Adar (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: , ; from Akkadian ''adaru'') is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as '' yahrze ...

, roughly corresponding to the month of

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

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 was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...

. In the

Babylonian calendar The Babylonian calendar was a lunisolar calendar used in Mesopotamia from around the 2nd millennium BC until the Seleucid Era ( 294 BC), and it was specifically used in Babylon from the Old Babylonian Period ( 1780s BC) until the Seleucid Era. ...

the name was Araḫ Addaru or Adār ('Month of Adar'). In leap years, it is preceded by a 30-day intercalary month named Adar Aleph (, ''

aleph Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''ʾālep'' 𐤀, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''ʾālef'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''ʾālap'' � ...

'' 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 (, '' 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 The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

. Sources disagree as to which of the two Adar months is the "real" Adar, and which is the added leap month.

Customs

During the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

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.

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 ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

– ''(Fast Day)'' * 14 Adar (II in leap years) –

Purim Purim (; , ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Genocide, annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther (u ...

* 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 Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

* 17 Adar (II in leap years) – Yom Adar celebration feast

In Jewish history

* 1 Adar I(1167/4 CE) – Death of the Ibn Ezra * 1 Adar (

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

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

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

falls to Nebuchadnezzar and Jeconiah is captured. * 2 Adar (1941 CE) - Death of Rabbi Yaakov Yehezkiya Greenwald of

Pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

* 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, a disciple of the Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov. One of the "hidden

tzaddik Tzadik ( ''ṣaddīq'' , "righteous ne; also ''zadik'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadīqīm'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the wor ...

im," 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

im. * 4 Adar I(1992 CE) Death of

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

* 5 Adar (1st century CE) – Lulianos and Paphos voluntarily gave themselves up to be killed, in order to save innocent Jewish lives in Laodicea. * 7 Adar (1393 BCE) – Birth of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

* 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 () 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 of , it had a population ...

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 centur ...

, 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 The ''Shulhan Arukh'' ( ),, often called "the Code of Jewish Law", is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Rabbinic Judaism. It was authored in the city of Safed in what is now Israel by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in ...

, 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 Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(

Book of Esther The Book of Esther (; ; ), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Hebrew Bible. It is one of the Five Megillot, Five Scrolls () in the Hebr ...

, chapter 9). * 13 Adar (161 BCE) – ''Yom Nicanor'' – The Maccabees defeated Greek Syrian general Nicanor at the Battle of Adasa during the

Maccabean Revolt The Maccabean Revolt () was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167 to 160 BCE and ended with the Seleucids in control of ...

. * 13 Adar (1895–1986) – Death of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein * 14 Adar (474 BCE) –

victory celebrated in the Persian Empire * 15 Adar (474 BCE) –

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

; 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 The "doctors' plot" () was a Soviet state-sponsored anti-intellectual and anti-cosmopolitan campaign based on a conspiracy theory that alleged an anti-Soviet cabal of prominent medical specialists, including some of Jewish ethnicity, intend ...

* 20 Adar (1st century BCE) – Choni the Circle Maker prays for rain (

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

, Taanit 23a) * 20 Adar (1616 CE) – 'Purim Vinz': downfall of Vincenz 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 According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

assembled for the first time; "Seven Days of Training" begin. * 23 Adar (1866) – Death of Yitzchak Meir Alter, first

Rebbe A Rebbe () or Admor () is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spirituality (Audio)''. UCTV, 20 Oct 2011. web. ...

of Ger * 24 Adar (1817) – The

Blood Libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mu ...

, the accusation that Jews murdered Christian children for their blood, declared false by Czar Alexander I. Nevertheless, nearly a hundred years later the accusation was officially leveled against Mendel Beilis in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. * 25 Adar (561 BCE) – Death of Nebuchadnezzar (

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

52:31). * 25 Adar (1761) – Death of Rabbi Abraham Gershon of Kitov the brother-in-law and leading foe-turned-disciple of the

Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (According to a forged document from the "Kherson Geniza", accepted only by Chabad, he was born in October 1698. Some Hasidic traditions place his birth as early as 1690, while Simon Dubnow and other modern scholars argue f ...

.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 The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. * 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 The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

study, ritual

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

, and keeping the

. The decree was revoked through the efforts of Rabbi Yehudah ben Shamu'a and his colleagues. (

Megillat Taanit ''Megillat Taanit'' (), lit. ''"the Scroll of Fasting,"'' is an ancient text, in the form of a chronicle, which enumerates 35 eventful days on which Jews either performed glorious deeds or witnessed joyful events. Despite the scroll's name, thes ...

, a baraita on this matter can still be found in Ta'anit 18a and

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...

19a) * 28 Adar (1524) – the Jews of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

were saved from the plot of Ahmad Pasha, who sought revenge against the Jewish minister Abraham de Castro who had informed Selim II of Ahmad's plan to cede from the Ottoman Empire. To this day, Adar 28th is considered the

of Cairo, with festivities including a special Megilah reading.

References

External links