Dvar Torah: Purim

Purim is Now!

by Michael Winner/3/21/2024

Rav Shimshon Pinkus has a beautiful piece that I haven't seen yet on Purim.

After we were saved from Egypt, we were brought "to the chuppah" at Har Sinai. After that, we spent 40 years together in the desert with little disruption. Then we came to Eretz Yisroel. Though we conquered much of the land, we did not conquer it all. Then the nation was brought together slowly but surely by Kings Shaul, Dovid, and Shlomo. The Beis HaMikdash was built and lasted for over four hundred years. It was destroyed after the sins of idol-worship, bloodshed, and illicit relations, and we were sent to Babylonia into exile. Throughout the several centuries between when we entered Eretz Yisroel and we were exiled, we had our ups and downs, but we never really left Hashem. We always turned towards Him, and He turned back towards us. Even much of the idol-worship did not stem from rebellion, rather from an inner-spiritual need for closeness to Hashem, but not directed in the right place.

Comes Achashverosh and something new occurs. Something that never occurred in Jewish history up until then. Achashverosh made a big, fat party, and said, "Everybody is invited! Even the Jews! And don't worry, the food is super-kosher, there will be minyanim, daf yomi, everything you need and want!" For the first time in history, we were no longer the downtrodden, but we were the friends. We were given a shot of not only living a life as Jews, but also to fully partake in society. And with this, we experienced a fall that we never experienced. Even though we had our kosher food, minyanim, daf yomi, etc., our life was no longer with Hashem, but it was being shared with another partner. And at that point, our connection between "Heaven and Earth" was severed. We used to have life with Hashem, even with all of the ups and downs, but now? Life was with Achashverosh, and life with Achashverosh is not life.

Then of course, the world surprised us. Haman comes to power and now our good friend Achashverosh becomes our most powerful enemy.

And now the Jews were stuck.

Up until then, when we were in such situations, we used Torah, tshuva and tefillah to return to Hashem. However, those were used when there was still a connection between us and Heaven. Now, there is no connection. So, Mordechai came and did something different. He instituted a fast. A three-day fast. Day and night. Even for children. He said to Hashem, "If you're not going to have mercy on us, we will not have mercy on them." At this point, Hashem "broke down." It was not Torah or teshuva or even tefillah, that did it. It was a crying out for mercy. With Torah, tshuva, and tefillah, we are initiating something, we are doing something that will hopefully show that we are worthy of saving. But here on Purim, we couldn't even do that. Our connection was lost. The only thing left was to cry. And when that happened, Hashem created a new connection between us.

As mentioned in previous years, the Medresh says that each and every year, the exact same mercy that Hashem poured into the world on the first Purim gets poured on every subsequent Purim. It's not some mere "remembrance," it's a real connection that He is offering us, just as He did so many years ago.

Therefore, on Purim, we have the ability to simply cry out and ask Hashem to make that connection between us, both on a personal and on a national level.

How much more important to do so this year. We have, once again, a Haman in Persia, literally controlling the world right now. All the major powers cannot do a thing against him. And each and every day, we watch nation after nation turning their backs on the Jews in Israel, and unfortunately, Jews within their own lands. Some relied on the United States, but as we see, both Biden and Trump, have made it clear that they will "end things quickly." Canada has stopped its support, with the UK and many in Europe on the way. The Israeli government can't stop internal bickering and clearly has no plan. Hezbollah has the high ground in northern Israel, threatening half the country with horrific destruction, and nobody can or will do anything about it. Jews around the world are being targeted and attacked, while the police shrug their shoulders and say, "we can't promise your safety."

The state of the nation is NOT good.

But this setup is eerily similar to that of Purim. After Esther "turned her back" on the Jewish nation by making a private party with Achashverosh and Haman, we had nobody else to turn to. Jews around the world were being persecuted and threatened with extinction. And nothing seemed to make sense.

May we all use this Purim to beg Hashem for salvation, both physically and spiritually. And hopefully, He will listen and save us from the nations of the world.

