Adar Bet

– There are 2 Fishes in the astrological sign of Pisces. Why not just 1 fish in that sign?

Chodesh Tov to you all! It is still the month of ADAR. Yes we learned last month that it is a leap year. Actually it is called a pregnant year in Hebrew. Why is it pregnant? There are 7 leap/pregnant years in the complete 19 year Hebrew Calendar cycle. Why don’t we just determine that there is one Adar and count 60 days some years and 30 other years? Why don’t we call Adar Bet a name unto itself? Why don’t we call this new month Nissan Aleph and have 2 Nissans in a leap year? Or even a 13th month with it’s own astrological sign? The answers to these questions relate to the first Mitzvah given to the Jewish Nation even while in Egypt before the redemption. That Mitzvah comes from the Torah in Exodus Chapter 12 Verse 2 where it says החדש הזה לכם ראש חדשים ראשון הוא לכם לחדשי השנה

which translates as 'This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.' I will discuss this at more length below.

I suggest you read the email from Adar Aleph as the information in that email is still valid during Adar Bet. You also may find that I have duplicated some of the information in both emails. This is because it is important to know this information in Adar Bet as well as Adar Aleph.

Adar spelled אדר means to glorify, to exalt, and to be decorated. It also means garment. This is all in addition to being the name of the last Hebrew month of the year. Adar has another possible Shoresh (root). It is Nedar spelled נדר. This word means Vow, to renounce, or to abstain. Adar is cognate to Adir spelled אדיר which means mighty. Concealed within the word is the word meaning flock or herd, and also corral. This word is spelled substituting an Ayin for the Aleph (A common Letter Substitution). Another common letter substitution is a Bet for the Aleph, when this is done the word becomes “with mother of pearl”.

Let's review what the Sefer Yetzirah and other Kabbalistic Teachings say about this month.

Letters of the month:

Koof ק– The word koof, in addition to being a letter in the Hebrew Aleph Bet means monkey. The monkey is a connection between the world of animals and the world of speaking, which is what man is called in the Kabbalist jargon.

In Kabbalah there is a teaching that there must be an item or entity that has attributes of both worlds that is the link between one world and the next. This is one of the attributes that helps us know when we are changing worlds. Between the world of man (speaking in Kabbalah) and the world of animals that link is the monkey.

What is the nature of a monkey. It is to mimic man. What do we find about mimics. They increase our joy by causing us to laugh at ourselves.

Gimmel ג—The word gimmel with different vowels is gamal which means camel. What is the trait of a gammel. They store water in their humps so that they go a long period of time without drinking. The sign of Pisces is associated with the month of Adar in Hebrew Astrology. Pisces is a water sign. Also water manifests the energy of Chesed or loving kindness in our world. This is the connection between love and joy. As our love grows our joy increases. When Adar Enters Simcha (Joy) increases is the adage from the Sages.

Constellation: Why does Pisces have 2 fish in the picture and not one? It has 2 to hint to us about the two months of Adar - Adar Aleph and Adar Bet.

Holidays: The Holiday of Purim is in the month Adar Bet. Purim is a connection to the coming of Mashiach. This is because it is necessary to choose between doubts and certainty in our lives as a cause of the manifestation of Mashiach. This is also the idea behind the Sages and Prophets telling us to do Teshuvah. What are we to do Teshuvah about? Hatred for no reason among many other mistakes and sins that we have done throughout our lives – both present day and previous lives!

The simple story is that an Agagite (the name of the leader of the Amalek nation in the time of King Shaul) named Hamen paid an enormous sum of money to get an order written by King Achasverosh to kill all of the Jews. A Jewish women named Hadassah (Esther) was able to foil his plan and turn the tables so that he and his sons were killed instead. The essence of Purim is about the war between certainty and doubt.

An example of this war within us is in the Scroll itself. The scroll lists the 10 sons of Hamen who are hanged on the gallows that Hamen built to hang Mordechai. Within these names there are 3 letters that are made smaller than normal letters. These are Taf Shin Zion תשז. This can be considered a reference to the year 5707 or 1946-1947 in the western calendar. On the internet, there is a description of the hanging of 10 Nazi War Criminals in October of 1946. The scroll was obviously written centuries before this date, actually approximately 2500 years earlier. Why are these letters written smaller than normal? What is the message? Is it a connection to this event or a relationship to the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948 with the seed level of that event being the end of the Nazi regime? Or is it just coincidence? Do you “see” the connection? Are you certain? Or do you “see” it as coincidence? This is just one example of the war between certainty in the Light of HaShem and doubt that HaShem is still with us and making sure that the plan of creation manifests as he wishes it. Does HaShem utilize people to make his plan of creation manifest or is it just coincidence that all of the events listed and described in the Scroll worked out the way they did? How is your war going?

