Tonight begins ז אדר- Zayin Adar (the seventh of Adar), which is tomorrow.
Zayin Adar, as we know, is both the birthday, and yarzheit, of Moshe Rabbenu. It is brought down in the sefarim that people used to fast when a Sadik passed away, because it was a tragedy. They used to fast on Zayin Adar. There were special Lemudim/topics to learn, which perhaps some people and shuls in the community still do.
So what exactly is the lesson of Zayin Adar?
Haman made a mistake. He celebrated the fact that his lottery came out on the month of Adar, because Adar is the month that Moshe Rabbenu passed away. But it says that Haman did not realize that Adar is also the month that Moshe was born.
The Chatam Sofer brings out an interesting point: If it’s the day Moshe died, it’s not a good day. If it’s the day he was born, it’s a good day. So what exactly is going on?
He says that if we were living at the time of Moshe Rabbenu, on the day that Moshe Rabbenu was born came the worst possible decree. The astrologists had seen in the stars that the savior of the Jewish people was going to be born, but they didn’t know whether it would be an Egyptian or a Jew. They got mixed messages in their crystal ball. Why this happened is interesting- because it says, “Whoever raises the child of friend, it’s as if he gave birth to him.” Therefore, they got mixed messages. Moshe Rabbenu was born to Yocheved and Amram, but he was raised in the house of Paroah. So it was not clear to the magicians whether he was an Egyptian or a Jew, and therefore Paroah made the most severe decree on the day Moshe Rabbenu was born, which was that every baby boy, Jew and Egyptian, should be thrown into the Nile River, to prevent the savior of the Jewish people from coming to be. That was really a low point in their time in Egypt. And it was specifically, at that lowest point, that Moshe Rabbenu was born.
But in the deepest darkness, when Moshe was born, it says that the house was full of light. One of Moshe Rabbenu’s names was Tuvia or Tov, which means good, because it says, “He saw light was good.” So Moshe Rabbenu brought light, in the darkest of times. He brings a Midrash that connect to a pasuk that says, “כי אשב בחשך ה
אור לי
When I sit in the darkness, Hashem is a light for me.”
Which means that we believe that the darkest of times can turn around, and Hashem will bring light.
The Chatam Sofer says that this was Haman’s mistake. He didn’t realize that although Moshe Rabbenu died, even so, even in the darkest of times (as the original Zayin Adar was also the darkest of times), Moshe Rabbenu was born.
That is a lesson. As it’s getting dark, that can be the cause of light. Rabbenu Yonah says that, כי אשב בחשך ה אור לי
When I sit in the darkness, Hashem is a light for me.”
Is because “I sat in the darkness.”
What does this mean? It means, “I sat and I waited patiently. I am not in control, and I realize that I’m in a dark situation, but when I was in the dark times, I repented ( the Hebrew word for “sat” אשב Eshev, can also come from the root of the word תשובהTeshuva/ repentance). I came close to Hashem. That’s what we are supposed to do in these times.
The Rabbis say that Zayin Adar is a day of repentance, a day of Teshuva, of fasting and learning. And of connecting to the zechut of Moshe Rabbenu. That will bring light. That’s a rule in life.
Someone recently told me a story. Their daughter went out with a boy multiple times, and they broke off. A little while later they decided to try again. Then the second time, again, for some reason, it didn’t work. It was quite grueling, and the parents wondered what Hashem was doing to them. Once was hard, but when it happened twice, it was heart wrenching. Why did they need this?
A little later on, they got a call from a Shadchan, who said she had a very good boy for their daughter- and the one who suggested it was this boy who went out with their daughter twice!
So even in the darkest of times, when it seems like things are just upsetting and heart wrenching, ה׳ אור לי Hashem is preparing the light.
We have to always understand and believe that. In what seems like the lowest of times, the Chatam Sofer says, this the message of Zayin Adar- which is tonight and tomorrow. At the lowest of times, that’s when the light is being created. We have to have the approach of ואשב בחשך, I wait patiently, and I return to Hashem, and that will, Bezrat Hashem, turn the lights back on again.
Have a wonderful day, and hopefully, have a meaningful Zayin Adar tonight and tomorrow.