Have a wonderful and meaningful (and quiet) Shabbos and Purim.

Learning from the World

by Michael Winner/3/1/2023

During the first two weeks of Adar, my son's yeshiva has their yearly campaign to raise money specifically for trips. And for this type of yeshiva, those trips play a very important part in their education. And the boys are given the task to raise most of the money themselves. Last week, my son did his pitch to somebody in shul. He told my son that he'll give him some money if he can give him a good dvar Torah. My son was, thankfully, prepared for it. He said (and I'll leave out the details for brevity), "that we learn from the language found in Shema, that a person must serve Hashem with his two Inclinations. His good and his bad. When a person hears that somebody is collecting for a yeshiva, his Evil Inclination says, 'It's only for yeshivos… I give to them anyhow, I'll give this boy just 5 shekels,' yet his Good Inclination says, "No! I need to give fifty shekels! At least!"

Such an Israeli approach to fundraising.

But it worked! And he got 20 shekels for it.

(Please learn in the merit of Liba Sora bas Bracha Rochel and Dovid ben Liba Sora, a mother and son who are both battling and currently undergoing procedures against cancer)

Last week I was listening to a talk given by Rav Reuven Leuchter, who I've come to really appreciate. He was discussing the concept of Emunah (faith) and the lesser-known concept of "Learning from the World." He explained that many (erroneously) treat emunah with two sayings, "This too is for the good." when things don't go the way we want, and "With the help of Hashem," when things go the way we want. Being, that we "package" our response based on what we are "supposed" to say, when Hashem does something. And with that "packaging," we completely neglect to think about WHY something went the way we wanted or WHY something did not. We simply accept what happened (with our pre-packaged emunah) and move on, without trying to learn from it (and of course there are times we cannot learn from it, but we should at least try to learn something from it). We are in essence, allowing "nature" to run it's course, and we along with it.

One of the big questions asked about Purim is, "Why is it called Purim?" Of course, "Pur" is a drawing or lottery, and it was through this drawing Haman was able to figure out the best time possible to destroy the Jewish nation. But still, we're left with the question, "Okay… so what?" Why, out of everything that happened in the story, do we name it after something so inconsequential?

Rav Pincus said that this "drawing" that we name Purim after, is not simply the drawing that Haman did. Rather, it encompasses the entire story of Purim.

We see that lottery systems are used in the Torah. For example, on Yom Kippur, a lottery is used to determine which goat goes to Hashem and which to Azazel. When, shortly after the Jewish nation entered Eretz Yisroel and somebody did not follow orders, a lottery system was used to find that person. When parceling out the land, a lottery system was used.

Why is this? Because, with a lottery system, things are being "left to chance," and are therefore fair and even. Of course, that's how the non-Jewish world views it. The Torah views it as a way for Hashem to do the selecting, without human intervention, yet keeping everything within the rules of nature.

This is what the entire Purim was about. Hashem working His ways, directing everything, within the guise of nature, not needing our "help" at all.

Any person reading the Megillah, cannot be blamed to say, "So, where was Hashem in all of this?" After all, we don't even see Hashem's name written anywhere! And, it does seem, on the surface, the Mordechai and Esther played their cards right and were able to save the nation themselves (with the "help" of Hashem, of course).

However, real emunah does not allow that. Real emunah forces us to look deeper into things and see how (and if possible, why) Hashem did everything Himself.

And from how we learn this lesson with Purim, we need to also use throughout the year. Instead of using pre-packaged "emunah" statements, we should sit down and think of what happened, how it happened, how it has impacted our life, see how Hashem pulled it together, and perhaps try to see even why such a thing might have happened so we can even learn from that.

Nature is a mere cloak for Hashem to work. And it is our job to look through this nature and see and learn from Hashem's workings.

With that, I wish you all a great Shabbos and a meaningful Purim!

Ten Easy Ways to Use Purim

by Michael Winner/3/16/2022

Ah, we have finally arrived at the gates of Purim. The final holiday of the year, which probably contains the most "power" to it, yet is misused, or at best, not used, by most of us.

