Purim

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!

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. 

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

This Wednesday my son and I are heading to Yerushaliyim to our annual Matzah Baking.  We’ll be spending most of the day, running around shopping for things we can’t get here, and then start baking at 6:30pm.  We’ll probably finish by 11:30pm and will have to make a decision to attempt to drive back up north or stay overnight.  I’m looking forward to it.  It’s a good group of guys who work together.  My official job is to cool down/weigh/pack/mark all the matzos and boxes. I think I’ve been doing this for 12 years or so.  Each year I write something silly on everybody’s boxes, such as “Made in China”, “This year we washed our hands before starting”, “Find a Pita, Win a Prize!” Much to my friends chagrin, everybody comes in when they have few minutes to read what everybody has on their boxes.  So, I get the attention, while he, who is doing the actual baking, gets none.  Poor him J

If anybody has any cute ideas on what to right, I’m certainly open.  I’m running out of them, and if I write things from previous years, I get in trouble.

p.s. Due to the intensity of the day and coming home, etc… I’m not sure I’ll be around next week to write.

“When the king’s word and law were publicized, and when many young girls were gathered to Shushan the capital, to Hagai, Esther was taken to the palace (literally: house of the king), to Hagai, keeper of the women” (Esther: 2:8)

It’s important, that while learning Megillas Esther, to remember that there are many layers of the Megillah.  Many things are hidden within the words.  After all, that is one of the overall themes of Purim… the hiddenness of Hashem in the story.  We have a tradition to that there is a difference in meaning when the Megillah says “King Achashverosh” or simply “The King”.  When the text says “King Achashverosh” it’s speaking of King Achashverosh himself.  When it says “The King”, it IS speaking of King Achashverosh on a simple level, but, on a deeper lever, it’s speaking of Hashem.

As I was learning the Megillah, I was trying to keep this in mind, and trying to see how to fit “Hashem” into the story.  I thought occurred to me when I learned the above pasuk, specifically, “Esther was taken to the house of the King…”

Here we have Esther, who grew up in the home of Mordecai, one of the leaders of world Jewry, and THE leader of the Jewish people in Shushan.  She grew up in the frummest of the frummest home.  She is a direct descendant of King Shaul… and suddenly, she is ripped away from her home to be brought in front of Achashverosh himself, knowing there’s a chance he will force her to marry him.  Can you imagine something like this happening to a frum girl today that grew up in Meah Shaarim?

Yet, the pasuk says that she was taken to the house of the King, not the house of King Achashverosh.

I want to propose that perhaps we see a sign of where she “was holding” spiritually.  While normal people would have begun a descent into the pits of depression, Esther was different.  She strengthened herself at this critical juncture where things were seemingly lost, and actually grew because of it.  Her spiritual level grew in faith in Hashem, and therefore, she was brought to the “house of the King”, being Hashem himself.  It’s known that for every descent, there could be an ascent to follow, that would bring a person to even higher levels that he was previously at.  And this, I propose, is a proof to show that is exactly what happened with Esther.

Whenever we start to feel depressed or down, or we feel that our spiritual situation has been slipping, fortify yourself emotionally and spiritually.  Keep yourself involved in Torah and mitzvos, even if it’s just at a basic level… you never know when the ascent will happen and where it will take you if you just hold on.

Have a great Shabbos!

My apologies for the past two weeks.  It’s been hectic here.  My work has been going late into morning hours, my mother-in-law came, hosting the Purim meal, etc…

However, I feel that I owe a small dvar Torah for Purim.

There’s a famous concept on Purim, that a person should drink until he confuses “Blessed is Mordecai and Cursed is Haman” and starts saying “Blessed is Haman and Cursed is Mordecai”.

There are many reasons given for this peculiar “test” in one’s drunkenness.  One of the more famous ones is that we “bless” Haman, because when we are drunk, we are able to realize that even the bad that happens in our lives, both as a nation, and as individuals, are really from Hashem and are all for our good.  So, in the end, we are able to truly bless the bad, because it really was good.

However, that doesn’t explain the “Cursed Mordecai” bit.

Rav Shimshon Pincus wrote an amazing chapter in his book on Purim, and I wish I had the time to type it out.  However, one of his main points was this.  The Torah writes over and over again, if we do mitzvos, we are blessed.  If we go against Hashem, we will be cursed.  If we do tshuvah, we will be redeemed.  Over and over, we see a “cause and effect” that Hashem put into place in the Grand Order of Things.  Even Pesach, we needed “something” to give us merit to leave, so we were given the Pesach Offering to bring, and in that merit, we were pulled from Egypt.

Purim, however, is different.  There was tshuvah involved, but we learn that it was done only AFTER the miracle took place.  Beforehand, there was an outcry to Hashem, but that was all.  On top of that, it wasn’t a matter of Hashem “simply” decreeing our destruction, but we learn from the Midrash that it was SEALED, which is no small thing to undo.

