Monthly Archives: March 2022

Dear Rabbi Klass,

I have numerous questions that relate to the Jewish leap year by way of the full month that we add to our lunar year every couple of years. Why is Adar the month picked for this addition? Why do we call it Adar Alef? Why is Purim celebrated in the second Adar? Its also obvious that even though both are named Adar that only one of them must be the real Adar which one?

Shea AronovitchVia e-mail

Answer: We will answer your questions, but not necessarily in the order that you have asked. First, we deal with the name Adar. The Gemara (Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 1:2) cites Rabbi Chanina, who states, The names of the [Jewish] months were brought up with them [the exiles who returned to the Land of Israel] from Babylonia. Indeed, these were not the original names, as we see in the various biblical verses that refer to them only in a numerical fashion (as previously discussed in this column regarding the name of the eighth month Marcheshvan). The Gemara supports Rabbi Chaninas statement by citing the following months and their scriptural sources (all post-exile), Nissan in Esther (3:7), Kislev in Nechemia (1:2), and Tevet in Esther (2:5).

Though not included in the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah, through a scriptural search, we find mention of the month of Shevat in Zechariah (1:7), Adar and Nissan in Esther (3:7), Sivan in Esther (8:9), and Elul in Nechemia (6:15), which are all post-exile references found only in the prophets and Hagiography.

However, we find no scriptural mention of Iyar, Tammuz, Av or Marcheshvan. Our tradition, based on the Gemaras statement [The names of the months were brought up with them], is that these names too were brought up from Babylonia. Indeed, when the exiles came to Babylonia they found a society that used a lunar calendar similar to ours and that they were quite knowledgeable about astronomy.

Eventually, the Babylonian names for the months were popularly adopted. These were the twelve that we currently use in the following order: Nissan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Elul, Tishrei, Marcheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, and Adar. This is quite possibly due to their [the Babylonians, unlike us] having no real need of a leap year. We, on the other hand, need the occasional leap year in order to maintain the seasonal integrity of our festivals. There was no extra Babylonian name to be used for the purpose of a leap month that needed to be added to the Jewish year, and certainly our Sages did not create another Babylonian name for that purpose.

As to which of the two Adars is considered the leap or extra month, it is actually the second, which we refer to as Adar Sheni (or Adar Bet), meaning the second Adar. This is because the Talmud (Baraita, Rosh Hashanah 7a) refers to Nissan (the first of the months and that which immediately follows Adar) as the Rosh Hashana of ibburin intercalations. The Gemara concludes that normally (when ibbur was done only through testimony presented to Beit Din, before our fixed calendar was established), the leap month can only be added before Purim.

The Gemara cites this halacha (Pesachim 6a) to prove the point: We inquire [study in depth] the laws of Pesach before Pesach for thirty days, and explains that once the rabbis have already begun that study, [people] will come to violating the laws of chametz [on Pesach]. Rashi (ad loc, s.v. ati lzilzulei bchametz) explains that this refers to the practice of the rabbis to publicly lecture on the subject of the laws of Pesach for one entire month preceding the festival. Once this process has commenced, people will not accept the testimony of the messengers of Bet Din that an extra month has been added. In such a circumstance the result will be that they will end up eating chametz on what is actually the real Pesach.

As we see it so far, the second Adar is the leap month. If so, why do we celebrate Purim in the second Adar? The Mechaber explains (Orach Chayyim 685:1): If the Rosh Chodesh of Adar that is closest to Nissan [i.e. Adar II] falls on Shabbat, we read Shekalim [the first of the four special Torah readings Shekalim, followed by Zachor, Parah, and finally Parashat HaChodesh].

The Mishna Berura (ad loc., citing Rashi on Megilla 29a s.v. Korin beparashat Shekalim) explains that this is done so that in the time of the Temple they would bring their shekalim in the month closest to Rosh Chodesh Nissan in order to be able to bring offerings from Rosh Chodesh and on from the new shekalim donations.

Also of interest is the dispute between R. Eliezer b. R. Yosi and Rabban Shimon b. Gamaliel (Megilla 6b) as to whether we perform the mitzvot of Purim reading the Megilla and giving matanot laevyonim gifts to the poor during the first Adar or the second. R. Eliezer b. R. Yosi is of the opinion that we observe the mitzvot of Purim during the Adar closest to Shevat, just as in all the other years, as the verse states (Esther 9:27), Bechol shana veshana each and every year, and we have a rule of Ein maavirin al haMitzvot We do not allow a mitzvah to be bypassed, meaning that we perform it as soon as possible.

