How to Be Happy in Adar 5784

Q&A

HOW TO BE HAPPY IN ADAR 5784

“When Adar enters, we increase in joy.” How can we be happy this year in Adar when there’s a terrible war in Eretz Yisrael and all that’s going on??

On the one hand, there is great and deep pain that is too heavy for us to bear. All the emotional, physical, financial suffering that the Jewish people are experiencing, not to mention the hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes. And the uncertainty. But this pain is actually very small compared to the spiritual pain which we are in. We are so immersed in the 50 gates of Impurity which cause the pain that our neshamos have in This World not to mention the pain taking place in Heaven, and the pain of the Shechinah.

On the one hand, we are amidst the process of “He builds worlds and destroys them”, and as Chazal (Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 98a) “The world will last for 6,000 years, followed by chad charuv (simply translated as “A century of desolation”). The destruction of the world has already begun to be revealed, in which Hashem is destroying This World in general, and the government in the Holy Land especially. This is the process of destroying their government’s control in general, and as an independent State specifically. And of this it is said “In the destruction of the wicked is rejoicing” (Mishlei 11:1).

The main reason to be happy is that the deep spiritual light of the 50th Gate of Holiness is being revealed, from which the entire process is being revealed. To the degree that a person attaches himself to the Hashem’s Light and to His Torah, and especially to the 50th Gate of Holiness – to that degree will his joy increase.

On the one hand, there is no sadder time than the current time. At the very same time, there is no happier time than this, because Hashem’s Infinite Light is shining stronger and stronger - and this is what our neshamos hope and yearn for.

Adar is the end of the year, the end of the Galus, a time of Redemption which is followed by Redemption (of Pesach). In Adar, the Supreme Laughter and Supreme Bliss of Hashem is revealed. This Supreme Bliss is called the Shaashua. Our main avodah is to immerse ourselves in the “Torah of the Shaashuim”, of reveling in Hashem’s Supernal Bliss so to speak [in which He made a subtle movement to create the world and then bring everything back to His Infinite Light].

Every end seems like the limit, the border, the aspect of din דין which is composed of the two Hebrew words די-ן (“enough”/limit, and the hebrew letter ן which has a numerical value of 50). This Hebrew word דין is the root of all the troubles and suffering. But we can perceive it all as a Shaashua, as the Supernal Movement, then we can perceive how the end is not simply an end but the beginning of a movement to the opposite side [which is the Messianic Light]. The concept of Shaashua (Supernal Bliss) is the root of all sweetening of judgments, to see every end and limit as a part of a movement that brings about the Supernal Bliss of Hashem which is the Messianic Light.

Therefore, we need to see the suffering and troubles of this generation through the prism of Shaashua, which is the inner perspective to have on everything.

But in order to be able to understand this, we first need to see the present suffering and troubles as the intensity of middas hadin (Hashem is showing strict judgment). We need to arouse ourselves to do complete teshuvah, to return to Him completely, and to become attached to Him and to His Torah with the depth of our soul. Then we can become worthy of being able to see everything as the Supernal Movement of His Bliss (shaashua) which is really the light of the 50th Gate of Holiness. The word “movement” is na, from the letters nun (50) and ayin (70), hinting to the Supernal Movement of His Bliss.

Praiseworthy is the one who will understand this and acquire this concept completely in his soul. Such a person will live in the “Bliss of the King”, and from that one will be able to send compassion and goodness upon all those of his generation, to save them from all troubles and pain, and to draw forth for them the Light of Hashem’s Greater Compassion.