Rosh Chodesh Tribe - 012 Adar | Zevulun

Adar Corresponds To The Tribe of Zevulun

The month of Adar is a time of joy (simchah) and laughter. Each of the months in the Jewish calendar corresponds to one of the 12 tribes. The month of Adar, according to the Gra, corresponds to the tribe of Zevulun.

“Rejoice, Zevulun, When You Go Out”

Of Zevulun, the Torah says, “Rejoice, Zevulun, when you go out, and Yissocher in your tents”. [1] Thus, Zevulun is associated with simchah, with rejoicing. Let us try here to understand what the concept of simchah is, to arrive at a deeper and true understanding of it.

The month of Adar, which is the month of simchah, corresponds to Zevulun. What is the simchah that we find in connection with Zevulun?

The Sages explain that Zevulun goes out in commerce in order to support his brother Yissocher, who bears the yoke of Torah[2]. Simply speaking, the joy of the tribe of Zevulun is because his tribe supports the Torah learning of Yissocher. However, who is happier, Yissocher or Zevulun? It would seem that Yissocher is happier, because he is the one who learns Torah. Yet the Torah says that it is Zevulun who rejoices! What is the simchah of Zevulun? And how does it apply to the simchah we have in the month of Adar?

Making the question stronger, the curse given to Adam after he sinned, was “By the sweat of your brow, you shall eat bread.” [3] Working for a livelihood is a curse, and it is part of the great sadness that came upon man as a result of the sin. Yet, the Torah associates the term simchah with Zevulun, even though Zevulun goes to work in order to support Yissocher. If anything, Zevulun should be sad that he has to engage in commerce and work, which is the curse that came as a result of the sin. How, then, is the business efforts of Zevulun specifically the cause of his simchah, when it is the curse of work which brought sadness to mankind?

The Techeiles In Zevulun’s Portion: A Reminder of Man’s Tachlis/Purpose

The Gemara says that Zevulun complained that his share in Eretz Yisrael does not include any cities or fields. Instead, he was given the seas, where there is no civilization. Hashem responded to Zevulun by saying, “There is something I have given in your portion which none of the other tribes have: the chilazon fish, from which techeiles comes from.”[4] The chilazon fish is found in the sea, which is only in Zevulun’s portion. Hence, the special portion given to Zevulun includes the chilazon, from which the turquoise wool of the techeiles is made from.

The Gemara says that when a person looks at tzitzis [when they are together with techeiles], the blue color of the techeiles reminds him of the sea, the sea reminds him of the sky, and the sky reminds him of the Throne of Glory.[5] The word techeiles is from the word tachlis. The depth of this is because looking at techeiles reminds a person of his “tachlis” – his ultimate purpose. The “tachlis”, the purpose and endpoint of the year, is the month of Adar. Thus, the deeper implication of Zevulun’s possession of the techeiles is that his tribe is more connected with the spiritual tachlis, the purpose, of man. That is the “tachlis” revealed in the month of Adar, which corresponds to Zevulun – and that is the simchah of Zevulun’s portion.

Hence, the month of Adar corresponds to simchah of Zevulun, the simchah of looking at techeiles, which reminds a person of his tachlis.

Haman’s Decree: The “End” Which Awakened The Jewish People To Their Tachlis/Purpose

When Haman decreed destruction on all of the Jewish people, this was a decree that could have caused them either to totally despair, or to become awakened to their higher purpose. By realizing that their end was imminent, instead of sinking into lowly despair, they could now reflect about their end and reveal their tachlis, their true end, their true purpose.

The decree of death upon them, which was a threat of total annihilation of man – for the Jewish people represent all of Creation – was essentially a part of the process of rectifying the sin of Adam which had brought death upon the world. The entire Jewish people were now in a situation of total annihilation hovering above them, yet it was this very situation which spurred them on to repent and ultimately realize their higher purpose (tachlis). Through this situation where they faced annihilation and absolute destruction, they revealed their ultimate tachlis, their purpose.

