Purim 5631 First Ma'amar

The Essence of Purim

Why the Holiday is Called Purim/Lots

“עַל־כֵּן קָרְאוּ לַיָּמִים הָאֵלֶּה פוּרִים עַל־שֵׁם הַפּוּר .../Therefore these days were called Purim/Lots because of the lot…” (Esther 9:26)  The name of a holiday usually indicates something very significant about and central to the essence of the day.  It seems strange, therefore, that this holiday is called Purim/Lots commemorating the lots that Haman cast to determine the day on which to execute his dastardly plan.  How are Haman’s lots central to the essence of Purim?

Thinking about the name of the holiday, another question presents itself.  Why is the name of the holiday plural?  If it commemorates Haman’s lots, it should be the singular, “Pur/Lot” as the pasuk states, “... הִפִּיל פּוּר .../… He cast a lot …” (Esther 3:7)  Why is it, “Purim/Lots”? 

The Sfas Emes explains that Haman’s lot relate both to Haman and to us.  The lot of the Persians was to destroy the Jews.  However, since the Jews are eternal and cannot be destroyed, our lot was that the Persian decree should be overturned.  Of course, to merit God’s salvation, we needed to pray and supplicate.  Their lot, in effect, caused our lot.  The paytan/liturgical poet hints at this in the piyut/liturgical poem Asher Heini that we say after we read the Megillah.  “פּוּר הָמָן נֶהְפַּךְ לְפוּרֵינוּ/Haman’s lot turned into our lot.”

Drawing lots gives completely random results.  There is nothing more natural than this.  The fact that we were saved, that the result of Haman’s lot did not come to fruition, indicates that the events that transpired were in fact miracles God rendered to save us.  Haman’s lot could only have become our lot through Divine intervention.  Therefore, the name of the holiday Purim/Lots is directly related to the essence of the day – God’s hand in our salvation.

Purim 5631 Second Ma'amar

We find in Megillas Esther (3:7), “... הִפִּיל פּוּר ... מִיּוֹם לְיוֹם וּמֵחֹדֶשׁ לְחֹדֶשׁ .../… he cast a lot … for every day and for every month …”  If he cast a lot for every day, every month is included.  Why did he cast both for every day and also for every month?  The Midrash¹ explains that first he cast a lot for the days of the week.  This did not work because the archangel of each day complained to God.  When Haman saw that the lot for days was not working, he switched to months.  This Midrash is difficult, though, because even the lot for months must fall on a specific day of the week.  What did Haman gain by switching to months? 

The Sfas Emes explains that there is a fundamental difference between days of the week and days of the month.  The Gemara², noting this difference, says that Shabbos is established and set from the Creation – the days of the week never change – whereas the Jewish People establish the holidays – establishing when the month starts, was given to the nation of Israel. 

On a deeper plane the Sfas Emes explains that God did not merely give us the power to establish new months.  The new month is a metaphor for renewal in the natural world.  With the ability to establish new months, God made us the vehicle through which new life is drawn into the world.  Generally we don’t think of nature as needing renewal.  Nature appears to be constant, following set and unchanging laws.  Things seem the same today as they did yesterday and the day before.  Actually, though, God is constantly renewing the Creation.  The act of creation was not a one time event.  Rather, it is constant and continuous.  God’s will for the Creation to continue is fed to the physical world through a spiritual hierarchy of which the nation of Israel is an integral part.  Therefore, the creative life force that is responsible for the continuing existence of everything we see, comes through us.  The cycle of the lunar month symbolizes this constant renewal of Creation because it is so blatant.  Every month the moon waxes, wanes, disappears and reappears.  Significantly, the Hebrew word for month – חוֹדֶשׁ – has the same root as the Hebrew for new – חָדָשׁ.   

For Haman the wicked, our connection with the source of life was anathema.  Haman was at the exact opposite end of the life – death spectrum.  We are part of the life giving structure of the Creation.  Chazal tell us that the wicked, on the other hand, are considered dead even as they live.³  Haman, the wicked, had cut himself off from the source of life.