Rabban Shimon b. Gamaliel derives from the same verse that just as Purim is in the Adar closest to Nissan in an ordinary year, so is it in a leap year, so that we may connect the redemption of Purim to the redemption from Egypt. Thus, according to Rabban Shimon b. Gamaliel, whose opinion we follow, Purim during a leap year is celebrated during the second Adar for a reason unrelated to whether that month is the added one.

Rabbi Dov Aaron Brisman, (Segan Av Beit Din of the Igud Horabbonim Rabbinical Alliance of America, Rav, Philadelphia) addresses this matter as well (Responsa Shalmei Chova, Yoreh Deah 94). He was asked about the proper observance of a yahrzeit for a man who died on the second day of Rosh Chodesh, which is the first day of Adar. The death occurred during a non-leap year, and the deceaseds son wanted to know when to observe the yahrzeit during a leap year Rosh Chodesh of Adar I or of Adar II.

Rabbi Brisman cites Chochmat Adam (Topic 171:1), Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (221:3), and Kol Bo (on mourning), all reflecting the Ashkenazi custom to recite Kaddish on that day (in this case, the first of Adar) in both Adars of a leap year. However, the fast of the one observing the yahrzeit is only observed in the first Adar. This ruling is rooted in Rema (Orach Chayyim 568:7), Magen Avraham (op cit. Sk20), and Shach (Yoreh Deah 402:sk11).

Now, Rabbi Brisman cites the opposing view of the Mechaber (Orach Chayyim 568:7). If the death occurs in Adar during a regular year, the fast is observed on that day in the second Adar of a leap year. Rema posits otherwise that the fast is observed during the first Adar, unless the deceased died during the second Adar of a leap year. In that case, the fast is held during the second Adar of all subsequent leap years. If the death occurred during Adar of a regular year or the first Adar of a leap year, the custom is to fast during the first Adar of leap years. Rema also cites the more stringent view of Mahari Molin to fast on that date in both Adars of a leap year.

As you see, deciding which is the real Adar is not a simple matter and has repercussions as well as practical applications.

(To be continued)

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Q & A: Will The 'Real' Adar Please Stand Up? (Part I) - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

3 min read10 March

Whoever rescues a single soul is credited as though they had saved the whole world. This maxim, from the Jewish Talmud, is often quoted in tribute to Britains help for refugees during the Second World War.

We should keep these words close to our hearts as we respond to the Ukrainian refugee crisis today.

The governments heart is in the right place, but its policies have not kept up. A noble and genuine endeavour has had a shambolic start. Only a miniscule number of Ukrainians have been granted entry into the UK under the available visa scheme. Thousands of others have been caught in limbo, unable to reach the relevant authorities or navigate the complex bureaucracy.

While I am delighted that the Home Secretary has announced a simplified online visa scheme, the chaos facing Ukrainian asylum seekers is symptomatic of a deeper problem here at home.

Our immigration system, and specifically our asylum policies, are not equipped to respond flexibly to emergencies such as Ukraine or Afghanistan or deal with the wider net of asylum seekers from different parts of the world.

Ultimately this is about saving lives

The good news is that we have a chance to fix the system. The Nationality and Borders Bill will be returning to the House of Commons in the next couple of weeks containing important amendments for change. Two of these amendments, led by former immigration minister Lord Kirkhope, are designed to help refugees avoid more trauma and chaos.

The first amendment will put an end to the governments plans to create offshoring detention centres in a foreign country. This was always an ill-conceived proposal, and it is utterly unjustifiable in the face of the largest refugee crisis in a century.

Offshoring would cost the British taxpayer at least 2 million per person, per year. It would sanction the forced transportation of traumatised refugees to places such as Ascension Island off the coast of Africa, which has no infrastructure, no direct access and no proper links to the outside world. We may as well be sending people to Guantanamo Bay: in the middle of nowhere, without the safety net of UK laws, we risk exposing them to mistreatment.

The second amendment that MPs must consider is the creation legal and safe routes for 10,000 refugees each year. If these were lacking before they are absolutely urgent now. Many people will be surprised to learn that there are no proper resettlement schemes in place to address global refugee demands.

There is currently no way to make an asylum claim without already being present in the UK, which creates a catch-22 for asylum seekers, who want to come to the UK legally, but have no legal means of doing so.

In the absence of legal routes, safe passage goes out of the window. Many of these refugees end up making dangerous journeys, at the mercy of people smugglers, because desperate people will do desperate things.