Converts Come To Eretz Yisrael By Way of Zevulun

Moshe’s blessing to Zevulun is that merchants would do business with Zevulun because he owned all of the ports at sea, which the merchants would first encounter when coming to do business in Israel. The businessmen of the tribe of Zevulun were all sailors, who did business at sea, and the Gemara says that all sailors are called tzaddikim, for they are always praying to Hashem to be saved from danger at sea.[6]

The gentiles who threw Yonah into the sea when the ship was in danger from the storm were sailors, and it was these sailors who ultimately caused him to do teshuvah. A gentile is able to donate korbonos to the Beis HaMikdash, and the Gemara says that in the future, gentiles will come to donate korbonos to the Beis HaMikdash and then they will be inspired to convert to the Jewish people. The gentiles will travel to Eretz Yisrael by sea, so they will first need to pass through Zevulun’s portion, the sea, in order to get to Eretz Yisrael. Thus, the gentiles who convert to Judaism are only able to do so by way of Zevulun.

As explained before, Zevulun’s portion, the sea, contains the techeiles, which reminds man of his tachlis (purpose). Thus, Zevulun’s role is to rectify the sin of Adam (for the sin caused man to veer from his ultimate purpose). However, besides for this, Zevulun also accomplishes another role. By way of the sea, gentiles are able to come to Eretz Yisrael and donate korbonos, and are thereby inspired to convert to the Jewish people. Since Zevulun enables converts – which is the “purpose” of our exile, for the Gemara says that the Jewish people were exiled so that we can gain converts - Zevulun therefore represents the concept that it is precisely the end which reveals the root of all rectification.

Zevulun Represents The Concept of “Zevel” – Dung/Lowliness/Sin Can Ultimately Be Used For Fertilizer/Growth/Rectification

The word “Zevulun” is from the word zevel, animal dung that is used to fertilize fields. Fertilizer comes from the lowliest possible element on this world - the dung of animals. Yet, it is precisely this lowly material which fosters growth, for the animal dung is used to fertilize the fields, producing all of the crops. Hence, Zevulun represents the idea that even the lowest element in the world can ultimately bring about growth.

Adam’s sin brought about the curse of work upon mankind, and the sin also made it possible for unworthy seed[7] to come from him. Had Adam eaten only from the Eitz HaChaim and not from the Eitz HaDaas, there would be no concept of any unworthy seed coming from him. Through the sin of eating from the Eitz HaDaas, there was now a “zevel”, a lowly element of “animal dung” which came to the world, as a result of the defilement caused by sin. But through “Zevulun”, the impaired “zevel” which was brought to the world through sin can be elevated and thereby bring about rectification to the world. Zevulun represents the concept of revealing growth and elevation in the very place of zevel/dung/lowliness.

The Simchah of the Month of Adar/Zevulun: Transforming An “End” Into Joy

The great simchah (joy) that the Jewish people had in the month of Adar was that we were all facing annihilation at the hands of Haman, we were sad and we were mourning, we truly felt that it our “end” was near, and ultimately this terrible situation became transformed into joy, when we were saved from the decree[8]. We turned our “end” and transformed it from sadness and despair into great cause for celebration and joy. This very concept, of using the idea of an “end” to reveal joy, is represented by Zevulun.

Zevulun’s Joy – The Heavenly Beis HaMikdash

The Gemara[9] says that one of the seven heavens is called “Zevul”, and that in this part of Heaven, the Heavenly Beis HaMikdash resides, with a Heavenly Mizbeiach, and the angel Michael offers up the souls of the Jewish people on this Mizbeiach.

This word “zevul” can also mean “mador”, which means a “special chamber”, alluding to the special chamber in Heaven. This is a hint that the part of Heaven which is called “zevul”, which corresponds to Zevulun, is the “special chamber” in Heaven which houses the Beis HaMikdash of Heaven.

Hence, the Beis HaMikdash of Heaven belongs to Zevulun. There is a “lower” Beis HaMikdash and a “higher” Beis HaMikdash. On This World, which is the lower world, the Beis HaMikdash is shared by the portions of Yehudah and Binyamin. But in the higher world, in Heaven, the Beis HaMikdash is in Zevulun’s portion.[10]

That is a deeper understanding of simchah that Zevulun is blessed with.

Zevulun’s Commerce At Sea Rectifies The Curse of Work Given To Man

Earlier it was explained that Zevulun’s engagement in commerce rectifies the curse of work that has been placed on mankind ever since the sin of Adam. How does Zevulun’s commerce rectify the curse of work?