Haman understood this clearly.  When he proposed our destruction to Achashveirosh, he said, “ ... יֶשְׁנוֹ עַם־אֶחָד מְפֻזָּר וּמְפֹרָד .../There is one nation, scattered and separated …” (Esther 3:8)  Even though we were scattered and separated, we were one nation.  The surface view of the Creation shows innumerable different and disparate things.  However, at the most fundamental level, there is one creative life force that is responsible for the entire Creation’s continued existence.  Haman understood that the nation of Israel represents this Oneness that underlies everything.  Even in exile, when there is much less awareness of God, we remain one nation.  Our very existence testifies to the fundamental unity, the Godly life force that underpins every disparate part of Creation.  In fact, our primary mission in the exile is to become aware ourselves and to make others aware of this.  This is what so greatly angered Haman.  We were an intrusion on his turf, so to speak.  Haman is part of the physical world.  But he is wicked and wants nothing to do with the source of life.  We are a threat to him because we represent the source of life. 

And this is the reason he switched his lots to months after days of the week failed. As we indicated earlier, the days of the week culminating in Shabbos are God given from the time of Creation.  They are above nature.  Haman has no part of it.    Because Haman was part of the physical world, he could have more “success” with months which represent renewal in the physical world. 

Haman wanted to destroy us because we represented connection to the source of life in the natural world and he wanted to remain disconnected from God, the source of life.  It is particularly significant, because of this, that the miracle of Purim occurred specifically within the bounds of nature.  The miracle had to occur within nature in order to show that nature does not “belong to” Haman and Amalek.  Rather, God is the source of life and existence in the natural world.  This explains why the Megilla associates the miracle with the month in which it happened, “... וְהַחֹדֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר נֶהְפַּךְ לָהֶם מִיָּגוֹן לְשִׂמְחָה .../… and the month which turned for them from sorrow to joy …” (Esther 9:22)  The Megilla is alluding to this concept by emphasizing that the miracle did not exceed the bounds of nature.

1Esther R. 7:11

2Pesachim 117b

3Brachos 19a-b

Purim 5634 Third Ma'amar

Chazal established four mitzvos on Purim.  They are the reading of the Megillah, the Purim meal, Mishloach Manos/Sending gifts of food, and Matanos LaEvyonim/Giving money to the poor.  The first two are self-explanatory.  We read the Megilla to recount the story of Purim and our salvation.  We have a festive meal because parties were the venue of most of the Purim story.  Our redemption and the progress toward redemption occurred either during or as a result of a party.

However, the last two mitzvos need explanation.  Why did Chazal establish giving gifts to friends and money to the poor specifically on Purim?  What is the connection between these mitzvos and Purim?

In order to answer this we need to understand the Purim story on a deeper level.  The Purim story is not simply a wicked plot to destroy us and the miracle of our deliverance.  The wicked Haman descended from Amalek, the nemesis of the Jewish people throughout history.  The Purim story was essentially a plot by Amalek destroy the nation of Israel.  Instead we destroyed Haman, the scion of Amalek together with his cohorts and followers.

What power does Amalek have over the nation of Israel?  The Sfas Emes explains elsewhere that Amalek’s power derives from our disunity.  When we were in the desert after the Exodus, Amalek attacked the stragglers.  Chazal teach that we were not unified at that time. 

Our power to defeat Amalek derives from our unity as we find in the Megilla, ... נקהלו ועמוד על נפשם .../… they assembled and defended themselves …”  Chazal as well teach us that Ya’akov was saved from Eisav because he assembled together with his children.

When there is unity among the nation of Israel, God’s reputation, represented by His name becomes sanctified and spreads in the world.  This is why God said that His name will not be complete until Amalek is destroyed.  Amalek will only be destroyed when we are unified.  Our unification also represents the completeness of God’s Name.  It follows that God’s Name will only be  complete when Amalek is destroyed.

When Esther told Mordechai, “לך כנוס את כל היהודים .../Go and gather together all the Jews …” her purpose was not only for them to cry out to God.  It was also to unite them.

Chazal ask why Mordechai is referred to as איש יהודי/a man of the tribe of Yehuda (or a Jewish man).  Mordechai came from the tribe of Binyamin.  They explain that יהודי/Judean alludes to יחידי/alone or only.  Mordechai unified the entire nation.  He was called יהודי/Judean or Jew because he identified with all the יהודים/Jews.

Therein lies our power.  When we are united we have the power to destroy Amalek.  When we are not united, we are liable to be attacked from without.  May we merit working towards harmony!

