Adar ( he, אֲדָר ; from Akkadian ''adaru'') is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar, roughly corresponding to the month of March in the Gregorian calendar. It is a month of 29 days.

Names and Leap Years

The month's name, like all the others from the Hebrew calendar, was adopted during the

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their defeat ...

. In the Babylonian calendar the name was Araḫ Addaru or Adār ('Month of Adar'). In

leap years A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or s ...

, it is preceded by a 30-day

intercalary month Intercalation or embolism in timekeeping is the insertion of a leap day, week, or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. Lunisolar calendars may require intercalations of both days and months. So ...

named Adar Aleph ( he, אדר א׳,

Aleph Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician , Hebrew , Aramaic , Syriac , Arabic ʾ and North Arabian 𐪑. It also appears as South Arabian 𐩱 and Ge'ez . These letter ...

being the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet), also known as "Adar Rishon" (''First Adar'') or "Adar I", and it is then itself called Adar Bet ( he, אדר ב׳, Bet being the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, also known as "Adar Sheni" (''Second Adar'' or "Adar II"). Occasionally instead of Adar I and Adar II, "Adar" and "Ve'Adar" are used (Ve means 'and' thus: And-Adar). Adar I and II occur during February–March on the Gregorian calendar.

Customs

During the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

period, there was a Jewish custom to make a public proclamation on the first day of the lunar month Adar, reminding the people that they are to prepare their annual monetary offering to the Temple treasury, known as the half-Shekel. Based on a line in the Mishnah declaring that Purim must be celebrated in Adar II in a leap year (

Megillah Megillah ( he, מגילה, scroll) may refer to: Bible *The Book of Esther (''Megillat Esther''), read on the Jewish holiday of Purim *The Five Megillot *Megillat Antiochus Rabbinic literature *Tractate Megillah in the Talmud. *Megillat Taanit, ...

1:4), Adar I is considered the "extra" month. As a result, someone born in Adar during a non leap year would celebrate their birthday in Adar II during a leap year. However, someone born during either Adar in a leap year will celebrate their birthday during Adar in a non-leap year, except that someone born on 30 Adar I will celebrate their birthday on 1 Nisan in a non-leap year because Adar in a non-leap year has only 29 days.

Holidays

* 7 Adar (II in leap years) – 7th of Adar – some fast on this day in memory of the death of Moses * 13 Adar (II in leap years) – Fast of Esther – on 11 Adar when the 13th falls on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

– ''(Fast Day)'' * 14 Adar (II in leap years) – Purim
* 14 Adar I (does not exist in non-leap years; Karaites celebrate in Adar II) – Purim Katan
* 15 Adar (II in leap years) – Shushan Purim – celebration of Purim in walled cities existing during the time of Joshua * 17 Adar (II in leap years) – Yom Adar celebration feast

In Jewish history

* 1 Adar (

circa Circa is a word of Latin origin meaning 'approximately'. Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), art platform based in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear com ...

1313 BCE) – Plague of Darkness, the ninth plague upon the

Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...

( Exodus 10:23). This started on the 1st of Adar, six weeks before the Exodus. * 1 Adar I(1167/4 CE) – Death of the Ibn Ezra * 1 Adar (

1663) – Death of the Shach * 2 Adar (598 BCE) – Jerusalem falls to

Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: ''Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar''), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling ...

and Jeconiah is captured. * 2 Adar (1941 CE) - Death of Rabbi

Yaakov Yehezkiya Greenwald Ya'akov Yechezkiya Greenwald (Hebrew: יעקב יחזקי' גרינוואלד. Legal name: Jakab Grünwald. Also called the "Vayaged Ya'akov", 1882 – c. 1 March 1941 (2 Adar 5701)) was the rabbi of the Etz Chaim community in Pápa, Hungary ...

of Pupa * 3 Adar (515 BCE) –

completed * 4 Adar (1307) – Maharam's body ransomed 14 years after his death by Alexander ben Shlomo (Susskind) Wimpfen. * 4 Adar (1796) – Death of

Rabbi Leib Sarah's Leib Sarah's (''Aryeh Leib the son of Sarah'') (1730–1791) was a Chassidic Rebbe and a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jew ...

, a disciple of the Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov. One of the "hidden tzaddikim," Rabbi Leib spent his life wandering from place to place to raise money for the ransoming of imprisoned Jews and the support of other hidden tzaddikim. * 4 Adar I(1992 CE) Death of

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

* 5 Adar (1st century CE) –

Lulianos and Paphos Lulianos and Paphos (alt. sp. Julianus and Pappus, second-century CE) were two wealthy Jewish brothers who lived in Laodicea on the Lycus in Anatolia, contemporaries with Joshua ben Hananiah, and who suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Roman l ...

voluntarily gave themselves up to be killed, in order to save innocent Jewish lives in Laodicea. * 7 Adar (1393 BCE) – Birth of

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

* 7 Adar (1273 BCE) – Death of

* 7 Adar (1828) – Death of Rebbe Isaac Taub of Kalov, founder of the Kalover Hasidic dynasty, and a student of Rabbi Leib Sarah's. * 9 Adar (1st century BCE) – Academic dissension between

Beit Hillel Beit Hillel ( he, בֵּית הִלֵּל) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located on the west bank of the Hasbani River, about 5 kilometres from Kiryat Shmona, its 3,500 dunams fall under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council. As ...

and

Beit Shammai The House of Hillel (Beit Hillel) and House of Shammai (Beit Shammai) were, among Jewish scholars, two schools of thought during the period of tannaim, named after the sages Hillel and Shammai (of the last century BCE and the early 1st century CE) ...