One reason is because Zevulun engages in commerce at sea, and by working in “water”, man is raised above the level of working with the “earth”. The element of “earth” became cursed with sadness ever since the sin of Adam, but through Zevulun’s commerce at sea, man is able to work joyously, on a level of “water”, which is more spiritual than the element of earth.

Zevulun: Turning End/Ruination Into Joy

Let us reflect on another way of understanding, however, which will also have practical ramifications in our own lives.

There is a beginning and end of the year. [The beginning of the year is the month of Nissan, thus the end of the year is the month which precedes it, Adar]. Ever since Adam sinned, the concept of “end” always implies destruction. As an example, the Torah says that Amalek’s end will be destruction. The end usually implies the ruination of something. That is the result of the sin. Through the concept of Zevulun, the concept of “end” is repaired, for Zevulun shows us the idea that any end or situation of ruination is actually a cause for joy. [This will be soon be explained].

Let us think about the times we live in. We do not know when the Redemption will come. But anyone can see that we are very close to the end. The world today is not as it should be. The spiritual level today has deteriorated to an abysmally low level. We don’t have the Beis HaMikdash, the avodah, the korbonos, and because the ideal state is absent from our midst, we are missing so much. The Jewish people today are at the lowest level they have ever been in. What do we need to think, now that we are approaching the “end”?

The Gemara says that the final redemption will take place in stages. First the Redemption will come to the Mediterranean Sea, and then it will come to the sea of Teveria[11]. From there, the Redemption will continue in stages. Thus, Teveria is the beginning point of the Redemption, but first the Redemption will come to the sea, which is Zevulun’s portion. From here we can learn a deep insight, that before the Redemption can arrive, we first need to pass through “Zevulun” – in other words, we first need to access the “joy” of Zevulun.

This is the depth of the verse, “For with joy they go out.” [12]  It is because we will “go out” from exile into the redemption amidst joy, which represents Zevulun. Thus, the final step before the Redemption will be that we will need to first go through the perspective of “Zevulun”, which is simchah/joy.

After the month of Adar is the month of Nissan, which is the month of the Redemption. The month of Adar corresponds to Zevulun. Hence, in order to arrive at the Redemption, we must first go through the “end” - the month of Adar - which is “Zevulun”. Practically speaking, we need to first reach joy, represented by Adar/Zevulun, in order to arrive at the “Redemption”, which is represented by the month of Nissan.

The Joy of Clarifying Our Tachlis/Purpose

But the question is: How will we traverse the month of Adar? Will we go through the month of Adar with sadness, or will we go through it with joy? How can we truly traverse the month of Adar in the sense of the verse, “For with joy they go out”? What is the depth of our avodah in the month of Adar to have true simchah?

The simchah/joy of Zevulun applies on a general level to mankind, as well as on a more individual level, with each person. On a general level, it is the joy of turning end/ruination into growth and rectification [as explained earlier]. But it also manifests on a more specific level. In anything a person does, one must clarify what the tachlis (purpose) of it is.

Our general tachlis is that we are all here to bask in the pleasure of becoming attached with Hashem, as explained in the beginning of Mesillas Yesharim. But besides for this general tachlis we all have, we each encounter a specific purpose to each thing. One needs to clarify what the tachlis is, of each thing that he encounters.

Zevulun’s portion is the sea. The purpose of the sea is to act as a border for the land. The sea is the end of the land. But the concept of Zevulun is that the “end” is the very cause for joy. 

Death – The “End” That Can Be Turned Into Joy

Of the month of Adar, and of the day of Purim especially, the Sages said that “Wine enters, the secret comes out.”[13] The gematria (numerical value) of the Hebrew word for “wine”, yayin, is equal to the number 70. The Sages said that once every 70 years, the chilazon appears in the sea.[14] On a deeper level, this corresponds to the “70” of the wine of Purim, which reveals secrets.

Had Adam never sinned, he would have lived forever. After the sin, he could only live for 1,000 years, and he gave up 70 years of his life [for Dovid HaMelech]. Thus, ever since the sin, the number 70 corresponds to the average lifespan of man, and as implied by the verse, “The years of a man are seventy”[15].

