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Beware The Dog
The Medrash tells of a king who discovered that someone was pilfering from his garden. He put up a fence around it and stationed a vicious guard dog within. Sure enough, when the thief struck again, he was nicely bitten up, and caught besides. To his horror and shock, the king found that that the mystery thief had been none other than his own son, crown prince…
Thereafter, whenever the king wished to warn his son about theft, he’d mention offhand ‘You will recall, my son, that vicious dog…?’
When told to remember Amalek, we are really being told something else; remember sin’s results. This is what we need to remember – among other things – when we hear the Meggillah too.
Beware that dog!
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Conflicting Emotions
When hearing of the decree against the Jews, Mordechai cried out greatly and bitterly in the town square. [Sounds like he was a bit concerned].
Yet he told Esther ‘If you refuse to intercede with Achashverosh for us, [we won’t suffer;] salvation will come from elsewhere. Only you and your father’s house will lose out!’ [Sounds like he wasn’t concerned at all].
How do we reconcile the two?
Mordechai was very concerned about the situation, but also knew a sure-fire remedy to their problem; Tshuva. Mordechai was saying to Esther that salvation awaits with t’shuvah, guaranteed. Only you will lose out by not helping us.
Alternatively: Mordechai trusted that things will work out. It is altogether proper to hold such faith in Hashem. At the same time, Hashem was threatening them, waving a sword over their heads. Ignoring the threat is improper. One ought to be duly impressed, and respond. Let it hurt.
Can a person hold two conflicting viewpoints at the same time, feeling both safe and threatened? Surprisingly, he can.
We exist on many levels. We are the intellectual viewing life philosophically. We are also the small child petrified at a threat. We can relate to the same event in two different ways.
Its like riding a roller-coaster. We thrill and are petrified at the very same time. Our intellect knows that it’s perfectly safe, yet we shriek!
We relate to the same event in two different ways, and what’s more, we even control our focus.
Is this the whole of it? I don’t think so – it sounds like self-delusion. How indeed do we deal with this ambiguity?
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Being Close By Being Apart
The Mitzvos on Purim – Matanos L’evyonim and Mishloach Manos, point to Achdus, Unity, for they bring people closer to each other. Why then is the Meggillah read on different days for different communities?
Achdus doesn’t mean everyone does the same thing. That’s for robots. Rather Unity celebrates pluralism, providing different venues to accommodate all.
Different paths do not divide us. On the contrary, acceptance and validation of other legitimate expressions of the same ideals actually leads to Achdus. They provide inclusiveness by allowing place for all.
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Hidden Miracles
Which is greater: a hidden miracle or a revealed one?
We suggested a parallel; School teachers. One controls the class by yelling at the kids, threatening punishment. The other is sweet and kind, yet when she walks in the class everyone quickly finds seats, and no-one interrupts her.
Which person is more in control? The second! The first teacher’s yelling and screaming only accentuates her inherent lack of control.
So is it with Hashem. He does not need to flaunt His power; Subtle is the Lord. His greatness is such that even when He is not manifest He controls the universe. This, only this, shows that He is truly King, – truly in charge.
Open miracles are fine, but real power lies in the hidden miracles. Any army can control the enemy while occupying its territory, but what army can control an enemy with no presence on the ground?
Hashem can!
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Committment
Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s students asked him why the Jews of Purim deserved death. He responded ‘What do you think?’ They suggested that the Jews had sinfully enjoyed Achashverosh’s feast. Asked Rabbi Shimon ‘If so only the Shushan Jews should be punished, – only they enjoyed the feast, – not all the Jews in the world?”
Students; ‘So then what is the true answer?’
Rabbi Shimon; ‘Because the Jews had bowed to Nevuchadnetzar’s idol back in the days of Daniel. That’s the sin, not eating at the party’. [-Gemarah]
However, in the Slichos on The Fast Of Esther we say that the Jews deserved death for they ate from the party.
Furthermore, Rashi explains ‘And Mordechai knew all that was done’ that Mordechai knew why Hashem agreed to Haman’s plan; because the Jews bowed to Nevuchadnetzar’s idol, and because they enjoyed Achashverosh’s feast.
