Hebrew Month of Adar 1 Begins Friday at Sundown

Posted: January 30, 2014 in Hebrew Months
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The first of 2 months of Adar begins Friday night, January 31, 2014 at sundown.  The first day of the month is called Rosh Chodesh, which means ‘the head of the month’.

This year the Hebrew calendar has a leap year and adds another month of Adar. Both are called the 12th month and one is called Adar Aleph (A or 1) and the second month is called Adar Bet (B or 2). In the lunar Hebrew calendar,  there is a leap year 7 times in 19 years. When there is a leap year the Festival of Purim is on Adar 2, always being the month before Passover. The first month of Adar still has a Purim remembrance, but it is called PURIM KATAN – Little Purim and is celebrated on the 14th and 15th of Adar 1.

Adar 14-15-  Little Purim, There are no funerals, eulogies, mourning or fasting allowed on this day- only joy, laughter & feasting!  [Rejoice in expectation of  your mess become a message and your test to become your testimony of God’s faithfulness]

“When Adar arrives, we increase our joy”. Jewish Talmud- Taanit 29a

Adar is the 12th month on the Jewish calendar and represents completion of a cycle (yr). The sages say that this is the best month to try to remove your personal barriers to holiness, thereby creating potential for great joy.  Adar gives us keys to victory, that will bring hope producing faith to be victorious over any opposition, both personally or nationally. YEAH!!!!

The name Adar  is found as a proper masculine name as a descendant of Benjamin or a city in Judah. (many patterns about the Church are found in the life of Benjamin).  The name means “exceeding glorious“.  The word Adar as a month is found in Ezra 6:15 and numerous times in the Book of Esther and means ‘glorious.  The Lexicon comments that ‘perhaps this month is so-called from the flowers and trees being so splendidly covered with leaves’.   Since we have 2 months of Adar, I am expecting 2 months full of  double favor and multiplied glory!!!   Remember, this is the Year of the Double!  And I am expecting for Israel to have double honor instead of shame!!   These are double blessing months so expect the favor of God to come into every and all of your areas of attack. THIS ARE THE MONTHS FOR KINGS AND PRIEST UNTO GOD TO DECLARE AND DECREE  “INSTEAD”!! (See Isaiah 61)

Purim is very important to watch because it falls on a full moon, middle of the lunar month. Only The Feasts of the Lord of Passover and Tabernacles fall on a full moon and qualify for a possible ‘blood moon’. (Joel 3:21)   NASA projects there will be a lunar eclipse (blood moon) on Passover & Tabernacles 2014 & 2015.   That back-to-back eclipse cycle is called a Tetrad,  and it is an incredible sign to watch for when it falls on God’s fixed appointed Feast Days.   Note: There were no astronomical back-to-back blood-red moon events in the 1800’s, the 1700’s or the 1600’s. In the 1500’s there were six, but none fell on Passover or Tabernacles. The 2014/2015 events will be the last in this century.    In 1492 following Spain kicking the Jews out of the country or death by Av 9 (the most dreaded day on the Jewish calendar) a Tetrad followed, Passover and Tabernacles 1493 & 1494 (full blood moons on each). Other years there were back-to-back blood red moons on Passover & Tabernacles followed the 1948 War of Independence and  the 1967 Six Day War.

In the month of Adar women begin  Spring Housecleaning in preparation for Passover & the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Everything will be spotless and all leaven removed before Nisan 14. (Fall house cleaning is done in preparation for Rosh Hashanah 6 months later) Both Spring and Fall house cleaning began with these Jewish events. (This year I get two months to clean, expect double cleansing) 
Just as Elijah kept sending his servant to look for clouds of rain- expect your miracle and don’t give up. If you don’t see God working it is because He is working behind the scenes, hidden like in the Book of Esther.

TRIBE- NAPHTALI

Naphtali is the 6th son of Jacob and the 2nd son of Rachel’s handmaid. Naphtali means to ‘wrestle’ and comes from his birth as Rachel proclaims, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.” Those from that Tribe do not look for a fight, but when they do enter into a fight they win. For this reason the Tribe of Naphtali makes great intercessors. Their banner symbol is that of a hine,  a 3-year-old red deer. The unique thing about a hine is that it has no gall bladder. Gall is symbolic of bitterness and an intercessor cannot carry bitterness and win. One of the heroes from Naphtali’s lineage was Barak from Judges 4-5, who battled alongside Deborah. The men from that tribe are masculine, but not intimidated by women in ministry. The weakness of the tribe  is compromise. Since they do not like to fight they did not drive out the enemy on their allotted land in the Promised Land and eventually were full of idol worshipers. His land was north by Lebanon and was one of the first of the Lost Tribes sent into dispersion and captivity. (Don’t compromise with your weakness and enemy, you will win the fight if you press in to defeat the enemy one and for all)

HEBREW LETTER- KAF (pronounced kaf) This is the 11th letter with the numerical value of 20. It is a pictograph of a wing or an open hand symbolizing 1) to allow 2) to cover 3) to open.

