BS”D
ENHANCING
EXUBERANCE: PURIM
Shira
Smiles shiur 2018/5778
Adapted
by Channie Koplowitz Stein
“Mishenichnas Adar marbin b’simcha/From the arrival of the month on Adar
we increase joy.” This well known Chazal seems to be the linchpin for all the
Purim festivities. But, as Rabbi Rothberg notes in Moda Labinah.[quoting
Rashi] the motto talks not about the one day of Purim, but rather about a
continuous process that begins on Rosh Chodesh Adar and goes through Pesach,
from the hidden miracles of Purim through the overt miracles of Pesach. What is
the essence of this joy, and how can we keep it going?
The simcha of Jews is inherently different from the simcha of the
rest of the world. When other nationalities celebrate, a business success or
victory for example, eating and drinking pretty much completes their
celebration. For Jews, however, celebration means understanding Hashem’s role
in the victory, and instituting rituals and laws that will cement this
understanding and joy for all generations. It is in this context that the true
joy of Purim is embodied in our re-acceptance of the Torah. Further, the
acceptance of Torah on that first Purim was fundamentally different from our
acceptance of Torah at Sinai. At Sinai, our acceptance was under duress, either
physical or psychological (How could we refuse after all the overt miracles
Hashem did on our behalf?) At Purim we willingly accepted the Torah out of
love, knowing and feeling that Hashem is always with us and watching over us,
preventing our destruction, even in seemingly natural ways.
Our celebration of Purim and the very mitzvoth associated with Purim are meant
to mirror perfectly Haman’s plan for our annihilation. Haman wanted lehashmid,
laharog ule’abeid et kol HaYehudim ushellalam lavoz/To destroy, murder, and
eradicate all the Jews – and plunder their possessions. In Removing the Mask,
Rabbi Immanuel Bornstein uses The Vilna Gaon’s analysis to explain this
language and its relationship to our Purim rituals and festivities.
First, he explains that there are four different aspects to man’s existence.
There is his body, his nefesh/life force, his neshama/spriritual
soul, and finally his possessions. These four elements parallel the four parts
of Haman’s plan. Haman wanted lehashmid/to destroy the spiritual neshama;
he wanted laharog/to murder the nefesh/life force; le’abeid/to
eradicate the body and leave no evidence of their existence. Finally, he wanted
to plunder their possessions/ushellalm lavoz, to absorb their
possessions into the general population so that even the evidence of their ever
having existed would be erased.
Our Purim mitzvoth parallel these four elements and are therefore perfectly
matched for our celebration. Megillah reading satisfies our spiritual need to
recount the miracle of our redemption. Feasting satisfies the need for our bodies
to feel redeemed. Rejoicing makes us feel more alive, and giving gifts to each
other and to the poor expresses our ownership of our possessions and ability to
make decisions about them.
While every one of our holidays includes specific mitzvoth incumbent on us for
its observance, there is a difference between the mitzvoth of the other
holidays and those of Purim. Yes, we are required to take a lulav and etrog on
Sukkot, and we are required to eat matzah on Pesach, but these mitzvoth do not
define the day, notes Rabbi Shneur Kotler in Noam Siach. And although we
are commanded to rejoice on our holidays, that rejoicing does not connote its
essence. In contrast, Purim is defined by rejoicing. We are commanded to make
the day itself a day of rejoicing. In that respect, we are to make it a
day of rejoicing for all, not just for ourselves. We are to embrace members of
our community, especially those on the fringes who may feel downtrodden or
friendless by including them in our mishloach manot. We are to give joy
to the poor, the orphan, the widow who may not have the wherewithal to buy
delicacies on Purim, or perhaps even to pay for necessities, by giving them
gifts and dignity. We create more joy by giving to the poor than by creating
very elaborate mishloach manot baskets beyond simplcity to share our
friendship with others. Simcha is about making other people happy.
There are actually two parallel motifs in the Purim tapestry, writes Rabbi Roth
z:l in Sichot Eliyahu. We certainly have the motif of reestablishing our
relationship with Hakadodsh Boruch Hu as we accepted the Torah anew. But we
also have the motif of establishing and cementing relationships between man and
his fellow man, and Rabbi Roth z”l, citing Rambam, maintains that the
interpersonal motif is primary. When one rejoices, one does it with others.
When one brought the chagigah offering to the Temple on yom tov, he was
enjoined from eating it alone. He was commanded to invite the poor and the
orphans to share the meal with him. In this way, he would emulate Hakodosh
Boruch Hu Who brings life to the downtrodden and unfortunate.
How is Purim meant to be a day on which we should resemble the Shechinah/Holy
Presence? Further, how can we compare Purim to Yom KiPur(im), continues Rabbi
Roth z”l? On Yom Kippur we resemble angels who neither eat nor drink, but on
Purim we’re even greater than angels since we are acting in ways that are
similar to God’s presence and bringing simcha to others.
Since we are created in the image of God and are told to emulate God, we, like
Hashem, will want to give, writes Rav Aharon Kotler z”l. Giving fills one with
happiness as it fills others with happiness and fulfills man’s mission.
But we are physical bodies as well as spiritual beings. There is a
constant conflict between one’s egocentricity and his care for others, notes
the Sichot Eliyahu. The body is about me, while the soul is about giving
to others. But on Purim, the body and soul work together, as the body also
recognizes that the greatest joy is in giving to others. On Purim we chose to
accept the Torah out of love, we chose to emulate Hakodosh Boruch Hu and be
like Him, to be givers and make others happy. These feelings start with the
beginning of Adar, exercising the “giving” muscles, and continue through Pesach
when we donate maot chitim to help others buy matzoh and other Pesach
necessities. On Purim, we should be filled and reflect joy both when we give
and when we receive mishloach manot. My focus should be on making others
happy.
