Although at face value Purim and Pesach don’t seem to have much in common, we can find many sources throughout Chazal that weave together an obvious correlation between the two holidays.

In Masechet Megillah (ו:) Rav Yochanan discusses the opinions regarding when to celebrate Purim in a leap year. The question arises of which Adar do we celebrate Purim in? Rav Eliezer and Rav Yosi are of the opinion that we celebrate in the first month, adjacent to Shevat. However, l’halacha we follow Rashbag’s opinion that the second month of Adar—the month that is adjacent to Nisan—is the “chosen one.”

The Gemara later explains the logic of Rashbag, in that juxtaposing the celebration of one redemption, Purim, to the celebration of another redemption, Pesach, is preferable:

אמר רבי טבי טעמא דרבי שמעון בן גמליאל מסמך גאולה לגאולה עדיף

It’s interesting to note that Pesach is our first holiday that is d’orayta and Purim is our first holiday that is d’rabanan. As we know, rabbinic mitzvot were put into place as a means to enhance the mitzvot d’orayta. Our rabbis enhanced our calendar with Purim, perhaps, preparing us to bring us closer to the full redemption.

Rashi in Masechet Taanit (29), on the famous statement of Rav, similarly makes a connection between the holidays. Just as when Av begins one decreases rejoicing, so too when the month of Adar begins, one increases rejoicing:

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַב שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר שִׁילַת מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַב כְּשֵׁם שֶׁמִּשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אָב מְמַעֲטִין בְּשִׂמְחָה כָּךְ מִשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אֲדָר מַרְבִּין בְּשִׂמְחָה

רש»י:

משנכנס אדר – ימי נסים היו לישראל פורים ופסח:

This Rashi seems odd, as we all know that Pesach is during the month of Nisan!?

There are many ways we can try to understand the correlation between the two holidays. Hallel denotes rejoicing. On Purim we read the Megillah. According to one opinion in the Gemara, the Megillah is the “Hallel” for Purim. On Pesach we have the Haggadah, which includes Hallel in it.

Another similarity exists in a key omission. Many struggle with the question of why Hashem isn’t mentioned in the Megillah. Some explain that actually God’s name is mentioned, simply in a hidden way. The word “Hamelech” with the “hei hayidia”—definitive THE—is referring to God, as it says in the Megillah:

בַּלַּ֣יְלָה הַה֔וּא נָדְדָ֖ה שְׁנַ֣ת הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ

That night, sleep deserted THE king,

THE king, they explain, is “Hashem”—looking after Am Israel.

When it comes to Pesach, many struggle with a similar question of why Moshe isn’t mentioned in the Haggadah.

Perhaps we can view each holiday as having a unique challenge for us to overcome, and by doing so we become closer to the full redemption. On Purim one may assume from the story that God isn’t part of the equation. It can appear as a completely secular holiday where our salvation happened naturally or by chance. God is hidden in the recounting of the story, and our work on Purim is to connect the outcome to God. Pesach, on the other hand, is a holiday of supernatural powers. Miracles took place that we may think have nothing to do with human work. In the same vein, Moshe is perhaps removed from the Haggadah—for us to work on connecting the miracles to our humanly actions.

We find an interesting argument in Shulchan Aruch regarding saying Hallel in shul on the first night of Pesach, the opening of the holiday. There is a disagreement between Rav Yosef Karo in Eretz Yisrael who says we say Hallel with a bracha, versus the Rema who points out that in chutz la’aretz we don’t say Hallel in shul as it’s said in the Seder. Minhag Eretz Yisrael even for Ashkenazi Jews is to follow Rav Yosef Karo, and we recite Hallel on Pesach night in shul.

Hallel in shul, a holy place, is further helping us connect the miracles to God—in turn setting up a deeper challenge in connecting it to human actions. We find this exact challenge in our modern redemption: Medinat Israel. A large group of Am Israel hold that it’s completely disconnected from God, either because they only believe in human power or, on the other extreme, because they believe in God’s power alone and the state is too man-made. Coming out from Adar and Nisan with the understanding that both human action, hishtadlut, and God go hand in hand in bringing the ultimate redemption, allows us to enter Iyar—the month of Yom Ha’atzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim.

Rabbi Shaul Feldman is the executive director of Bnei Akiva of the U.S. and Canada.