Sounds like the feast had much to do with it, directly contradicting the Gemarah!
Although indeed the (original) sin was bowing to the idol, the Jews of Purim were the bowers’ great grandchildren. They would not be called to account for a sin they themselves did not commit, unless root of that sin was still around.
The Jews of Shushan were a sample that showed about all of us. They demonstrated that the problem was still there. Seemingly disparate sins, the idolatry of bowing to an idol and eating at Achashverosh’s feast are one and the same.
The link is that in both of them the Jews were willing to compromise on their religion, to trade on their faith, in order to make their king happy. They weren’t ready to stand for their principles.
Putting being accepted or doing the socially proper thing, – being contemporary,- before their values showed that their Judaism was shallow. Their commitment wasn’t real.
The Teshuva for this was a renewed commitment to the Torah, the previous one was now weak and useless.
May we keep this renewed commitment – even when it has a cost!
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What’s It about
The Jews instituted eating and merrymaking and mishloach manos, Mordechai added Matanos l’evyonim. What was the reason the Jews did not consider it and Mordechai did?
We suggested a joke pshat: the maharil writes that ‘manos’ are only portions, ready to eat cooked food. This is based on a mishna in Betzah that Beis Shamai allow only manos to be sent on yomtov, which Rashi explains as portions served at the table. The Gr’a said the same in Maase Rav. One explanation is that the Rambam explains Mishloach Manos as part of the meal. Why? Because Mishloach Manos was instituted to provide for the meal.
However the Ritva and Ramban in Megilla and Bava Metzia explain that Mishloach Manos are simply gifts, and that Matanos L’evyonim are in the same class. We ought to give out gifts – to each what is appropriate – so that all are happy this day. In that sense, Mishloach Manos are not simply in order that all are prepared for the meal.
The Jews understood Mishloach Manos as a preparation for the meal. (Maharil) Thats why they left out Matanos L’evonim, which they thought was no more than charity. Mordechai, however, understood like the Ritva, that Moishloach Manos was to spread joy, so he added Matanos L’evyonim too…
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Man-Made Torah
The Jews re-accepted the Torah on Purim. The Midrash says that the written Torah was always accepted, it was the Oral Torah they took on now. Why?
The problem with the Oral Torah is that it is human, and prone to human error. Can this be Torah, absolute Truth???
At Purim, however, one group felt that Mordechai was wrong, the cause of all Israel’s trouble. The other group thought those eating at the party, mingling with the gentiles, caused the trouble.
Individual opinion was so vastly disparate that all recognized that the written Torah was a dead letter. No one could really know what to do based on it, because opinion varied so wildly.
They recognized that like it or not, the only livable Torah was the one with an Oral law.
That’s when they accepted it for good.
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Full Devotion
Hashem told us on Har Sinai ‘I took you from Egypt’. Rashi explains that these are grounds for us to be obligated to His commands. Why was there a need for re-accepting the Torah Purim time? Why were Jews punished for disobeying the Torah until Purim?
Rabbi Weinberg, author of Sridei Esh, explained that the obligation was only when we were free. When we returned to slavery, there was no grounds for obligation, for what did we gain – we were slaves again anyhow. On Purim the Jews accepted the Torah while still servants of Achashverosh. That was a new level.
Perhaps this is somewhat like a business association. At first, there is little trust – each side demands a check before processing an order. However, soon enough they start to trust one another, and defer payment until later. So too, in the beginning the Jews did not trust Hashem enough to accept Him as their King without cause. As we matured as a people we accepted Him unconditionally, even when slaves to Achashverosh.
Purim is the highmark of devotion – when we accepted Hashem fully, with no quid pro quo. He is ours and we are his.
That is a watershed moment!
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Good Food
The Ralbag explains the reason behind Mishloach Manos, sending gifts of food to one another on Purim:
Purim is only a semi-festival. People might be lazy to cook good food, for it was not technically Yomtov. So it was instituted that people send to one another.
Shame, the desire to outdo one another, caused all the balabustas to cook up delicacies. This way one can be sure there be good food to eat!