As noted earlier, there is an obligation to be joyous on the three festivals,
but the Purim joy rises above the others. Rabbi Rothberg explains that the
greatest joy is one that is earned. Therefore, joy is mentioned not even once
in relation to Pesach, only once in relation to Shavuot, and twice in relation
to Sukkot, while Purim day is total joy. Let us examine this concept more
closely. Pesach was a total gift from Hashem We stood in silent awe as Hashem
brought plague after plague upon Egypt, finally delivering us from bondage
without any effort on our part. Our redemption was a total gift without any
effort on our part. For Shavuot, we did work on perfecting ourselves for
forty-nine days, putting in some effort, but the Luchot of that day were
still totally God’s gift to us. Sukkot is the culmination of the second Luchot
which we received on Yom Kippur, Tablets hewn by Moshe’s own hand and
tremendous work on Bnei Yisroel’s part to earn back God’s Presence. But even
then, the Luchot were a gift. In contrast to all these, on Purim we
initiated the acceptance of the Torah ourselves, earning the right to the
greatest joy. Further, just as at Sinai Bnei Yisroel were united as one man
with one heart, adds Rav Rothberg, on Purim we were again united as one man
with one heart. The process that began with Pesach comes full circle on Purim.
In this vein, Rabbi Pincus z”l sees the essence of Purim as being renewal. By
attending Ahashuerosh’s festivities that celebrated the destruction of the Beit
Hamikdosh, Bnei Yisroel had cut themselves off from holiness and killed their
inner essence. Their re-acceptance of the Torah brought about their
resurrection. This reconnection with Hashem was the source of great joy. Purim’s
essence, then, is renewal, and any act or ritual that fosters this renewal,
when approached with proper contemplation, can be the source of great joy,
teaches Rav Dessler z”l. The Sanctification of the New Moon is perhaps the most
obvious example, but one can focus on a single verse in our prayers or the
performance of any mitzvah, and transform it from rote to contemplation and
reconnection to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Connect to a particular verse and make it
your own, your mantra. And start thinking about what we are saying to God as we
pray. Rabbi Pincusz”l points out, from the Chofetz Chaim z”l, that when we are
reciting the blessing of Hatov vehaMeitiv in the Birkat Hamazon/Grace
After Meals, we are making fifteen requests of Hakodosh Boruch Hu. How many of
us are aware of these requests, or are they lost in our rote recitation? Simcha
comes from attentiveness and mindfulness in our lives. It brings renewal to our
lives. At least on this day, writes Rabbi Weissblum, let us pray with
intention, for Hashem has opened His treasure house for us, and every prayer
brings with it connection.
Human beings are egotistical and think that everything revolves around us. We
worry about everything, even about how others are to blame for things. We
forget that Hashem controls everything. Reading the Megillah restores our faith
in Hakodosh Boruch Hu, in the knowledge that He runs the world, writes Rabbi
Moshe Schwab z”l. Both Haman and his wife Zeresh made elaborate plans to
destroy the Jews, but Hashem foiled their plans. When we live with complete
faith that Hashem writes the megillah of our own lives as well as the Megillah
of Purim we remain calm, serene, and joyous.
Adding to this idea, the Slonimer Rabbi notes that even when a decree is “signed
and sealed”, we must maintain our faith that everything Hashem does is for the
good, and that He can change the outcome even at the last moment. It was
Mordechai’s faith that rescinded Haman’s decree, and every Purim we too have
the ability to change the decrees against us by our working to draw closer to
Hashem through our love for Him. On Purim, our attempts at breaking down the
wall between Hashem and ourselves works as quickly as dynamite, unlike on Yom
Kippur when we must disassemble the wall one brick at a time. We have a full
fourteen days to begin the project from the first day of Adar, and it can
continue through Pesach. After all, writes Rabbi Aryeh Shapiro in Chazon
Lamoed, Adar is when the Aloof/King
Dar/lives among
us.
When we reaffirmed our faith in God and His Torah on Purim, we revealed God’s
presence behind the mask of the natural world. He is always close to us, writes
Rabbi Tatz, for if He were far, He would not need a mask to be hidden from us.
The distance would achieve that. When we are certain of His presence in every
natural coincidence, in nature itself, we have destroyed the doubt that is the
hallmark of every Haman and Amalek.
Hashem observes and loves every one of our actions, even the actions of a
Haman. When Haman led Mordechai through the streets of Shushan in such honor
and pomp, Haman experienced one moment of teshuvah, of the thought that perhaps
there was a Master running the world. For this momentary positive thought,
posits Rav Biederman in Be’er Chaim, Haman was rewarded that his
descendents studied and taught Torah in Bnei Brak. In fact, in an ironic twist,
it was a descendent of Haman, Rav Yehudah bar Shilat, who coined the phrase
that is the theme of this essay, “Mishenichnas Adar marbin b’simcha/From
the arrival of the month on Adar we increase joy.”
One should never minimize even the smallest of his deeds. Bnei Yisroel was
worthy of destruction for participating in the feast of Ahashuerosh that mocked
the prophecy of Israel’s return and denied the existence of God. Why were
they saved? That “pintele yid” emerged on the seventh day, writes Rav Meislish.
Even while sitting at Ahashuerosh’s table, they remembered Shabbat by singing zemirot
and talking divrei Torah.
There is simcha in being a simple Jew who has a relationship with
Hakodosh Boruch Hu. On Purim, we enhance this simcha through giving to
each other, through renewed faith in Hashem as the center of our lives, and
through the sense of rejuvenation that this faith brings.