This year in the secular calendar of 2016 we have a leap year and add an additional day to the month of February. It also turns out that we have a leap year in the Jewish calendar as well! But instead of adding a day we add an entire month! That means this year there will be 13 Hebrew months rather than 12. This occurs every few years according to a specific calculation and it is always added to the sixth month of the Jewish year, the month of Adar, creating Adar Alef (Adar I) and Adar Bet (Adar II.)
So why add a whole month? The Hebrew calendar is based on the lunar cycle which means the Jewish year lags behind the solar year by 11 days each year. If this isn't adjusted our Jewish holidays would end up being celebrated in unusual times of the year. Just imagine if Passover which celebrates the spring harvest/freedom would be celebrated in winter rather than spring and then eventually in the summer!
Or if the holiday of Sukkot which celebrates the fall harvest/remembrance of wandering in the desert drifts back to the summer and then spring. Tu B'shvat which celebrates nature's renewal/thanksgiving at the end of the winter would be moved back to early winter and then to fall. Shavuot which celebrates the summer's harvest/receiving the Torah is moved from early summer to spring and then winter. You get the idea...
Since this year in the secular calendar of 2016 we have a leap year and add an additional day to the month of February. It also turns out that we have a leap year in the Jewish calendar as well! But instead of adding a day we add an entire month! That means this year there will be 13 Hebrew months rather than 12. This occurs every few years according to a specific calculation and it is always added to the sixth month of the Jewish year, the month of Adar, creating Adar Alef (Adar I) and Adar Bet (Adar II.)
So why add a whole month? The Hebrew calendar is based on the lunar cycle which means the Jewish year lags behind the solar year by 11 days each year. If this isn't adjusted our Jewish holidays would end up being celebrated in unusual times of the year. Just imagine if Passover which celebrates the spring harvest/freedom would be celebrated in winter rather than spring and then eventually in the summer!
Or if the holiday of Sukkot which celebrates the fall harvest/remembrance of wandering in the desert drifts back to the summer and then spring. Tu B'shvat which celebrates nature's renewal/thanksgiving at the end of the winter would be moved back to early winter and then to fall. Shavuot which celebrates the summer's harvest/receiving the Torah is moved from early summer to spring and then winter. You get the idea...
Since the agricultural aspect of these holidays is just as important as the religious ones, they all need to be celebrated at a specific times of the year. Adding a second month of Adar keeps our holidays in the right time of year!
Adar is the month when we celebrate Purim so which month of Adar do we celebrate it, Adar I or II? It is actually celebrated in Adar II during a leap year . Adar is traditionally a time to focus on being joyful. There is even a traditional saying for the month, "Be Happy it is Adar!"
During a leap year we focus on being joyful double the time! Adar begins on sundown Feb. 9th this year. So be Happy, It is Adar!! So be Happy, It is Adar!!
May we all be blessed with double Joy!
Rabbi David
