Adar

Upside down days

We are in the month of Adar on the Jewish calendar. We just celebrated Purim. Adar is a time of increased joy and silliness. Adar is also a month of memory and grief for me.

This shabbat, 7 March 2026 will mark 18 Adar 5786, 7 years since Emet’s death, a full Shmita cycle.

Emet died March 25, 2019, 18 Adar II 5779. It was a leap year. During leap years, the Jewish calendar has an entire leap month, an extra Adar and an extra Purim. Extra increased joy.

Emet’s adoptive mom, Naomi, and I ate hamentashen from Folkshul’s Purim party at Emet’s bedside. Vnahafocu. Upside down days.

In the last weeks of Emet’s life, he hallucinated that he was planning a wedding.

There is a Talmudic story about a wedding procession and a funeral procession which meet in the road. The wedding procession goes first, because we do not delay joy even amidst grief.

Emet wanted us to focus on the joy of being together.

Radical Jewish calendar at Emet’s bedside, set to the month of Adar II 5779, March 2019.