When one thinks that he will live for 70 years, does this cause him to feel sad or joyous? Naturally, a person will be sad when he contemplates the fact that man is destined to live for an average of 70 years. When a person considers that he will eventually give an accounting before Hashem after he dies (as the Sages state, “Know that in the future, you will have to give an accounting”), the natural reaction is sadness. People are naturally sad when they contemplate the end of their life on this world. But when a person gains the perspective of “Wine enters and the secret comes out”, the “wine”, corresponding to the “70” years of a person’s life, reveals simchah. It is like the chilazon which comes out once every 70 years – the “secret” that comes out which reveals joy.

The chilazon appears in the sea, in Zevulun’s portion, corresponding to the heaven that is called zevul, where the souls of the Jewish people are offered on the Heavenly Altar. “Zevul” is a place of great joy on High, for it corresponds to Zevulun, who is blessed with simchah. What is the simchah that takes place in the heaven of Zevul? As the Sages explained, it is the happiness of the souls who willingly offer their souls to Hashem.

When one contemplates his time of death, and certainly when he is actually facing it, one will usually become saddened and mournful. A person naturally does not want to die. But a person is also able to die amidst a joyous state. One can choose to happily give away his soul to Hashem, when the time of his death comes. He can “offer his soul on the Altar” to Hashem, amidst joy.

Who merits a joyous kind of death, and who doesn’t? The halachah is that when one brings a korbon, he can only offer it of his own will. One cannot be forced to bring a korbon – he must have the will to give it. So too, when one is giving away his soul to Hashem as a “korbon”, when the time of his death arrives, if he does so willingly and out of joy, his soul is offered by the angel Michael on the Heavenly Altar, to Hashem. But if the time of one’s death comes and he feels forced to give his soul back to Hashem, he is not going to Hashem willingly. His death will be truly sad, for he has not been willing to give his soul to Hashem, and he is not offered on the Heavenly Altar to Hashem.

The month of Adar shows us that an “end” can be joyous, and it doesn’t have to be sad! This will only be true, however, when one is always searching to reveal his tachlis (purpose). One who always lives with a sense of the ultimate tachlis/purpose – which is that we are here to become closer to Hashem – will live a vastly different life, and he will die an entirely different kind of death, in contrast to one who is sad on his day of death, who is sad to die because he did not spend his life trying to become closer to Hashem.

How can the day of one’s death be a happy day for a person? It should be viewed as the great simchah of leaving the physical existence of the body, and becoming entirely a neshamah (Divine soul), which can be offered on the Heavenly Altar to Hashem. If one is prepared for this and he wants it, not only will he die amidst a state of joy, but his life will also be spent in a state of joy. If one doesn’t want to give away his soul to Hashem, though, and he would rather stay in his body on This World, then not only will death be the saddest thing for him, but he will feel somewhat “dead” even while he is living.

Clarifying Our Joy In The Month of Adar

When the month of Adar arrives, the month of simchah/joy, we need to know what simchah is, and   we need to ask ourselves if we have really have true, pure simchah in our life. If not, than any joy that we have is superficial, it is not inner and genuine. When our joy is only superficial, if this it can be said, “And of what purpose is this rejoicing?” [16]

One first needs to know what the root of simchah is: what true joy is. Then, on a personal level, one needs to clarify: “Am I personally connected to true simchah?”

The first part is to clarify what real simchah is. It has been explained here that the concept of simchah is whenever we reach the end of something. The end either brings sadness and mourning, or, it can offer us joy, a new beginning, an elevation to a new state. After the month of Adar comes the “head” of all the months of the year, which is Nissan, so Adar is the end of the year. The joy that we can attain in the month of Adar is when we complete the year and rise to a year of more elevated growth than the previous year. In that way, we take the “end” and reveal joy in it – we are using the “end” as a way to reveal a new, elevated beginning. That is the depth of the joy is in this month.

Now we can better understand what the joy of Zevulun is. What comes from all of Zevulun’s business efforts? What does he have from all of his hard work? Since Zevulun’s joy is because he is earning livelihood in order to support Yissocher’s Torah learning, whenever he engages in commerce, he is aware of the tachlis/purpose of it all. He is only interested in what results from his work, not in the actual work itself: his work will enable Yissocher’s Torah learning.

True joy is when one reaches the “end”, the goal, the purpose/tachlis, of what he has done. When one does not clarify the purpose of what he is doing, he is living without a purpose and his life will be a sad one. But when one is aware of the purpose of all that he is doing, there is joy throughout all that he does.