The only reason that Mashiach did not manifest while these events were happening is because not all of the souls were in the world at that time. During the events described in the Megillah Esther (Scroll of Esther) the Jewish people came together in unity and Teshuvah. What did they do Teshuvah about? They attended the party that King Achevarosh held. During the party the King took out and displayed his wealth including Holy items that were stolen during the destruction of the First Temple. The Jews out of fear for their lives did not protest at the degradation these Holy items experienced by being put on display. Queen Vashti was ordered to be displayed nude and refused. The Jews should have done at least that same minimum but did not. By recognizing God’s hand behind the events, doing Teshuvah about their inaction, overcoming their doubts and choosing the certainty of the connection to HaShem caused a revelation of the Light of God called the Light of Mashiach. By the way Mordechai and Esther did not attend the party!

The light that was revealed during these events is still with us today. The events are actually describing the process of creating the unity of the Jewish Nation. This light is still manifesting in our world.

One effect of the holiday of Purim occurred in our generation and almost nobody recognized it. During the 70’s and 80’s there was an expulsion from Persia (Iran – which is the location for the Holiday of Purim). It seemed that the world filled up with Iranians escaping the Moslem fundamentalist government. Among them were Jewish Iranians. For the first time in history when Jews were expelled from a country they were able to take their wealth with them. Never before in History were Jewish people expelled from a country and were able to bring their wealth with them. These Iranian Jews brought much of the wealth that they had accumulated while living in the Diaspora. This has never before happened in history. Why was this allowed this time? The souls who lived in the time of Purim, left a revelation of light of Mashiach that caused their reincarnated sparks to be able to take their wealth so that the effect of their leaving would not be as traumatic as other expulsions through out history. In fact most historians do not describe it as an expulsion. It is up to you to perceive it as what it is or that it is illusion!

Purim has some amazing Mitzvot and additional rituals in the Seuldah (meal). All of these Mitzvot deal with the idea of unity and the removal of doubt and adding to our knowledge of the Creator.

In the story of Purim which is read from a scroll, the name Yood Hay Vav Hay never appears. Yet the Hand of God is shown to work behind the scenes throughout the scroll. I suggest you check out the recordings about this Holiday on

to understand this more fully.

One of the Mitzvot is to give gifts to the poor. People give gifts to their friends and they give charity to the poor. What is the consciousness of charity? The person giving thinks of himself as higher than the recipient. The person receiving thinks of himself as lower than the giver. What is the idea of Gifts to the Poor? The giver thinks of himself and the receiver are on the same level. When Mashiach finally manifests the poor will understand that they do more for the wealthy than the wealthy do for them. This is because giving Tzedakah can save someone from death. This is a teaching in the Talmud. When someone gives Tzedakah – that going outside of their comfort zone causes a negative decree including a decree of death to be erased. When someone gives Gifts to the Poor they are actually thinking about what their friend needs. There is not rich and poor in this exchange there is only sharing on both sides. The wealthy by giving what the poor person needs. The poor person by accepting these gifts is recognizing what they bring to this exchange and thus actually share by receiving these gifts. This is the ultimate level of desire to receive in order to share.

Are you shocked that there will still be rich and poor when Mashiach actually manifests? To truly understand the reason behind this one must understand what is true unity and what is true diversity and how can one have unity within the diversity!

There is also a special Hilula for Moshe Rabeinu. The 7th day of Adar is his birthday and his Hilula (Day of Joy – Death Anniversary). This month, it is on the evening of the 12th of March, which is Motzei Shabbat. There will be a special connection reading from the Zohar at 9 PM PST at that time. There will be an additional reading for this connection on Sunday Morning at 10 AM during our advanced class. See our class times calendar for more information.

The color of the month is Forest Green.

Energy Days:

Our sages teach that Adar is a good month for the Children of Israel. They say that the Mazel (flow of beneficence) of Adar is strong. They teach that if one has a court case against a non Jew it is good to start your trial in Adar. Of course this is to be seen as a metaphor not a physical statement because any time one is the cause of going to court one is inviting judgment into ones life.

Other days in Adar, both Aleph and Bet: We live in a generation that is fortunate to have a Tzadik that has left each of the 30 days of Adar Aleph. It is good to connect to all of the Tzadikim that passed on a certain day. Here is a link to the list of Tzadikim and the day in Adar that they chose to leave. Hilula, means a day of joy, which is the word in Hebrew used to refer to the death day or in Yiddish it is Yartzeit.

