Mazal during this month will power us to success.
If this is the case with regards to a regular year, then when it comes to a leap year, during which there is a double dose of Adar, the power of Adar is also doubled, along with the Mazal it conveys.
This too finds expression in Halacha. There is a principle that is applied primarily in the area of kosher food called Bitul B’Shishim. Shishim means 60. When a drop of non-Kosher liquid falls into a kosher pot of soup, if the non-kosher substance is less in volume than 1/60th of the kosher soup, it is considered nullified and non-existent. In other words when the positive is 60 times greater than the negative it neutralizes and nullifies the power of the negative force. In a leap year, when we have two Adars, there are 60 days of Adar. These sixty days of joy and strong Mazal have the power to nullify all negatives in our lives individually and collectively. Let invoke the power of 60 days of Adar and capitalize on the double dose of Adar Mazal to do what we can to nullify all negatives. May Hashem bless us all with double health, double prosperity and double spiritual strength so that we can continue to find meaning in our lives and make the world a G-dly place unhindered by sadness and negativity.
Mazel Tov again to the Kaufmanns upon the Bris of Menachem Mendel, son of Shmuel and Rivky Kaufmann.