HIDDENESS

Dear Family,

I hope everyone is well.

We wish Mendel Kehaty long life on the yohrtzeit of Nadiv. Only simchos in the future Mendel!

And we should one day, all, be able to see the HIDDEN GOOD in difficulties.

Adar is a month of contrasts.

It is the month when Haman plotted to destroy the whole of klal Yisrael, but it is also the month when we received great salvation.

The word Adar means strength, and can be broken up into aleph and dar, which means Hashem dwells in this month (with more intensity)

And yet Hashems name does not appear even once in the Megillah. IT IS HIDDEN.

And we get dressed up and DISGUISE ourselves.

According to Sefer Yetzirah, each month is associated with a letter in the Hebrew alphabet.

And the letter for Adar is kuf.

KUF also means a monkey in Hebrew, and is a symbol for LAUGHTER and MASQUERADE, again linked to disguise.

By initially hiding one’s true identity, pretending to be someone else, the innermost essence of one’s true self becomes revealed.

On Purim one can reach this very high level of ad delo yada… until we do not know….

And it symbolises the infinite essence of Hashems transcendent light entering into the finite context of physical reality, and revealing itself in full to the Jewish soul. - Sefer Yetzirah.

And, connected, we can see the hidden hand of Hashem in this week’s sedra Ki Sissa. – to do with the counting of Bnei Yisrael.

Gemara Megila – ‘It was known to Hashem that Haman would weigh shekalim to purchase Bnei Yisrael and do with them as he wished. Hashem thus pre-empted him by giving Bnei Yisrael the mitzvah to give shekalim.’ (which would be an antidote to Haman’s plans)

As follows:

Tosfos writes that the10,000 kikar of silver that Haman offered Achashveirosh, equals the amount of half shekels which would be given by the counted, 600,000 Bnei Yisrael in our sedra!!

For those interested in the calculation, see attached with the compliments of Mommy!

And to end with some Purim music entertainment - Another instrument that was played in the Bet Hamikdash, was the kinor.

We don’t know exactly what this instrument was but it is thought to have been what we know today as the OUD.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9kxIAX2FFU>; Taqsim Oud - Moshe Habusha - - תק'סים עוד צ'בא - משה חבושה (Israel)

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83tjxYstdZk&list=PLWDuaLbjXlhFh2uaQeKhKY8qW PLbxq0pR> spiritual jewish traditional music. Ki Eshmera - Tslilim

And other interesting string music:

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1rRiqxN8Ys>; נדב בכר - מנגינה על טבעית על מינור טבעי - Super Natural Melody -Nadav bachar

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYm_QoOzWQQ>; נצח הוד יסוד - אורן צור ונדב בכר Nadav Bachar & Oren Tsor

Gut Shabbos, and a Happy Adar to all.