The miracle of Purim, as we know, is not like that of Pesach. Pesach was when Hashem revealed His power in the world in such a way that it could not be denied by anybody who was there. It was supernatural to the extreme. Purim, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. The story itself took over several years from the beginning until the end, and the rescue of the Jewish nation was done solely through natural means. Yet, the Zohar states, the same "power of mercy" that flowed from Hashem during the first Purim, continues in an undiluted state every single Purim. Obviously, something interesting is happening here.

The Gemara states that when Moshiach comes all of Tanach (Torah, Prophets, Writings) will be nullified, with the exception of The Five Books of Moshe and Megillas Esther. Why? The Torah contains the rules of life. Take what we say in Shema for example. When we serve Hashem properly, brachos, such as rain, will come upon us. If we don't, then the opposite occurs. This is how life operates on a day-to-day basis. Blessings and curses are not dependent on how Hashem feels, but rather are dependent on how we act and behave. We do our job, He does His.

The rest of Tanach, follows this idea. Constantly, we are reminded, for example, from the Prophets that if we don't follow the Torah blessings with be withheld, and if we do follow, blessings will flow.

We also see that we need to do "our part," before He does His. If a person needs money for food and home, he needs to work. After his does his hishtadlus, his "part," then Hashem does His. If a person wants to grow spiritually, he needs to do his part. He wants to be successful in his learning, he needs to sit and learn, but not in some haphazard way. Rather, he needs to put in his 100 percent, and only after that Hashem will step in and complete the task.

Many years ago, I was involved in trying to sell a piece of property and it went really, really bad. The other side ended up forging documents and things got really ugly. I was in a very stuck situation and losing money fast. My lawyer said that she had never seen such a situation. I did every form of hishtadlus possible, and every turn I took, things fell apart. Finally, I said, "Okay, that's it! Hashem, I can't do anything else. I'm turning it over to you." Shortly thereafter, I was finally able to resolve and leave the situation. If I took that route in the beginning, I doubt I would have received such help. Only after doing whatever I could and realizing that ultimately it was all in His hands, did He finally step in.

Megillas Esther is different. It teaches that there is a very different way that Hashem can operate (and He does so on every Purim). That is, He operates solely through His mercy for the Jewish people. It doesn't require us to return and do mitzvos properly, before He responds, rather, He doesn't respond at all! He initiates! This is something that is not found in the Torah. Usually, we initiate and He responds, yet on Purim, He initiates the relationship. In fact, the only thing we see the Jewish people doing on Purim is simply crying out. We don't see some mass movement in tshuvah.

Purim is a time where we "step aside" and let Hashem take over.

Rav Shimshon Pincus notes that throughout the first nine plagues that hit Egypt, Moshe and Ahron initiated the plagues, through warnings and actions, and still Pharoah would not stand down. Finally, on the final plague, Hashem said, "Step aside … I'll take care of this personally and solely on My own."

You'll notice that we have 10 "stations" that we use throughout the year. Each station builds us up in a way that no other station can do. We start with Pesach, then move to Sefiras Ha'Omer, then Shavous, Tisha B'Av, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkos, Shmini Atzeres, Chanukkah, and then finally Purim.

On each holiday, we do different mitzvos and change our davening accordingly. And through those actions, we grow as Jews. On Purim, what is the mitzvah? Simple. We eat and drink until we get drunk. Purim is the last station where we say, "Hashem, I spent the whole year trying to build myself. I did what I can do, but I cannot go any farther. Now it's all up to You to help me move up." When we are sober and involved in the world, it's very hard to truly see that. But, through drinking properly, with the right intentions, we can reach that level when we see and understand how the world truly operates.

The entire year is our hishtadlus; Purim is when we move aside and let Hashem take over.

This Purim, we have an entire day to use for davening. By random "acts of davening" throughout the day, we can ask Hashem for any help in the world. Physically or spiritually. Through our drunkenness, we realized that ultimately, after all our attempts of helping ourselves, Hashem is the only one who can help us and bring us the salvations we need as an individual and as a nation.