The general correction for people born in Pisces is to develop a stronger ego than they normally possess. We will find it easy this month to be falsely humble. This means that we will find it easy to react to events and situations with the appearance of humility yet our inner essence will be looking for approval. During this month it is good to focus on learning about the trait of humility. The restriction this month is to truly be humble. To truly think about what is best for the other person!

I would like to discuss an aspect of the Jewish Calendar this month to answer the questions we asked above. In my opinion, this information is important in the spiritual growth of the Jewish nation. It also may cause a separation within the Children of Israel, Chas V’Shalom (God Forbid). Yet it is important to search for truth about the Calendar. As the calendar is a very important tool in determining the energy periods of the year. With this in mind please read below.

Today the Calendar is calculated using a formula developed by Hillel the Second about the year 200 or 300 of the Common Era. Prior to that time, the Torah told us to DECLARE the New Moon by the Testimony of two witnesses. In other words, Man declares the New Moon and the moon and sun adjust their relationship to comply with the consciousness of man. IN OTHER WORDS this Mitzvah to declare the New Moon is a manifestation of Mind Over Matter and it is important in the individuals spiritual growth to achieve this level of consciousness.

Yes I know the scientific teaching that the universe would be in chaos if the sun and moon would change their orbit to comply with the above paragraph. Yet please understand, this action of declaring the new moon in the physical world causes the change in the spiritual level, while the physical level is illusionary anyway. Therefore the physical relationship does not have to change and the universe can continue as it has done for millennia for those people who need the physical universe to fit their preconceived notions.

In this calendar, in use today, there are 7 years in a total of 19 years that the year is called intercalated. Intercalated means we add an additional month for a total of 13 months. In Hebrew the word that is used (usually translated as leap year) has a Shoresh (root) that means pregnant.The explanation for this is that we need to keep the Holiday of Pesach in the Spring which is called Aviv in the Torah.

Prior to this current calendar, other criteria was used to determine which years had an additional month. An additional month was added when 2 of the following 3 criteria were met. The 3 Criteria are 1)The state of the barley crop at the end of the 12th month; 2)the fruits of the Trees; and 3) the equinox. As we can see from the Talmud and Baraita below, the main issue is the state of the barley crop. The teaching is that the state of the barley crop must reach a level called Aviv. Aviv refers to the state of the barley crop, such that in 2 to 3 weeks the barley can be brought to the Temple as a wave offering. If the barley does not reach this level of growth by the end of the 12th month then the Bringing of the Omer on the second day of Pesach can not be done with the new crop.

"Our Rabbis taught, Based on three things is the year intercalated: on the Abib, on the fruits of the trees, and on the equinox. Based on two of them the year is intercalculated but based on one of them alone the year is not intercalculated. And when the Abib is one of them everyone is pleased." (Bavli Sanhedrin 11b)

Another Brayta relates:

"Our Rabbis taught, The year is intercalated based on [the Abib in] three regions: Judea, Transjordan, and Galilee. Based on two of them the year is intercalated but based on one of them alone the year is not intercalculated. And when Judea is one of them everyone is pleased because the Omer [Wave-Sheaf] Offering can only come from Judea." (Bavli Sanhedrin 11b)

As can be seen from the Talmud, a Baryta, and the discussion above the most meaningful aspect for the determination of a year that adds the additional month is the Barley crop must reach a stage called Aviv. This stage of development can only be determined by inspecting the barley at the end of month 12.

In my opinion this is a direction that the Jewish people must move towards. To utilize the witness aspect to declare the new moon and to investigate the state of the barley crop to declare an added month to the year.

Please understand. The Holidays need to be consistent with the energy of the universe and the conditions on the earth and the sun and moon relationships are an effect of the energy of the universe. Therefore, it is important that Man declare the new moon and the additional month in a year based on investigation and human witnesses.

According to Torah Law this is done by the Sanhedrin. There must be a Nation of the Children of Israel (all 13 Tribes) in the Land of Israel to have a Sanhedrin. We are not at that level yet. There is a Sanhedrin being developed within the Land of Israel but it does not represent the highest spiritual consciousness of all of the Tribes yet. Therefore we can not follow through with this idea completely yet. We can begin the practice and develop the protocols for this practice. We can also “keep it in mind” (as Jacob did about Joseph’s dream) about when does the leap year happen.