Kaf also looks like a mask. It is interesting that the ungodly carnival of Mardis Gras is usually in the month of Adar. It is also the month that Queen Esther revealed her true identity as a Jew, removing the so-called Gentile mask she had been wearing. It is time to remove all human, man-made masks of your self worth and reveal who you are in Christ.

Each of the stanzas of Psalm 119:81-88 begin with Kaf and teach us when we cry out to God in a time of need. It is not the hand of man that will bring us help in a time of need, but our loving Father who is waiting for us to ask.

The literal meaning is of a ‘palm’ which is considered the location where potential of Yod (hand). For this reason we bless children with palms facing them as we envision God as having His palms over us.

KAF words: (1) Yes- (Kaf Noon), yes (ken) is to open your hand to life or activity (2) Priest (Ken Hey- in center of yes) Ko-hen, placing HEY in the heart of yes (ken) tells us the job of a priest is to reveal the heart of the ‘yes’. (3) To Forgive(Kaf Pey Reysh) To Atone- (kee-per), forgiveness comes when, instead of pronouncing judgment, you cover the mouth of the person.: 

Constellation- Pisces, The Fishes (Hebrew, Dagim)  This constellation always represented Israel, who were strangers and pilgrims on this earth, looking for a heavenly city whose builder and maker is God. However, the symbol of the Church is a fish. So, these 2 fish, one swimming heaven-ward & one swimming on the path of the sun represent Israel and the Church, the Old Covenant and the New Covenant- the one new man spoken of in  Ephesians 2:15. The two fish are held together by a cord called ‘al Risha’, which means ‘a common bond’.

Jesus is what ties the two together. He did not come to destroy the law and the prophets, but fulfill them (Mt 5:17). Prominent stars of the 113 that make up the constellation are, Okda (Hebrew) meaning ‘the united’; Al Samaca (Arabic) ‘the upheld’.

Isaiah 41:10b, “Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand“. The Church is forever tied to Israel. Pray for the Peace (shalom, nothing missing, nothing broken) of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee (Ps 122:6)

This is a special month on a special year. We should expect favor to come our way, for our mountains to be thrown into the sea and be ready to shout ‘instead’ at every attack of the evil one. To God be the glory!!