The Depth of The Sadness In Our World

Let us reflect. Why is the world full of so much sadness? Simply speaking, it is because ever since Adam sinned, there has been a curse of sadness placed on mankind. Man was cursed with “By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread”, the curse of working hard in order earn livelihood and to support himself and his family, and woman was cursed with the pains of pregnancy, childbirth, and childbearing. But there is also a deeper reason why there is so much sadness that fills the world. It is because people do not clarify the tachlis/purpose of what they are doing whether it is before they start or whether they are already at the end of what they do.

Accessing Joy On Shabbos – Only When We Are Living With Spiritual Goals

[The following insight can give us a clearer understanding of the idea.] Zevulun was the sixth child of Leah. The number 6 corresponds to the 6 days of the week (also called the “6 days of action”) which is for work [action], as the Torah says “For six days you shall labor”[17]. The purpose, the tachlis, of the 6 days of the week is the seventh day, Shabbos. The connection between Zevulun and the number 6 is that they lead to a greater purpose, a goal, which enables one to start a new beginning.

Shabbos is the purpose, the goal, the tachlis, of the 6 days of the week. It has been explained here that simchah/joy comes when one reaches the tachlis of something. Since Shabbos is the tachlis of the week, what is the simchah on Shabbos? Is it a joyous day because that a person rests from the work that he has during the six days of the week…? On Shabbos, there is a concept of oneg, pleasure. Besides for oneg Shabbos, however, there is also simchah on Shabbos. What is the simchah on Shabbos?

The simchah of Shabbos is, that now that the six days of the week have ended, one has completed his work, as the Sages say of Shabbos, that it is “As if all your work is done”[18], and now one can be raised to a higher spiritual level than the previous week. That is the simchah of Shabbos! It is so that we can become raised to a higher spiritual level than the previous week!

The simchah of Shabbos can only be experienced by one who realizes that Shabbos is the purpose, the goal, the tachlis, of the six days of the week. That is the depth of why Shabbos is a day of menuchah (serenity), epitomized by the fact that one should view Shabbos as if “all your work is done.”

If Shabbos comes and a person is simply thinking about what he did this past week and what he will do next week, he doesn’t utilize the day of Shabbos properly, because he is not connecting to the menuchah of Shabbos. He doesn’t view Shabbos “as if all your work is done”, because he doesn’t have spiritual goals, and he doesn’t see Shabbos as the goal of the week, and he certainly isn’t trying to get to a higher spiritual goal for the following week. So he cannot experience the simchah on Shabbos, and he goes into the following week with a sense of sadness.

Why is it that people don’t connect to Shabbos when it is here? It is really because they are not connected to a tachlis (goal/purpose) in all that they do, during the rest of the week. When people aren’t trying to aim for any spiritual goals, they cannot live a life of joy, and they are left with sadness. It is the same sadness felt by a person when he realizes is soon going to die, when he realizes how much he has wasted his life, for he spent his entire life without trying to get to any spiritual tachlis/purpose.

Hashem said about Shabbos, “I have a good present in My hidden treasury, and Shabbos is its name.”[19] It is called a “good present” due to the joy that is available on Shabbos. The joy on Shabbos is the same “joy” that is described by the verse, “For with joy they go out” - it is the joy of “going out” of the previous spiritual goals of the past week, for the goals have been completed, and he is now onto another spiritual goal for the coming week. For joy/simchah is accessed when we reach an end, a purpose, a goal – a tachlis.

When Shabbos arrives, certainly one’s work is still incomplete in the physical world, but in the depths of the soul, one can feel on Shabbos that he has reached the spiritual purpose of all of his work of the past week. Then, one is empowered to enter into the new week with joy.

The Depth of Zevulun’s Joy: Living With a Sense of Spiritual Purpose

Zevulun’s joy when he goes out to engage in commerce is because he is constantly bringing himself closer to his tachlis (spiritual purpose), throughout all of his business efforts. He is engaging in the pursuit of livelihood with a goal in mind: because he is concerned for the Torah study of Yissocher, who represents the Torah scholars. A “Torah scholar is called Shabbos”[20], so when Zevulun engages in commerce in order to support the Torah learning of Yissocher, on a deeper level, he is thinking  about “Shabbos”, for the ultimate spiritual goal of all six days of the week.