With that, may we all use Purim properly and in a meaningful manner.

Learning from Amalek

by Michael Winner/2/25/2021

The government is imposing a Purim lockdown. But frankly, we're ignoring it. We have not had any guests in a year. Not one. We haven't been to Yerushaliyim in over a year and we don't know when we'll be there next. My children have not seen their "safta" in a year-and-a-half and will not see her for at least another seven months. We're vaccinated. Our guests are vaccinated and have been just as careful. So, G-d willing, we will be having a very nice Purim get together this year. It will be a bit stressful, since it's right before Shabbos, but if I can go into Shabbos slightly drunk, I won't complain.

When the Jewish people left Egypt, and the world saw how Hashem took them out, there was one nation that refused to learn from that experience. Shortly after the miraculous rescue at the Red Sea, Amalek launched an attack. They knew it was a futile attempt and it triggered an everlasting war between them and us.

So why did they do it? Nations wage war for a reason. Usually, because they need land or resources. Sometimes, it's because of honor--one king insulted the mother of another. But what did Amalek go to war for? We did not have land. We did not have resources. And we certainly did not insult their mothers. They could have easily sat back, relaxed, enjoyed their movies on the television and go on in life. Why did they need to launch a fruitless attack? What did they have to gain?

The same could be asked of Amalek's descendant, Haman. He had the world on a string … sitting on a rainbow, got the string around his finger … (ten points if you know where that is from… make it twenty, I'm in a good mood. Rabbi Seif, you better know…). He was the prime-minister for the world's superpower. He was the king's right-hand man. He had children in influential places and riches beyond his means. Why did he throw that all away in order to attack the Jewish people?

The same could be asked of another one of Amalek's descendants: Israeli newspapers and news stations. Every day, they launch new attacks on the religious world. Sometimes, unfortunately, the religious world invites it, but during those "lulls," the newspapers still feel this need to fill in the void, writing about "the secret lives of the Ultra-Orthodox," "Why the Ultra-Orthodox do this?" "Why the Ultra-Orthodox do that?" and those articles? They have nothing to do with the "Ultra-Orthodox," they have to do with Torah and halacha that every frum Jew keeps, whether they are "Ultra," "Modern," or "Religious Zionist." No matter what, three days won't go by without such an article.

The answer is simple. The job of Amalek is to wage a war against Hashem and His Torah. That is all. They are willing to risk everything, going out of their way, when they could easily stay home and enjoy life, to wage this war. And Hashem sends them in our direction, when we are unwilling to go out of OUR way, to wage war FOR Hashem and His Torah.

Being a "soldier" of Hashem is not the easiest thing. It's supposed to be a bit difficult in order to continuously strengthen us. But, unfortunately, after fighting one or two battles, we need to "rest" for a few years. Ask any baal tshuvah. They left a completely secular lifestyle, and starting keeping Shabbos and kosher. Was it hard? Yes, of course. Were they successful? Yes. What are they battling now? Many will honestly answer, "I don't know." And those who grew up frum? Many might never have fought any battles.

We need to learn this important lesson from Amalek. They left the comforts of their lives for what they believe in. They were willing to risk it all. They are unrelenting and refuse to give in. Are we willing to do the same for our beliefs?

Have a wonderful and meaningful Purim and Shabbos!

Nothing You Can Do

by Michael Winner/3/6/2020

What a week.

I think my wife and I had to go to war against four different opponents in four different areas in life. Some of them major, some of them, not so.

I always joke with her, “the reason that mitzvos between man and his fellow men, are so difficult for us, is because other people exist.”

I’m glad Shabbos is here.

There are a few things that makes Purim and Pesach similar. Hashem performed miracles. The Jewish people were saved. Both eventually led to our settlement in Eretz Yisroel. However, there are also a few differences. With Pesach, we were brought out by a promise to Avraham. And even with that promise, we needed to do something to make us worthy. We did bris mila and korban Pesach. And those two mitzvos helped give us the merit of redemption.

