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A Happy Month

Rabbi Moshe Binyamin Friedman, Rosh Yeshiva

Is there a “best time” to make an investment or begin a business deal? The Magen Avraham comments[1] on a related issue on Ta'anis 29a, that if one is called to a lawsuit with a non-Jew, he should try to schedule the court date during the month of Adar. May we then generalize that Adar is the “best time” of the year to make an investment or begin a business deal? Is this also true for Adar Alef in a Shana Me'uberes[2]? 

Perhaps the answers to these questions lie in the understanding of the Gemara itself. The Gemara says "משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה”. (Additionally) Says Rav Papa (Ta’anis 29b), 

"הלכך בר ישראל דאית ליה דינא בהדי נכרי - לישתמיט מיניה באב דריע מזליה, ולימצי נפשיה באדר דבריא מזליה". 

"Therefore, a Jew who has court case with a non- Jew should avoid the month of Av, for it has bad mazal, and schedule it for Adar, for its mazal is good"

What is the connection between simcha and going to court?

There are two possible approaches to this issue. First, since we rejoice through the month of Adar, preparing for and observing Purim, and express our love for Hashem, so too Hashem reciprocates with continuous mercy and bracha for the Jewish people[3]. Therefore, with this extra measure of Hashem’s mercy and bracha in this month, it is an opportune time to schedule a court case and an ideal time for increased success in business ventures (possibly only during Adar Sheini which is the time of Purim, and is therefore the main time of simcha).

The second explanation is based on the Gemara’s reference to Adar’s mazal. This implies that Adar, connected to mazal dagim[4], is a month of good mazal in its essence. Adar is a month of good mazal for Jews to overcome their non- Jewish enemies, as in the Purim story. Moreover, related to the issue of a Shana Me'uberes, if mazal is intrinsic to the month of Adar, it should not make a difference which Adar[5]. 

So, would this 'Mazal Adar' make Adar an opportune time for any other business endeavor? Not necessarily, the Medrash specifically applies mazal dagim to conflict with our non- Jewish enemies. Similarly, a court case with a non-Jew would be positively affected by the mazal dagim of Adar[6].



May we all be zoche to a month of great happiness, joy and success in all of our endeavors.

תרפ"ו ס"ק ה' [1]

[2] עי' בשאילת יעב"ץ: "שבשנה מעוברת אין שמחה נוהגת אלא באדר שני". אמנם מרן הגר"ח קניבסקי שליט"א כתב (מובא בספר שערי ימי הפורים): "אין בין אדר ראשון לאדר שני כו' הא לענין מרבים בשמחה שווים

[3] "לכאורה פשטות הגמ': "משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה... הלכך

[4] "עי' במ"ר אסתר פ"ז, י"א: "בא לו מזל דגים שהוא משמש בחודש אדר

[5] א) כן מסתבר שלכאורה מזל דגים משמש בשניהם במקצת

ב) ועוד עי' במ"ר שמבאר שענין של אדר קשור ליום המיתה או לידה של משה. והרי בסי' תקס"ח סי' ז' פסק הרמ"א "כשארע יום שמת אביו באדר והשנה מעוברת, י"א דיתענה בראשון". וכן פסק המ"ב ס"ק מ"ב דעיקר מנהג באדר א'. וא"כ, עיקר אדר לפי המנהג הוא אדר א.

[6] ע"ש מ"ר: "והוא (המן) לא ידע שבאחד באדר מת משה ובאחד באדר נולד משה. ואמר (המן) כשם שהדגים בולעין כך אני בולע אותן. אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא רשע דגים פעמים נבלעין ופעמים בולעין, ועכשיו אותו האיש נבלע מן הבולעין... ונהפוך הוא אשר ישלטו היהודים המה בשונאיהם." ואולי כל הסגולה של מזל דוקא בכה"ג

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Droplets of Fire

Rabbi Yitzchak Skaist, Maggid Shiur

How does one find some steadfast anchor to keep him from drifting into the stormy waters of taavah towards which his yetzer hara draws him? How do we resist our heart drawing us into a lifestyle far from Torah values, embraced by the society with whom we must work and live?

The Mishna Brura rules (Siman 1:12) that “one must set for himself a time to learn sifrei mussar every single day, whether a lot or a little, because the remedy for the yetzer hara is learning the admonitions of Chazal.”

We have a yetzer hara, and we have a mission to overcome it. The way we can prevail, according to the Mishna Brura, is to regularly study Chazal’s teachings of morality and character perfection.

A beautiful illustration of the transformative power of a mussar seder on our character is taught by R’ Yaakov Galinsky. When he was a bochur in the Novardok Yeshiva in Bialystok, he found a quiet Beis Medrash in which to learn mussar. He suddenly heard a fiery voice coming from the ezras nashim learning the Gemara Eruvin 54a with a haunting tune, over and over again, internalizing the words of Chazal. “Shmuel said to Rav Yehuda, his beloved student: Keen scholar, grab and eat, grab and drink, as the world from which we are departing is like a wedding feast, whose joy is only temporary, and one who does not take pleasure in it now will not be able to do so in the future.”

R' Yaakov stood there frozen, mesmerized by the sincerity of that voice. He later learned the identity of the bochur – R’ Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (later known as ‘the Steipler’) who developed into one of the greatest gedolim of the last generation. He was a personal example of that Gemara, always utilizing his time wisely in this world.

But we don’t have to learn mussar with that level of intensity, just regularly.

Rabbi Akiva saw a boulder that was pierced from a steady stream of dripping water. R’ Yisrael Salanter pointed out that the first droplet from thousands of years ago had a profound impact, albeit invisible, on the rock. Each subsequent drop made its imperceptible impression too, until all those drops of water drilled through the hard stone.

The daily study of mussar, like the droplets of water on the stone, will eventually penetrate even the hardest of hearts.



So, begin today.