At this point, Hashem broke “all the rules”.  He told the Jewish nation, “You just sit back, I’ll take care of things”.  He didn’t ask for any merit as The Grand Order of Things demands, rather He told us to simply sit on the side, and He will fix things up.

The Arizal learns from the wording of the Megillah, that the power of Purim, did not just shower down on us on that particular day.  But, every year on Purim, Hashem breaks the bonds of The Grand Order of Things, and helps the Jewish nation.  NOW, is the time do daven for whatever you want or need!

Rav Pincus explains that when a person davens and davens, and sees that his prayers are not being accepted, he will naturally go to somebody “bigger” to ask him to daven on his behalf.  Perhaps in HIS merit, HIS prayers will be answered.  However, on Purim, we “curse” that idea with “Cursed is Mordecai”.   On Purim, Hashem does not determine if we have merit or not.  Hashem breaks down all the barriers purely for His love for us. 

Purim is one of the very few times in our lives where we can be so close to Him in our davening.

May we use this Purim properly!

We received a catalog of costumes for Purim last week, which, naturally, the children pounced on immediately. As my seven-year-old son was looking at it, he was clearly getting upset at something. Finally his silence broke, “Look at this Kohen Gadol!!! This isn’t how he dressed! Look at the choshen! It’s not according to ANY opinions!! And look at this! This isn’t right either! Who made this?? A non-Jew?!?!?”

He then made up his mind: HE’S going to make the clothing of the Kohen Gadol. Not for Purim (he’ll be "working" for Hatzalah then), but just BECAUSE, gosh darn it! So, over the past week my wife bought him the supplies he needed, and he’s been working on it. He came to me asking what he should do, since there was a three-way argument over how something was made. I scratched my beard to show that maybe, perhaps, I could pretend to appear that I knew what he was talking about, and gave the sagely advice "Mmm . . . . Good question."

When I was his, age, I was out in the suburbs of Chicago in full fatigues on missions protecting the village from possible Communist paratroopers (we had constant patrols out . . . you can never be too careful with those Commies). Now, here I am, on the other side of the world, with a son making his own Kohen Gadol outfit. Strange how things work out.
I thought I might have written on this before, but I don’t see it anywhere, so I apologize if this is a repeat.

The Vilna Gaon in his commentary on Megillas Esther, quotes the Gemara (Chulin 139b) that asks, “Where do we find Esther mentioned in the Torah?” The Gemara then gives an answer: “Hester Panim," “I will surely hide My face” (Dvarim 31:18).

The Vilna Gaon then asks, why does the Gemara single out Esther? What happened to other tsaddikim? What about the miracle of Chanukkah? The Gemara doesn’t ask about where THAT is found?

He then answers, “A miracle in Eretz Yisroel isn’t 'such a big deal,' therefore, Chanukkah wasn’t as big as a miracle as Purim was. When the Torah hints to Purim, it hints to it in the pasuk of 'I will surely hide My face.' When is that? In exile, when He will do for us a great miracle such as this.”

From here we see the greatness of Eretz Yisroel, a Land of Miracles. Had Purim taken place in Eretz Yisroel, perhaps we would not be celebrating it like we do today. Why? Because a miracle in Eretz Yisroel, is closer to “natural,” then a miracle outside of Eretz Yisroel.

May we all merit to return soon and witness such a phenomenon on a personal level.

Have a wonderful Shabbos and a wonderful Purim.

See you in two weeks!

Michael Winner

A friend of mine, who happens to always have weird things happen to him, came late to kollel one morning. I asked him if everything was okay. He explained that he was in an office building a few hours ago and, as he was waiting to speak to somebody, somebody grabs him and says, “You’re a rabbi! You need to come immediately! It’s an emergency!”

It turns out a seventeen-year-old girl was half-way out of a window about to jump. My friend was able to speak to her and calm her down until the police arrived. Thank G-d it all ended well.

It was funny, since my friend is not a rabbi. He happens to learn in kollel and work in the evenings as a “fix-it man” around the city. Because he’s a foster-father to two children who are not 100 percent, and other reasons, he also happens to know how to handle these situations.

It’s interesting the role an ultra-Orthodox person plays in a secular city. When you’re living in a frum community, you’re just another person. However, when you’re in the vast minority, suddenly you become a “rabbi.” I’ve been stopped numerous times on the street by people with questions in basic halacha or asking where they can buy certain religious things. Each time, it starts with, “Slicha, haRav?” (“excuse me, rabbi?”). Which is strange, since I’m just a computer nerd with a hat, jacket and beard.

Well, the lesson is: always be on your best behavior.

Okay, on to Torah
One of the more popular songs (based on halacha) we sing is about our obligation to drink on Purim until we don’t know the difference between “Curse Haman and bless Mordechai."