The Sages said that “Today is for doing, and tomorrow is for reward”[21] – and the “reward” for a person’s work is when one reaches the tachlis of all of his work. Zevulun sees the tachlis of all his work, and with that perspective, he sets out to engage in his business efforts.

Beginning and Ending The Year With Joy

Simchah comes when one reaches the goal, the end, of what he does. What about when a person begins what he does? Can a person have simchah when he begins any undertaking? A person can certainly begin with an attitude of joy, but he will only be able to remain with the joy if he is consistently aiming for a goal. When one is always aiming to begin another goal after he completes the previous, he will have a constant joy throughout all that he does, and not only when he arrives at his goal.

When the month of Adar ends, one needs to ask himself: “Do I feel a simchah in my soul? Do I feel that I have completed my “work” of this past year, and that I am now moving on to another spiritual goal for the coming year?” If one can answer “Yes” to this question, then he will be able to access true joy in the month of Adar and he will also be able to take the joy with him into the next year. By contrast, if one does not feel that he has completed any goals this year – since he wasn’t aiming for it - he will be sad in the month of Adar! And he will also enter into the coming month of Nissan with sadness…

Illuminating The Entire World With The Light of Joy: When A Jew Lives With A Sense of Spiritual Purpose

In the future, the gentiles will convert and come to the Beis HaMikdash to bring korbonos, and this will be due to the true simchah of Zevulun, which will be revealed fully in the Jewish people and which will subsequently spread to rest of the world.

Shabbos is only for the Jewish people, for the halachah is that a gentile is not allowed to keep Shabbos.[22] But in the future times, when the Jewish people will keep a genuine and inner kind of Shabbos - meaning, when they access the spiritual light of tachlis, of revealing the purpose that they were created for – this spiritual light will illuminate the entire world, where it will influence even the gentiles, to convert to the Jewish people. If a Jew isn’t living for any spiritual goals - if we do not clarify our own tachlis, then we don’t reveal the true simchah in the world, and then the spiritual light of the tachlis cannot illuminate the world.

On Purim, there was a great revelation of spiritual light. Many gentiles converted to Judaism at that time, because they became afraid of the Jewish people. On a deeper level, these gentiles converted due to the spiritual light of the “joy” of “Zevulun”, which the month of Adar corresponds to [and the events of Purim took place in the month of Adar]. Since it wasn’t yet the time for the future Redemption, this joy was still incomplete, and that is why the gentiles only converted out of fear, and not out of true joy. But in the future, there will be a great joy which will illuminate the entire world, which will cause the gentiles to convert to the Jewish people out of joy [as opposed to fear], because by that time, we will have all reached our tachlis.

Practically Speaking: Living A Life of Tachlis

Making this concept practical, the more we set spiritual goals in what we do, and we keep making new goals for ourselves after we reach our previous goals, the more we will live a life of genuine, inner simchah/joy, creating a spiritual light of simchah that will also influence the entire world for the better.

By contrast, if we are not trying to reach any spiritual goals in what we do and we do not try to formulate any new spiritual goals for ourselves, then we will not be reaching our tachlis. We will not be able to start new spiritual beginnings either, if we aren’t trying to complete any previous spiritual goals. Whenever we begin something new, it may either be due to a previous failure - or because we have completed a previous worthy goal, and now we are onto another worthy goal.

So, if each person on his/her own level, at whatever spiritual level he/she is at currently, is willing to accept upon oneself to aim for some spiritual goal and then aim for another, higher spiritual goal, of this it can be said, “They advance from strength to strength”.[23] But, if we are not aiming for any spiritual goals, then we will not reach them, and then we cannot reach the true simchah that is available in the month of Adar.

When the Sages said that “Wine enters and the secret comes out”, this is only true for one who lives all the time with a sense of tachlis/purpose in all that he does, which brings one to true simchah/joy. It is reminiscent of what the Torah says about Avraham Avinu in his old age, that “he was old and becoming of his years”[24], meaning that he constantly lived with a sense of tachlis/purpose to his life, who truly utilized the very opportunity of living.

In Conclusion

May we all merit, with siyata d’shmaya, together, that each Jew should reach his own goals, and that we should all reach our ultimate tachlis, and through this we will merit “A new light on Zion will shine”[25], which will renew all of the Creation. May it come speedily in our days. Amen.