In the history of the Children of Israel there have been many disagreements about spiritual practice. One of these disagreements developed into a sect of Jews called the Karites. I do not agree with most of the aspects of the Karaites and do not recommend that my students follow their teachings except as a method of “keeping it in mind” about the Calendar. This is because the Karaites do have a protocol to declare the new moon and to determine by the condition of the barley crop if this is a leap year or not. There are years when the Jewish calendar and the declarations of the Karaites do not coincide. In this case I still follow the Jewish calendar but “keep it in mind” about the different declarations of the Karaites. As of this writing it is too early to know if the month that will begin in early march will be Adar Bet or Nissan according to the Karaites. This will be known by the 5th of the new moon which will be Adar Bet for most of the Jewish world. I will try to keep you informed if there is a difference.

I find it interesting that in the year 1948 (the year of the founding of the modern state of Israel) was a year in which the Jewish Calendar said that the year was a leap year and added an Adar Bet. The Karaites investigation declared the month of Adar bet to be Month 1 and therefore the day of the declaration of the State of Israel was not on the fifth of Iyar but on the 6th of Sivan which is the Holiday of Shavuot.

Astrologically it makes more sense for the modern state of Israel to celebrate its anniversary on Shavuot the Holiday of Matan (Giving of) Torah rather than the 5th of Iyar which is in the middle of the Omer period where we do not start anything new!

The idea of consciousness is very important in the plan of God. It is demonstrated by the mistake Moshe made in hitting the rock and not speaking to the rock. Please see our recordings related to this in the basic class no 16 on “consciousness”. Please see below to understand why this is being mentioned.

To return to the questions I asked at the beginning of the essay. Why is the word in Hebrew that means leap year using the Shoresh that means Pregnant. Pregnancy is a state of development manifesting potential. What does this mean? When a child is born he is beginning the manifestation of all of the light that he will reveal in his life. At the moment of birth he is starting to reveal his potential. Will he achieve all that he can be? No one knows at that moment but his potential is beginning its manifestation. Therefore the pregnancy is actually the manifestation of what that child can achieve in potential.

The 13th month represents a state of potential relating to unity. As we know the number 13 is the connected to the word Echad which means one. Thus it expresses unity. A leap year is a pregnant year expressing the potential of the human race to becoming unified.

Why don’t we just determine that there is one Adar and count 60 days some years and 30 other years? The answer is because we need to have 13 months to keep the consciousness of potential unity (see the above paragraph).

Why don’t we call Adar Bet a name unto itself? Adar through its meaning of exalted relates to the sephira of Malchut which relates to manifestation. We desire this manifestation of unity which will create a vessel for the coming of Mashiach.

Why don’t we call this new month Nissan Aleph and have 2 Nissans in a leap year?

Adar relates to manifestation while Nissan relates to a new beginning. Let me explain. Adar is the last month of the year and therefore represents Malchut on the Tree of Life in the frame of months. Malchut means Kingdom and actually is the manifestation of all of the other months that came before it. In essence the First month includes all 12 months in potential. The second month includes the 11 months that follow with respect to the frame of reference called months or actually we see the year as a frame of reference. The third month includes the 10 months (itself and the 9 that follow it). This is true of all 12 months until one reaches the 12th month. The 12 month includes itself but nothing to follow. So where does Nissan come from? The first month represents Keter from the Tree of Life. Keter means crown. Does a crown make a kingdom? No it actually adds beauty and enhances the King. The kingdom is manifested by itself. The crown while it has the seed of that manifestation in potential does not actually make that happen. It takes other efforts which we call process. While the above may be confusing, to answer the question is quite simple. The potential may have two potential manifestations within it but they are unified and we do not see the multiple potentials until they actually appear. That is why it is Adar that we add for the 13th month and not Nissan.

Or even a 13th month with it’s own astrological sign? We have a 13th month added in some years and we have a 13th astrological sign in the Zodiac. It will be discussed and given a proper name when the Mashiach comes. Recently there has been some discussion in the news about the change in the skies of the Zodiac as a result of the shifting of the earths magnetic field. This is just the beginning of this revelation of the 13th astrological sign which has always been known in Hebrew Astrology.

There have always been 13 Tribes of Israel. Let me explain. Jacob had 12 sons. When the Tribe of Levi was elevated to Temple service, Jacob also had declared the Tribes of Menashe and Efraim as his own sons even though they were his grandchildren through his son Joseph. It is through these 2 sons of Joseph that Joseph receives the double inheritance of the first born. The result is that there are 13 Tribes and that means that there will be 13 astrological signs. Of course this was known but it has yet to be revealed. May Mashiach come today to teach us this Torah!

Chodesh Tov