Originally published March 14, 2024
Chodesh tov! As of Monday, we are officially in the Hebrew month of Adar II, and counting down the days until our Purim celebration on March 23. The Talmud (Taanit 29a) teaches that when the month of Adar begins, joy increases – משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה. Our Jewish tradition invites us to embrace this joy wholeheartedly through the entire month – we need not wait until we are celebrating the miracle of Purim with dancing, costumes, and delicious food.
I’ve just returned from a whirlwind trip back to Singapore, during which I managed to slip in some joy amidst a busy schedule of a bar mitzvah weekend, multiple baby naming, Shabbat services, and religious school. My joy came in the form of a last minute ticket to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert, perfectly aligned with the start of Adar. My joy is probably not your joy (and if it is, I’m always up to talk about the Torah of Taylor Swift). Regardless, for many of us we rarely have the opportunity to do something solely because it brings us joy. Our lives are full of the ways we care for others, whether at home, in our commitments to our work colleagues, or in our sacred obligations to our community. When we’re not fulfilling those obligations, we’re doing the things we “should” be doing – grocery shopping, exercising, listening to edifying podcasts, or reading the news. We may enjoy some or all of these actions, and find deep meaning and fulfillment in our relationships of obligation. These are all good and important parts of our lives. But Adar reminds us – we also need joy. Something that is not for anyone else, that has nothing to do with self-improvement. An act that brings you soul expanding, heart lifting, unbridled joy. For you, maybe that’s experiencing live music or another performance. Painting, pottery, or another creative endeavor. Eating, and savoring, a really delicious and special piece of chocolate, or imagining that first perfect in-season tomato in a few months. Whatever it is, I invite you to find your joy this Adar.
