BRESLEV.CO.IL BONUS THE ADAR 180 By : Rabbi Pinchas Winston

Rav Yehuda son of Rav Shmuel son of Shilat said in the name of Rav: Just as we reduce joy when the month of Av comes in, so too do we increase joy when Adar comes in. (Ta'anis 29a) This week, G-d willing, is Rosh Chodesh Adar (Sunday and Monday, beginning Saturday night). This time of year is a reverse image of what we feel during the summer time, when the month of Av comes in, heralding the beginning of the "Nine Days," and the final stages of that period of mourning over the loss of the Temples. This week, however, we gear up for the joy of Purim, and the period of redemption that it begins, climaxing with Pesach and Seder-Night. Is the comparison between Av and Adar merely circumstantial? Tisha B'Av mourns the loss of the Temple, while Purim represents the redemption from Babylonian Exile and Haman's "Final Solution." What connection could there be?