A Message from Rabbi Bellows

March 2, 2025 /2 Adar 5785 

Dear Friends,

On Friday, we celebrated Rosh Hodesh Adar, the beginning of the Hebrew month of Adar. Purim takes place in Adar, and the Talmud teaches that during this month, “When Adar arrives, we increase our joy” (Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 29a).

Reflecting on the meaning of Adar, Rabbi Tova Leibovic-Douglas writes:

Adar is a month that invites us into an ancient, collective experience. It calls us to cultivate joy, even when we do not feel it naturally. Our ancestors knew there would be Adars when joy was hard to find, yet they committed themselves to honoring the spirit of the month—to daring to seek joy even in the hardest times. This practice—choosing joy despite difficult circumstances—is a core part of why our people have not only survived but, in many ways, thrived through the generations…. The Hebrew Bible describes Adar as “the month that was reversed for them from grief to joy.” (Esther 9:22)

We are emerging from a very difficult week—we saw the funerals of the Bibas family, the return of four bodies held hostage for 510 days, and the challenges in our country, and we experienced maybe even our own struggles. Given such pain and suffering, how is it that we can we move from grief to joy? What if we don’t feel like being joyful? What if joy and happiness seem like a distant memory to us? After all, it is near impossible to be joyful “on cue!”

Yet, the rabbis who lived through unspeakable horrors teach us, and history reminds us, that cultivating a sense of joy is key to our survival. In time, it is possible to move from sorrow to joy—in our own way, at our own pace, even if only for a moment.

The Jewish people know how to grieve, and we know how to find joy. May this month of Adar bring us many moments of increasing joy.

I hope you will join us for our 21+ Purim celebration with cocktails, costumes, Megillah reading, and fun on March 13th at 6:30 pm. We will also sing Purim songs and have a freilech (joyful) Purim Shabbat, March 14th at 7 pm.

Blessings for a good week.

Rabbi Bellows