I saw in the name of the Chachmas Manuach, that “Curse Haman” and “Bless Mordechai” are allusions to hatred and jealousy. “Curse Haman” refers to hatred that a person has for another person, because that person wronged him in some way. “Bless Mordechai” refers to the jealousy a person has towards somebody for that person's successful endeavors (whatever they may be). We see this alluded to at the end of the Megillah when it records that Mordechai was raised to an elevated position and found favor in the eyes of “most” of his brethren.

Thus we are obligated to drink until we don’t know the difference between “Curse Haman” (how we dislike others) and “Bless Mordechai” (how we are jealous of others). By drinking and eating together, we can forget why we were wronged, and perhaps even see that we weren’t REALLY wronged, and perhaps even forgive the person, who wronged us; we can also forget the jealousy and pain that is caused by such jealousy.

With proper use of food and drink on Purim, we can uproot our anger and jealousy all at once!

Have a wonderful Purim and Shabbos!

Michael Winner

An interesting thought occurred to me this morning.

The Jewish calendar consists of holidays that are all mentioned in the Torah, which the exception of two: Chanukah and Purim. Both of these were instituted by the Rabbis.

Interestingly enough, when you think about it, most people don’t understand what they are celebrating. Let’s take Chanukah for example. The scene is set in Eretz Yisroel, currently under Greek occupation. Most Jews at this time believe that Judaism is stale, needs to be modernized, needs contact with the “real” world, etc… they were the Reform Movement of the time, and they were in the majority. On the other side, you have a group of religious fanatics that declared a jihad against the Greeks and Reform Jews, and literally, went to war and killed such people that didn’t agree with them. In the end, the fanatics won, and today we celebrate that victory. Honestly… if you were living back then, would you have supported the Maccabees? Honestly? Probably not. Yet, at the same time, we celebrate their victory… even the Reform Jews.

Let’s take a look at Purim. There were two ‘reasons’ that the Jewish people were set for annihilation. The real reason is when Achashverosh held his party, the Jewish people went and enjoyed themselves. When the announcement for the party came out, Mordecai publically declared that nobody should attend the feast. Instead of listening, they public came out and said, “He didn’t know what he was talking about, the food was going to be kosher and obviously he didn’t know that, and if he did, he would “for sure” say to go, if we don’t go, Achashverosh will get mad at us, etc….”

That was the real reason. What was the reason Haman used? Simple. When Haman walked by, everybody was supposed to bow to him. However, Mordecai did not. Instead, he stood firm. In his anger, Haman declared war, not only on Mordecai, but also the entire Jewish nation. What did the bloggers, I’m sorry… I meant, people, say then? “Mordecai is responsible for us being in this situation! Why did he have to be so stringent on other people’s accounts? This is the “leadership” of the Jewish nation? Look! How can you argue any other way that HE is not responsible for our situation?” Again, let’s be honest. Today, if some of the greatest Torah scholars made a statement that you in your wisdom did not understand, what would you do? Submit yourself to their authority or blog about it? Honestly? We would probably blog about it. Yet, at the same time, we’ll celebrate Mordecai and call him a Tzaddik.

Right now in Israel, one of the big questions concerning the Israeli public, especially the religious (including Ultra-Orthodox and Religious Zionists), is what to do with the army. Everybody here knows that it’s a political question more than a practical question. On one hand, you have politicians, calling for “sharing the burden”, and calling for the end of deferrals for yeshiva students from the army. Again, this is including Ultra-Orthodox and Religious Zionists (i.e. Hesder yeshivos). On the other hand, you have the rabbeim from both camps taking a firm stance against it.

Can you imagine if some of the religious leaders of Israel, such as Rav Aurbach (Ultra-Orthodox, Ashkanzi), Rav Avodyah Yosef (Ultra-Orthodox, Sfardi), Rav Dov Lior (Religious Zionist) all came out tomorrow and said that any yeshiva student who is drafted must refuse and even go to prison before joining the army. What would your thoughts be on this? What happens if they called for violence, if needed? Would you listen or would you speak your ‘opinion’ on this matter? Let’s reword that question: Would you follow the Mordecai’s of our generation or would you blame Mordecai for the trouble that “they” are causing?

Before we celebrate Chanukah and Purim, it’s good to review what causes, affects, and the conclusions of each holiday, and ask ourselves, “Who’s side AM I ON?” Do I support the Ultra-Orthodox and their bloody war against those that they disagree with? Or do I side the Greeks? Do I listen to Mordecai, even though I don’t personally understand his logic, or do I follow my own limited knowledge of the Torah? Are we REALLY happy that the Maccabees did what they did? Will we REALLY listen to the Mordecai of our generation when they speak to us? The Torah wants both answers to be ‘yes’. It’s up to us to learn and listen from those greater than we are, to line our views with that of the Torah.

Have a great Shabbos and a wonderful Purim!