By: Chaya Sora Jungreis-Gertzulin

I am writing these lines from Ir HaKodesh, the holy city of Yerushalayim. A city where spirituality is in the air. Where one can’t help but be uplifted.

A Shabbos sheva brochos was taking place at the hotel where we were staying. I love all things kallah and wedding and enjoy just taking in the scene.

I noticed that the men at sheva brochos guests were wearing kippahs that were embroidered with the words “HaKol min HaShomayim…. It’s all from Heaven.”

My curiosity was piqued. What was the backstory? Maybe the couple had some miraculous tale behind their meeting each other? Perhaps, a story I can write about. I had to find out.

And so, I asked. No big story. No trumpets blasting or sparks flying. They met at university. The kallah said that they’re just believers, that HaShem is with all of us at all times. He is in charge. A belief they wanted to be the foundation of their marriage.

At first, I thought, oh well, there goes my article. But my granddaughter, who was with me, said, “They’re ma’aminim… believers.” And then I realized, that is the most powerful story of all. A modern Israeli couple, who wanted the theme of their sheva brochos to be “It’s all from Heaven.”

“Anu ma’aminim bnei ma’aminim, We are believers, the children of believers.” The strength of Am Yisroel, to say “HaKol min HaShomayim…. It’s all from Heaven.” To have faith and trust, that while we may not always understand HaShem’s ways, He is with us, and it will all work out. It is that belief that kept our nation strong and enabled us to survive the generations.

Eretz Yisroel is the most amazing country. One could hear a dvar Torah in the most unlikely of places. It’s the only country where you can call a Gett (an Uber-type service) car, and “get” to hear a dvar Torah.

It was the eve of chodesh Adar, the month about which the Talmud teaches “MiShenichnas Adar marbim b’simcha, When Adar arrives, happiness increases.”

I wished the driver, Shmulik, a chodesh tov, a chodesh of simcha, joy and happiness. He asked me if I’d like to hear a dvar Torah. Always ready to learn something new, I answered in the affirmative.

Seconds later, Shmulik is pulling a hood over his head, telling me that he can’t share words of Torah with an uncovered head. He related what he heard from his Chacham. A man went to a rov gadol, not his local rov, asking for a bracha of bri’ut, good health. Instead, he received a bracha of simcha, happiness. The bracha seeker didn’t give up and went to a second rov for a bracha of bri’ut. Once again, he received a bracha of simcha. This time, he couldn’t help but ask, why simcha when I ask for good health. The rov explained that when one has simcha, all is good. If we have simcha, we are content with everything around us. The world, our life, even our health are all viewed with a positive attitude.

Shmulik continued, saying, mishenichnas Adar marbim b’simcha, with Adar’s arrival, we increase our happiness. The underlying message is that while joy and happiness should be with us all year long, Chodesh Adar is a time to inject an extra measure of happiness into our lives.

But how does Adar automatically infuse us with simcha, transforming all our days into “happy days”? Is happiness something we can just turn on like a faucet? Is there a special magic to the month of Adar?

Adar is an opportune time to remove worries and uncertainties. A time to eliminate the stress and anxiety that keeps us up at night. A time to say goodbye to all the “what ifs” that haunt our mind. The great sage, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l (1910-1995) explains that happiness is in our hands. Happiness doesn’t just happen. We have to make it happen.

Why then, from all the months of the year, is Adar singled out as the month of increased happiness?

The miracle of Purim took place during Adar. Haman designated Adar as the month to carry out his “final solution”. His intention was “L’hashmid, la’harog ule’abed, To destroy, to kill and annihilate…” the Jews throughout the Persian Empire. (Megillas Esther 3:13)

The Jews were a minority, living amongst the Persians. Yet, with HaShem’s help, they were victorious. Their miraculous survival, and our continued existence, is beyond all logic and reason.

Upon hearing the Purim story, how can one not have emunah and bitachon, faith and trust in HaShem. A faith and trust that has the power to calm our troubled spirit, bringing us increased happiness and joy.

While Purim belongs to ancient Persia, the struggle it represents is not confined to history. Today, we continue to face modern day Hamans. From vandalized shuls, yeshivos, and even private homes spray-painted with swastikas, to anti-Semitic marches that often escalate into acts of mob violence, Jew hate is still very much here, and on the rise.

Yes, we must raise our voices with disgust and disdain, but at the same time know that it’s Adar, and HaShem is with His people.

This week’s parsha of Terumah, is about the building of the Mishkan, HaShem’s dwelling place, His Sanctuary. The Mishkan traveled with the nation during their forty-year journey through the desert. The literal meaning of the word Mishkan is a resting place, a home for the Shechina, HaShem’s holy spirit. It was situated in the center of the camp, with the tents of the twelve tribes surrounding it.

Each morning, as the Bnei Yisroel would step out of their tents, the first thing they saw was the awe-inspiring Mishkan. It was a constant reminder that HaShem was with them, residing in their midst, and accompanying them on their journey. As the Abarbanel explains, the Mishkan demonstrated to the Jewish nation that HaShem is not only in the Heavens above, but very much present with them right there in the desert.

We no longer have a Mishkan. And painfully, the Beis HaMikdash is no more. Yet, if we will it, we can bring the sanctity and inspiration of the Mishkan into our very being. “Bilvavi Mishkan evneh – In my heart I will build a Mishkan”

“V’osu li Mikdash, v’shochanti b’socham, And you shall make for Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell amongst them.” (Shemos 25:8) The pasuk states “I will dwell amongst them”. The passage is about the Mishkan. Shouldn’t it have read “I will dwell in it”? Why the term “amongst them”?

The message is clear. The Mishkan is not just a dwelling place, but a mikdash, a holy place. Each of us can transform our home into a “Mikdash Me’at”, a Sanctuary in miniature, a holy place. It is up to us to elevate it, and in the process, elevate ourselves.

Herein lies the message of the parsha, and the message of Purim. HaShem rests not just in one Mishkan, but in every miniature sanctuary. He is amongst us, Bnei Yisroel, His children. Bilvavi – in our hearts… in our souls.

From the miracle of Purim, where we see HaShem’s hand, to a sheva brochos whose theme was “hakol min hashomayim”. From the ancient words of the Talmud teaching us that Adar increases joy, to a taxi driver’s dvar Torah. From the Mishkan, which housed the Shechina, to the Mishkan that we can build in our hearts, our Torah is timeless, fusing past, present and even the future into one.

Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov!

Chaya Sora

Chaya Sora can be reached at [email protected]

This article was written L’zecher Nishmas / In Memory Of HaRav Meshulem ben HaRav Osher Anshil HaLevi, zt”l and Rebbetzin Esther bas HaRav Avraham HaLevi, zt’l