17 Feb IT HAPPENED IN YERUSHALAYIM

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.