Purim 5637 First Ma'amar

Why do we celebrate Purim with a party?  Unlike other holidays on which we partake of festive meals, the Purim party is the main vehicle for commemorating our salvation.  It is integral to the holiday.  Why?

To understand this we must understand the sequence of events that lead up to the salvation.  The Purim story begins with a party – Achashveirush's party.  At this party, Achashveirush displayed and used the golden vessels of the Beis HaMikdash.  Achashveirush was not using these vessels because he had no others.  He was making a statement.  Besides the sacrilege, he was saying that there would be no redemption.  The vessels were his and would remain in Shushan.  This was the same Achashveirush who, upon assuming power, cancelled the building of the second Beis HaMikdash.  It was to this party that the Jews of Shushan were invited.  And they went.

Mordechai and Esther understood that this sin caused the decree of destruction that was upon the Jews years later.  If they were to survive this decree, the Jews would need to acknowledge the sin and repent.  Esther told Mordechai, "לך כנוס את כל היהודים הנמצאים בשושן וצומו .../Go and gather all the Jews who are found in Shushan and they should fast …" (Esther 4:16)  This pasuk parallels the pasuk at the beginning of the Megillah, "... עשה המלך לכל העם הנמצאים בשושן ... משתה .../… The king made a party for all the people … who were found in Shushan …" (Esther 1:5) to teach us that the pasuk is referring to the Jews of Shushan.  Esther is making the connection between this fasting and Achashveirosh's party that the Jews attended years earlier.

Incredibly, the seeds of the salvation were planted at this very party at which they sinned.  It was at this party that Achashveirosh deposed Vashti leading the way for Esther to take her place.  How did this happen?  The Sfas Emes explains that the Jews fasted and repented completely out of love of God.  Chazal[1] teach us that when we repent out of love for God, even the sins we committed willfully and knowingly are converted into good deeds.  God, of course, knew that we would repent from love and therefore sowed the seeds of our ultimate salvation in this party that began as a sin.

This idea is alluded to at the end of the pasuk above, "ובכן אבוא אל המלך אשר לא כדת .../… Thus I will go to the king even though it is unlawful …" (Esther 4:16)  Esther is telling Mordechai that she is willing to go to Achashveirosh to intercede on behalf of the Jews even though she would be risking her life by doing so.  

This pasuk can be understood more deeply, though.  It is known that wherever "king" is mentioned alone in the Megillah, it is referring to the King – God.  Esther is telling Mordechai to get the Jews to repent from love.  The sin of the party will then be converted to a good deed.  She (and the entire nation) will then be able to come close to God.  So, the act of the sin itself enabled them to come close to God – "שלא כדת/in an unlawful manner" – because their repentance converted it to a good deed.

We celebrate Purim specifically with a party, then, to commemorate our salvation which came about through the conversion of the sin of attending the original party in Shushan into a good deed when we repented from love of God.

A freilechen Purim!

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[1] Yoma 86b

Purim 5631 Fourth Ma'amar

Chazal established four mitzvos that we are required to perform on Purim – reading Megillas Esther, eating a festive meal, giving presents to the poor and mishlo'ach manos – sending portions of food to friends.  The first three are understandable within the context of the holiday.  Even giving presents to the poor which is not directly associated with the holiday can be understood in that Chazal wanted the poor to be able to participate in the festive meal as well.  However, what is the point of sending portions of food to people who already have food?  Furthermore, this mitzvah is unique to Purim.  There is no comparable mitzvah in any other context.  What is the point of it?

The Sfas Emes explains that Chazal established this mitzvah to foster love amongst the nation.  Giving fosters love because it is a mechanism for creating unity.  Only in unity is love for others possible.  The Sfas Emes explains why this is so.

The Torah enjoins us to love our friend as we love ourselves, "ואהבת לרעך כמוך/Love your friend as yourself." (VaYikra 19:18)  How is it possible to love another as we love ourselves?  It seems an impossible task.  Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi in his seminal work Likutei Amarim (32) explains that this mitzvah is indeed impossible if we only relate to our physical bodies.  In that case, we are all separate from one another.  However, although we are separated physically, our souls come together as one at their source.  Our job is to identify with and cultivate a firm belief in this fact.  When our primary view of reality is the spiritual in which we are all connected as one, the lines that separate us tend to blur and loving the other as we love ourselves becomes straightforward.