Purim however, was different. With Purim, we had a death sentence hanging over us. There was nothing for us to do. No mitzvos to earn merit. No forefathers’ merit to call on our behalf. Our backs were to the wall and we had absolutely nowhere to go. The only thing we could do was simply beg and hope that Hashem would step in. As Rav Shimshon Pincus said, “In times where we must awaken mercy, there is no place for hishtadlus."

Purim is a time where we realize “there is only Hashem." That is why we get drunk. We try to get to the point where we are unable to see "reality" and begin to see reality.

Rav Pinkus continues, “The point of the davening during Purim is to ask Hashem to rip up the current judgement and to help us begin anew. It is a time where the gates of Heaven are open and the ability to change our situation is available."

It’s not through mitzvos. It’s not through segulas. It’s simply davening that Hashem should have mercy on us, knowing that EVERYTHING is in His hands.

Many use Purim as an excuse to get drunk and have a good time. There is certainly a mitzvah to enjoy Purim and to celebrate it, however, it’s a much deeper time than we think. It’s a time where we hit the point where we are honestly able to say, “there is only Hashem."

With that, I leave you with a wonderful Shabbos and a meaningful Purim!

Adar is Here!

by Michael Winner/2/28/2020

Ah…the joy of the month of Adar!

As is the custom, my oldest son and I met my usual group on Monday, in Yerushaliyim to bake our matzos. Thankfully, I was working with a fellow Chicagoan, so everything was nice and smooth. Before going, I took my son to the yeshiva that I learned in to meet the rabbeim there. My rav came out to speak with us and he said to my son, “There is only one word that is forbidden to say in this yeshiva. Do you know what it is? I’ll tell you: ‘Normal.' Nothing is normal here. We don’t like normal!"

I think my son has a better grasp on why I came out the way I did.

The Jewish year is often said to be circular, it starts at Pesach and it makes a circle, ends at Purim and begins anew with Pesach. It’s not entirely true. It’s more comparable to a helix, which is circular but moves up to a new level with each passing year. Being that it still is circular, different periods of the year have different beams running vertically through the helix. So the "beam" of Tisha B’Av starts from the bottom and goes through each and every Tisha B’Av in the helix. That is why Tisha B’Av is not just a matter of mourning over the past, but is known to be a more dangerous time for the Jewish people even today, because the power of the original Tisha B’Av carries up through the helix through all Tisha B’Avs.

Adar is the same: the Arizal says that the original power of Purim runs through the years. We are not merely celebrating what once occurred, but rather we have the ability to tap into the power of the original Purim and use it even today.

So, what exactly is that power?

When Haman and Achashveirosh decreed the destruction of the Jewish people, Mordecai knew that the main danger did not lie with Haman, but with Hashem. If the decree of Achashveirosh could not be annulled, then certainly the official decree of the King Himself could not be annulled. It was one thing for Hashem to WARN of bad things, but to make a decree? That’s something else completely. From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur to even Sukkos, yes, Hashem makes decrees for the next year. However, the “ink does not dry” until Shmini Atrzeres, so there is still a way to make changes. However, once the ink is dry, things get a bit trickier.

The power of Purim (and in many respects, the month of Adar) is that Hashem changed the spiritual nature and rules of the world to allow us to rip up that decree. During this month, and specifically on Purim, Hashem gives us an opening to change decrees that were made against us. It’s something that goes against the rules of “nature,” and is comparable to throwing an object up in the air and gravity never taking hold of it. By properly learning about the hidden miracles of Purim and seeing those hidden miracles in our lives, and by increasing our davening and trust in Hashem, we can use the exact same spiritual power that our fathers used so many centuries ago.

Have a great Shabbos!

Born Agains

by Michael Winner/3/15/2019

My apologies for the length of this Dvar Torah. I usually like to keep it short, but PURIM? So much to talk about, I think it’s worth reading the whole thing.

With every holiday and Shabbos, there is a concept of “Half for Hashem, Half for You” (with the exception of Shavous, which is a different topic). The simple explanation is that not only should you eat enjoyable foods and drink over the holiday (for you), but you should also be sure to learn Torah during those times and be involved with other mitzvos (for Hashem).