The infrastructure is all wrong. If we had a resettlement scheme, we could have avoided the chaos Afghan refugees experienced last year, and we would not be witnessing the chaos Ukrainians are experiencing right now.

A statutory scheme, built from the bottom up, designed to help refugees from different conflict zones, will in turn build up our resilience to respond to crises. Ultimately this is about saving lives, as this country has strived to do time and again. Britains legacy should guide us forward.

Andrew Mitchellis the Conservative MP for Sutton Coldfield and former international development secretary.

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The UK's immigration system is not fit to respond to the Ukrainian refugee crisis - PoliticsHome

Beginning Feb.17, members of Ithaca Colleges Jewish community have been gathering to discuss important themes in Judaism through the Jewish Learning Fellowship (JLF).

The Jewish Learning Fellowship was founded at the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at New York University in 2007 as a way for students to deepen their understanding of Judaism through conversation on topics like college life, identity and romance. Since then, the program has expanded to universities across the U.S. Now in its third year at Ithaca College, the 10-week program run by Hillel at Ithaca College titled Lifes Big Questions: Or, How to Get More Out of College will allow students to define what it means to be Jewish on their own terms.

Lauren Goldberg, interim director of Religious and Spiritual Life and executive director of Hillel, said the program was for anybody at any point in their Jewish studies.

Its an engagement [between] the individual and the [Jewish] text that grows your relationship to the text in this communal way, Goldberg said. It also kind of demystifies things that can feel unrelatable. At first read, we do our best to teach students methods of entering into the text through Jewish ways of study that allows you to access some of the richness that maybe at first feels a little bit out of reach

Max Kasler, the Springboard Innovation Fellow for Hillel, said the biggest goal of the program is for people to leave with new connections to both their peers and their own Judaism.

Not everybody knows each other going into the door, Kasler said. But when they leave it seems like people walk away with really strong friendships from this as well.

Kasler also said new ideas were constantly presented during the fellowship by participants, which allowed him to see older and unchanging texts, like the Torah, in a new light.

Every time I enter a JLF space, its a different group of people. Its a different day. Its a different mood, Kasler said. Somebody is going to say something that Ive never considered when looking at a specific text.

Cantor Abbe Lyons, Jewish Chaplain of Hillel, said one conversation in the program that stood out to her was the discussion of a quote from the Talmud a text that contains the history and laws of Judaism. Chaplain said students had different interpretations of what a word in the quote was referring to. She said responses ranged from life, God and ones body.

You think about what it is to really keep turning your perspective on this one thing, which could be as finite as your own body and as enormous as the entire world Theres lots of room for that idea of continuing to seek new perspectives and keep discovering within that same paradigm.

Freshman Julia Freitor, who came into the fellowship with little knowledge of Judaism, said that learning about its history is important for her understanding of how it intersects with her identity.

Im trying to find the correlation between my ethnic identity, my social identity, my religious identity and how it all plays together, Freitor said.

In the aftermath of the discovery of two swastikas on campus, Freitor said the fellowship was needed more than ever to create a sense of togetherness.

Our history was passed down through word-of-mouth a lot of the time, Freitor said. So stories were so valuable and learning and education are the best way to combat any sort of hate and any sort of violence, because they cant take away your mind and they cant take away your stories.

Freshman Libi Warmund, who is also participating in the program this semester, said they were deeply connected to their Jewish identity, attending Jewish day school and going to their community synagogue every week. Joining JLF was an opportunity for Warmund to continue their studies and learn new ways of thinking about Judaism.

Some of the conversations Ive been coming at it from the same perspective my whole life and then somebody else is coming with a completely new and fresh perspective, Warmund said.

Warmund also said the conversations were relevant to the students interests, with one conversation focusing on the war in Ukraine and the emotions that students were feeling.

Its a great space for us to air out what were feeling, especially with the Russia-Ukraine situation, Warmund said. A lot of people have parents and grandparents that were Jewish refugees that came from there.

Graduate student Dara Spezial, said that participating in JLF was the first time she really got the chance to learn about Judaism. More than anything, she said the program reaffirmed the idea that there are many ways to be Jewish.

Whatever you take out of this fellowship, whatever you take out of Hillel is yours and very individual, but also beautiful, Spezial said. You handle how you want to express your Jewish identity in whatever way you want.

Go here to read the rest:

Students discuss themes in Judaism through fellowship - Ithaca College The Ithacan