With this concept we can understand an enigmatic Rashi.  Rashi explains that "friend" in the pasuk "רעך ורע אביך על תעזב .../Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father …" (Mishlei 27:10) refers to God.  In fact, Rashi[1] cites this pasuk in his commentary on the famous adage of Hillel the elder, "What you hate, do not do to your friend."  He writes that since we do not want our friends to cross us, we should make sure not to cross God.  

Apparently Rashi explains that Hillel's adage refers to God because Hillel is declaring that this is the basis and the primary teaching of the entire Torah.  Everything else is simply commentary to this main teaching.  Still, it seems somewhat awkward to say that "friend" refers to God.  This is certainly not the simple meaning.  However, according to our concept it is clear.  The kabbalists[2] teach that the spiritual place where all our souls are one is called K'nesses Yisrael/the Congregation of Israel.  This place is also called the Shechina/the Divine Presence.  The source of all our souls, the place where we are one is the Divine Presence itself.  It's clear then that not forsaking our friend and not forsaking God is one and the same.  

Mordechai felt this connection with the nation very strongly and was able to be one with and love the entire nation because of it.  In the Megilla we find, "איש יהודי היה בשושן הבירה ושמו מרדכי .../A Yehudi man was in Shushan, the capital and his name was Mordechai …" (Esther 2:5)  Nowadays the word Yehudi is used generally to refer to anyone who is Jewish.  Literally (and originally) though, Yehudi refers to members of the tribe of Yehuda.  

Why was Mordechai referred to as being from Yehuda when he was actually from the tribe of Binyamin?  The Midrash[3] addresses this question and answers with a play on words.  The Midrash reads Yehudi as yehidi/alone because Mordechai recognized only God and sanctified only Him. 

Because Mordechai was clearly connected to the source of all souls, the Divine Presence, his merit influenced all of Israel.  We find this influence in the Megilla itself, "... ועמוד על נפשם .../… they defended themselves … (lit. he stood on their soul)" (Esther 9:16)  Significantly both the entire clause is in the singular – he stood – and – their soul.

We also find the singular used when Ya'akov descended to Egypt with his family, "כל הנפש הבאה ליעקב מצרימה .../All the souls (lit. soul) who came with Ya'akov to Egypt …" (Shmos 46:26)  Rashi cites the Midrash that the pasuk uses the singular because they worshipped one God.  What is the connection between worshipping one God and the use of the singular נפש/soul?  According to our concept this is understood.  Their souls came together as one in the Divine Presence.

We can also infer the strong unity of the Jews of Shushan from the Chiddushei HaRim on the pasuk preceding our acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai, "ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר/Israel camped there opposite the mountain." (Shmos 19:2)  Here too, the singular "ויחן/He camped" is used.  Rashi cites the Midrash which explains that there was no strife among the nation.  They camped as one person.  Unity, the Chiddushei HaRim explains, is a necessary prerequisite for accepting the Torah.  Chazal teach us that the Jews at the time of Mordechai accepted the Torah as well.  It's clear from the Chiddushei HaRim that they could only have accepted the Torah if they were united.

Let's contemplate unity and love amongst our entire nation this year as we give mishlo'ach manos.  After all, this is its purpose!

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[1] Rashi in Shabbos 31a

[2] Pri Eitz Chayim 1 Sha'ar HaTefilla, Nefesh HaChayim 2:18

[3] Esther R. 6:2

Purim 5631 Second Ma'amar

We find in Megillas Esther, “... הפיל פור ... מיום ליום ומחֹדש לחדש .../… he cast a lot … for every day and for every month …” If he cast a lot for every day, every month is included. Why did he cast both for every day and also for every month? The Midrash explains that first he cast a lot for the days of the week. This did not work because the archangel of each day complained to God. When Haman saw that the lot for days was not working, he switched to months. This Midrash is difficult, though, because even the lot for months must fall on a specific day of the week. What did Haman gain by switching to months?

The Sfas Emes explains that there is a fundamental difference between days of the week and days of the month. The Gemara, noting this difference, says that Shabbos is established and set from the Creation – the days of the week never change – whereas the Jewish People establish the holidays – establishing when the month starts, was given to the nation of Israel.