So, Rav Pincus asks, where’s the “Half for You” on Yom Kippur? All day, we are fasting and are davening! It seems that it’s “All for Hashem." He answers that Purim is the “Half for You” and Yom Kippur is the “Half for Hashem,” both being connected to one another.

There are many such connections between the two holidays, one of the famous ones being the names “Purim” and “Yom HaKIPURIM." One of the other connections is that both days are days where we receive life. On Yom Kippur, we come out of the holiday cleansed from sin. Our neshama is in pristine shape. On Purim, we, as a nation, were slated in Heaven to be wiped off. However, there is a small difference between the two in this regard. Yom Kippur comes at the end of 40 days of intense teshuva and working on oneself. As a result of our hishtadlus, our actions, to do teshuva, Hashem accepts it, and cleanses us. However, on Purim, we don’t see the same thing occurring.

Yes, the main sin that brought about our potential destruction was the fact that we happily participated in the banquet of Achashverosh. Yet, we see two interesting things occur. When Esther tells Mordecai to take off his sackcloth and put on regular clothes so he can come and plead to the King, Mordecai refuses, and instead tells Esther that she needs to go on a suicide mission to see the king herself. He is, in essence, turning down the opportunity to do proper hishtadlus and tells Esther to go on a mission doomed to fail. Then, instead of instructing everybody to do teshuva, he takes the young children, who did not sin, and directed them in davening for three days and nights. So, where’s the mass teshuva that will come to save the nation?

Purim is the time where Hashem says, “Step Aside, I’ll take care of this." Throughout the year, we work on ourselves and daven that Hashem should help us accomplish our goals in life. In general, He follows the principal that what we do below affects His reaction Above. If we learn, daven, and do mitzvos with a full heart, He responds in kind. However, on Purim, things are different. We were WRITTEN and SEALED for total annihilation. No amount of hishtadlus was going to help. There wasn’t even room for teshuva. The only thing we could possibly do was to beg Hashem to treat us with mercy and to save us, not because of any credits we might have had, but simply because He is our Father in Heaven.

On Purim, hishtadlus, doing your best to make things happen, has no place. It’s a day, where Hashem brings down bracha for those who want, not based on whether or not we deserve it, but simply because of His love for us.

When a person comes asking for tzeddakah, we do have a right, in general, to suspect whether or not the person is lying. However, on Purim, we waive that “right” and give to whoever asks. Not only is this true between man and man, but also between Man and Hashem. On Purim, we simply need to ask for help; we don’t need to “do extra” (while that is certainly a good thing to do nonetheless) to serve as merit.

Purim is not only a time that we survived physically, but also spiritually. It’s a time of taking a sealed death decree and turning it into new life.

I would like to add a personal thought that I came up with. We know that Pesach serves as the birth of the Jewish nation. Shavous serves as our Bar Mitzvah, by accepting the Torah. Perhaps Tisha B’Av is our "teenage years” (That I never learned, just an idea). Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur represent our wedding to Hashem. Sukkos is the Sheva Brachos we have after the wedding. Simchas Torah is the day we start building our lives together. Chanukah represents the time we get back together after a fight in the marriage.

So, what is Purim? I think that Purim represents the death of the nation. It’s the end of the year, hence the end of the person’s life cycle. However, our life cycle is not a circle. Rather, it’s like a strand of DNA twisting upwards. Perhaps Purim is not only the death of the person, but like Purim itself, it’s the techias hamasim (the resurrecting of the dead) of the Jewish nation. Yes, we were slated to die, but Hashem gave us new life. He saved us from Haman, and shortly after gave us the second Beis HaMikdash. Perhaps, Purim, on a nation level is our death and resurrection to begin anew. And by properly using this day, we can start anew one month later on Pesach, when we are “born again." But this time, it’s not only another Pesach like last year, it will be a Pesach on a higher level than that of last.

Have a great Purim!

Born Agains!