IN HISTORY

  • Adar 1-Ezekiel 32, Ezekiel received the word of the Lord of lamentation for  Pharaoh & Egypt, Elam (Iran) mentioned [expect troubled systems to be troubled by Almighty God]
  • Adar 2- 1942, Hitler devised a plan for a Museum of Judaism, to remember the dead Jewish religion, culture and people. Millions of Jewish treasures — Torah scrolls, ritual objects, books and art — were looted by the Nazis and taken to warehouses. In Czechoslovakia, the objects were taken to the Jewish Museum in Prague, where the Jews themselves were forced to sort, label, and pack the items for use in the Nazi’s future museum. After the war, many of these items were recovered, including thousands of Torah scrolls and nearly one million books. (it is interesting that the movie The Monuments Men about this historical event is coming out in the month of Adar)
  • Adar 3- 350 BC, the building of the second Holy Temple was completed in Jerusalem, as recorded in the biblical Book of Ezra (6:15).  (expect restoration)
  • Adar 5- 1957, Israeli troops withdrew from the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula. This followed the Suez War of 1956, in which France, Britain and Israel teamed up to stop Egyptian interference with shipping through the Suez Canal. (The canal was a crucial trade link between Europe and the regions of India, North Africa and the Middle East; two-thirds of Europe’s oil passed through the Suez Canal.) In the war, Israel was able to secure Gaza and the Sinai, but fearing a larger conflict with the Soviet Union, U.S. President Eisenhower forced a cease-fire and persuaded Israel to withdraw. In response to the Suez War, the Egyptian government expelled 25,000 Egyptian Jews and confiscated their property, and sent 1,000 more Jews to prisons and detention camps.
  • Adar 6- 1273 BC (Jewish year 2488), Moses completed his farewell address to the Jewish people, and God informed Moses that the day of his death was approaching (Deut. 31:14). Amazingly, the anniversary of Moses’ completing his teaching coincides with the date in 1482 of the first printing of the standard format used for Jewish Bibles today: vowel signs, accents, translation (Targum), and Rashi commentary.
  • Adar 7- 1273 BC– Death of Moses  (Jewish year 2488), on the same day of his birth 120 years earlier. (Consequently, “May you live to 120” has become a common Jewish blessing.)
  • Adar 10- 1980, Israel and Egypt exchanged ambassadors, marking a new era of cordial, if cold, diplomacy.
  • Adar 12- 11 BC– Adar 12 marks the dedication of Herod’s renovations on the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 11 BC. Herod was king of Judea in the first century BC who constructed grand projects like the fortresses at Masada and Herodium, the city of Caesarea, and fortifications around the old city of Jerusalem.  As the Talmud says, “He who has not seen Herod’s building, has never in his life seen a truly grand building.”
  • Adar 13- 1946, On Adar 13, during the biblical story of Purim, the 10 sons of Haman were hanged (Esther 9:7). This would find eerie parallel over 2,000 years later when 10 top Nazi officials were hanged at the Nuremberg Trials. Incredibly, the Hebrew year of the hangings at Nuremberg, 5707, is encoded in the Book of Esther: In the listing of Haman’s 10 sons, three Hebrew letters — taf, shin and zayin, representing the year 5707 — are written unusually small. (This anomaly appears in every authentic Megillah scroll, written that way for over 2,000 years.) Incredibly, when Nazi officer Julius Streicher ascended the gallows to be hanged at Nuremberg, he shouted, “Purimfest 1946.” (hanged Adar 14)
  • Adar 13 is Nicanor Day, remembrance of the defeat of wicked Syrian Nicanor by the Maccabees in 161 BC (Josephus Antiquities Book 12, Chapter 10, pt 5) [expect your enemies to be overthrown]
  • Adar 13, 2003Eve of Purim, March 17, 2003- President George W. Bush announces War on Iraq (12 Purims after Iraq war under President Bush, Sr)
  • Adar 14- In 355 BC, the Jews celebrated their successful defeat of Haman’s anti-Semitic mobs, an event we commemorate today with the Purim holiday.We read the Megillah (Scroll of Esther), dress up in costumes, and celebrate how the Jews of Persia narrowly escaped annihilation, thanks to the bravery of Esther and Mordechai. In Shushan, the Persian capital, however, the battle lasted one additional day and Purim was not celebrated until the 15th of Adar. Thus today in Jerusalem, Purim is celebrated one day later than the rest of the world. (During Jewish leap years we celebrate Purim in the second month of Adar.)
  • Adar 14in 1991 Saddam Hussein tried to rain missiles down on Israel and was defeated on Purim [First Gulf War under President George Bush Sr]  [expect God to do it again if Israel would fall under attack]
  • Adar 18- 1953, Death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Historians contend that Stalin was preparing a Soviet-wide pogrom, a ‘Second Holocaust’, but the scheme was cancelled upon Stalin’s death.
  • Adar 20- Special Torah reading regarding the Red Heifer cleansing (Numbers 19:2) This is for the special purifying before Passover (may be Adar 2)
  • Adar 23– This date marks the beginning of the seven-day inauguration period of the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary that accompanied the Jewish people in the desert following their Exodus from Egypt. Moses served as the High Priest during these seven days, and on the eighth day his brother Aaron took over, as recorded in Leviticus chapters 8-9.
  • Adar 24- 1451, Pope Nicholas V issued a decree forbidding all social contact between Christians and Jews. The Church sought to stop Christian converts to Judaism; throughout Europe, those who did so were liable to the death penalty.
  • Adar 25- 561 BC- This date marks the death of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia
  • Adar 27-1979, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed the Camp David Peace Agreement at the White House.
  • Adar 28- 163 BC, two years after the miracle of Chanukah, Syrian King Antiochus V granted religious freedom and political autonomy to the Jews in Israel. This reversed an earlier decree of his father, King Antiochus IV, prohibiting Torah study, Shabbat observance and circumcision. This event was commemorated for many centuries as a Jewish holiday.
  • Adar 30-1948, the headquarters of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem was bombed, killing 12 people.

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