On a deeper plane the Sfas Emes explains that God did not merely give us the power to establish new months. The new month is a metaphor for renewal in the natural world. With the ability to establish new months, God made us the vehicle through which new life is drawn into the world. Generally we don’t think of nature as needing renewal. Nature appears to be constant, following set and unchanging laws. Things seem the same today as they did yesterday and the day before. Actually, though, God is constantly renewing the Creation. The act of creation was not a one time event. Rather, it is constant and continuous. God’s will for the Creation to continue is fed to the physical world through a spiritual hierarchy of which the nation of Israel is an integral part. Therefore, the creative life force that is responsible for the continuing existence of everything we see, comes through us. The cycle of the lunar month symbolizes this constant renewal of Creation because it is so blatant. Every month the moon waxes, wanes, disappears and reappears. Significantly, the Hebrew word for month – חודש – has the same root as the Hebrew for new – חדש.

For Haman the wicked, our connection with the source of life was anathema. Haman was at the exact opposite end of the life – death spectrum. We are part of the life giving structure of the Creation. Chazal tell us that the wicked, on the other hand, are considered dead even as they live. Haman, the wicked, had cut himself off from the source of life.

Haman understood this clearly. When he proposed our destruction to Achashveirosh, he said, “ישנו עם אחד מפוזר ומפורד .../There is one nation, scattered and separated …” Even though we were scattered and separated, we were one nation. The surface view of the Creation shows innumerable different and disparate things. However, at the most fundamental level, there is one creative life force that is responsible for the entire Creation’s continued existence. Haman understood that the nation of Israel represents this Oneness that underlies everything. Even in exile, when there is much less awareness of God, we remain one nation. Our very existence testifies to the fundamental unity, the Godly life force that underpins every disparate part of Creation. In fact, our primary mission in the exile is to become aware ourselves and to make others aware of this. This is what so greatly angered Haman. We were an intrusion on his turf, so to speak. Haman is part of the physical world. But he is wicked and wants nothing to do with the source of life. We are a threat to him because we represent the source of life.

And this is the reason he switched his lots to months after days of the week failed. As we indicated earlier, the days of the week culminating in Shabbos are God given from the time of Creation. They are above nature. Haman has no part of it. Because Haman was part of the physical world, he could have more “success” with months which represent renewal in the physical world.

Haman wanted to destroy us because we represented connection to the source of life in the natural world and he wanted to remain disconnected from God, the source of life. It is particularly significant, because of this, that the miracle of Purim occurred specifically within the bounds of nature. The miracle had to occur within nature in order to show that nature does not “belong to” Haman and Amalek. Rather, God is the source of life and existence in the natural world. This explains why the Megilla associates the miracle with the month in which it happened, “והחודש אשר נהפך מיגון לשמחה/… and the month which turned from sorrow to joy …” The Megilla is alluding to this concept by emphasizing that the miracle did not exceed the bounds of nature.

Purim 5631 First Ma'amar

“על כן קראו לימים האלה פורים על שם הפור .../Therefore these days were called Purim/Lots because of the lot…” The name of a holiday usually indicates something very significant about and central to the essence of the day. It seems strange, therefore, that this holiday is called Purim/Lots commemorating the lots that Haman cast to determine the day on which to execute his dastardly plan. Why are Haman’s lots central to the essence of Purim?

Thinking about the name of the holiday, another question presents itself. Why is the name of the holiday plural? If it commemorates Haman’s lots, it should be the singular, “Pur/Lot” as the pasuk states, “... הפיל פור .../… He cast a lot …” Why is it, “Purim/Lots”? The Sfas Emes explains that Haman’s lots relate both to Haman and to us. The lot of the Persians was to destroy the Jews. However, since the Jews are eternal and cannot be destroyed, our lot was that the Persian decree should be overturned. Of course, to merit God’s salvation, we needed to pray and supplicate. Their lot, in effect, caused our lot. The paytan/liturgical poet hints at this in the piyut/liturgical poem Asher Heini that we say after we read the Megillah. “פור המן נהפך לפורינו/Haman’s lot became our lot.”

Drawing lots gives completely random results. There is nothing more natural than this. The fact that we were saved, that the result of Haman’s lot did not come to fruition, indicates that the events that transpired were in fact miracles God rendered to save us. Haman’s lot could only become our lot through Divine intervention. Therefore the name of the holiday Purim is directly related to the essence of the day.