, erupted into a violent and destructive conflict over a vote on 18 legal matters leading to the death of 3,000 students. The day was later declared a fast day by the Shulchan Aruch, however, it was never observed as such. * 11 Adar (18th century) – Death of Reb Eliezer Lipman (Elezer Lippe), father of the prominent Chassidic Rebbes Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk and Rabbi Zusha of Hanipol. * 13 Adar (474 BCE) – War between Jews and their enemies in Persia (

Book of Esther The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Judaism, Jewish ''Tanak ...

, chapter 9). * 13 Adar (161 BCE) – ''Yom Nicanor'' – The Maccabees defeated Syrian general Nicanor, in a battle fought four years after the Maccabees' liberation of the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

and the miracle of Hanukkah. * 13 Adar (1895–1986) – Death of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein * 14 Adar (474 BCE) – Purim victory celebrated in the Persian Empire * 15 Adar (474 BCE) – Purim Victory Celebrated in Shushan * 15 Adar (1st century CE) – Jerusalem Gate Day – King Agrippa I (circa 21 CE) began construction of a gate for the wall of Jerusalem; the day used to be celebrated as a holiday. * 17 Adar (522 BCE) – Yom Adar – the day the Jewish people left Persia following the Purim story * 18 Adar 953- Death of Josef Stalin; brings to a stop the Doctors' Plot * 20 Adar (1st century BCE) – Choni the Circle Maker prays for rain ( Talmud, Taanit 23a) * 20 Adar (1616 CE) – 'Purim Vinz': downfall of Vinzenz Fettmilch and triumphant return of the Jews of Frankfurt under Imperial protection. The day was established as a community Purim for generations and to this day the Washington Heights community does not recite Tachanun on this day. * 20 Adar (1640) – Death of the " Bach" * 21 Adar (Adar II, 1786) – Death of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk * 23 Adar (

1312 BCE) – Mishkan assembled for the first time; "Seven Days of Training" begin. * 23 Adar (1866) – Death of Yitzchak Meir Alter, first Rebbe of Ger * 24 Adar (1817) – The Blood Libel, the accusation that Jews murdered Christian children for their blood, declared false by

Czar Alexander I Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of Gra ...

. Nevertheless, nearly a hundred years later the accusation was officially leveled against

Mendel Beilis Menahem Mendel Beilis (sometimes spelled Beiliss; yi, מנחם מענדל בייליס, russian: Менахем Мендель Бейлис; 1874 – 7 July 1934) was a Russian Jew accused of ritual murder in Kiev in the Russian Empire in a not ...

in Kyiv. * 25 Adar (561 BCE) – Death of

( Jeremiah 52:31). * 25 Adar (1761) – Death of Rabbi

Abraham Gershon of Kitov Abraham Gershon of Kitov, also known as Rabbi Gershon of Brody, was probably born in or near Kuty (Kitov), Poland around 1701 and died in Jerusalem in 1761. He is best known as the Baal Shem Tov's brother-in-law. Rabbinical career A scion of a ...

the brother-in-law and leading foe-turned-disciple of the Baal Shem Tov.Rabbi Gershon's gravestone, which lists 25 Adar as his day of passing, was discovered in the Mount of Olives cemetery in Jerusalem after the Six-day War. * 27 Adar (561 BCE) – Death of Zedekiah in Babylonian captivity. Meroduch, Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor, freed him (and his nephew Jeconiah) on the 27th of Adar, but Zedekiah died that same day. * 28 Adar (from the 2nd century onwards) – Talmudic holiday to commemorate the rescinding of a Roman decree against Torah study, ritual circumcision, and keeping the

. The decree was revoked through the efforts of Rabbi

Yehudah ben Shamu'a Judah or Yehuda is the name of a biblical patriarch, Judah (son of Jacob). It may also refer to: Historical ethnic, political and geographic terms * Tribe of Judah, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel; their allotment corresponds to Judah or Jud ...

and his colleagues. ( Megillat Taanit, a baraita on this matter can still be found in

Ta'anit A ta'anit or ta'anis (Mishnaic Hebrew: תענית) is a Fasting, fast in Judaism in which one abstains from all food and drink, including water. Purposes A Jewish fast may have one or more purposes, including: * Atonement for sins: Fasting is n ...

18a and

Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...

19a) * 28 Adar (1524) – the Jews of Cairo were saved from the plot of Ahmad Pasha, who sought revenge against the Jewish minister

Abraham de Castro Abraham de Castro (Hebrew language, Hebrew: אברהם קסטרו; d. 1560) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Jews, Jewish financialist who served as the Mint (facility), head of the mint for List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Sultan, Selim ...

who had informed Selim II of Ahmad's plan to cede from the Ottoman Empire. To this day, Adar 28th is considered the Purim of Cairo, with festivities including a special Megilah reading.

References

External links