BS”D
PURIM: PETITION
AND PERSPECTIVE
Shira Smiles shiur
2019/5779
Adapted by Channie
Koplowitz Stein
With the approach of every holiday, one should try to
find the themes or major essence of the holiday and see that connection in the
liturgy and in the laws and customs of that holiday. While Purim is a holiday
of joy and redemption, what thread can tie those emotions to the themes
associated with the observance of Purim?
Rabbi Bernstein in Removing the Mask cites Rav
Mansa who stipulated that the verse in Devarim 4:7 encapsulated the
entire Purim saga: “For which great nation has a God Who is close to it as is
Hashem, our God, whenever we call to Him” In other words, the purpose of Purim
and its accompanying observances is to reinforce the idea that Hashem is close
to the Jewish people when we cry out to Him in prayer. In fact, the only
mitzvah of Purim that one observes both at night and during the day is listening
to the reading of the Megillah. Why? Because during that traumatically
dangerous time Bnei Yisroel cried out to Hashem both night and day.
The centrality of tefillah to Purim can be
illustrated through a discussion in Mishneh Berurah. The question arises
of a prisoner whose guard offers him any one day of his choosing to pray with a
minyan. The response is that he take the opportunity immediately and not
wait until Yom Hakippurim or Purim. This response alludes to an equality of the
power of our prayers on Yom Kippur, the day devoted to prayer, and Purim.
There is an anomaly in our observance of Purim to our
observance of other holidays. Usually we wait until one observance is completed
before beginning the second observance. [Think of the second day of yom tov
outside Israel beginning so late because we must wait until the fist day has
ended, or the Pesach Seder on Saturday night. CKS] On the day before Purim we
observe the Fast of Esther. What is unusual is that we usually begin Purim by
reading the Megillah at night before we break our fast, thereby extending the
fast to overlap with Purim itself, notes Rabbi Rothberg in Moda Labinah.
Further, as cited from Rambam, the original fast that Esther proclaimed at the
time of the imminent tragedy was in Nissan, eleven months earlier. Why do we
observe the fast on the day before Purim?
If we investigate the events of Purim, we will note
that Bnei Yisroel were given the opportunity to fight their enemies, in essence
to wage war. Our tradition was that the people would pray and fast, do teshuvah
while engaging in battle. The Fast of Esther commemorates the fasting of the
battle of Purim that resulted in our vanquishing our enemies. So today we must
focus on preparing for Purim through our own prayers.
Taanit Esther, writes Chazon Lamoed, is
a day characterized by the acceptance of our tefilot made more
accessible in the merit of Mordechai and Esther. As part of our prayer on this
day, many incorporate Psalm 22, “Lamnatzeach al yelet Hashachar/For the
conductor on the brightening of the dawn...”, a psalm attributed to Esther as
her prayer before approaching King Achashverosh on Mordechai’s instructions,
while she and our entire nation were fasting. While she begins with “My Lord,
My Lord, why have You forsaken me,” she ends with the strength of her faith in
God’s salvation. This entire day leading up to Purim is a day of total
prayer.
In homiletic fashion, the Chazon Lamoed
cites the gemara, that interprets Mordechai's recorded genealogy as attesting
to the prayerful character of Purim. Mordechai was ben Yair/the son of
one who enlightened Bnei Yisroel with his prayers; ben Shimee/that
Hashem listened to his prayers; ben Kish/who knocked down the door of
mercy. Even the name Mordechai, derived from one of the spices in the incense
offering, is connected to prayer. And Mordechai himself is intimately connected
to the teshuvah movement, wearing sackcloth and ashes even after being
triumphantly led around the capital in royal robes, and gathering the children
together in prayer. In fact, Rabbi Biederman in Be’er Hachaim interprets
Mordechai’s royal honor as Satan’s ploy to interrupt Mordechai’s prayers.
Mordechai’s return to sackcloth and ashes, fasting and prayer teaches us that
prayer must be consistent and constant. No sudden change should interrupt our
prayers.
Rabbi Biederman quotes the Malbim who sees this same
ploy in the response of Zeresh, Haman’s wife, when Haman laments his fate to
honor Mordechai. She tells him, “If you have begun to fall before Mordechai,
you will continue to fall...” The Malbim claims Zeresh was giving Haman advice,
not reinforcing his sense of doom. If you’ve begun to fall, advises Zeresh, go
and fall completely, act submissively, beg this Jew’s forgiveness. Then he’ll
stop praying and you will regain the upper hand. That advice explains why Haman
fell on Esther’s bed later, albeit he was tripped up and fell more fully upon
Esther, enraging king Achashverosh.
In a similar vein, Haman wanted to confuse Bnei
Yisroel and to annihilate them. By confusing Bnei Yisroel, they would stop
praying, and then Haman would be able to annihilate them.
Another accepted way to discover the essence of a
Biblical book is to find the verse at the midpoint of the text, and even more
telling, the word at the very center, writes Rabbi Avi Feiner in Purim
Eternal, citing the Maharal. At the midpoint of the Megillah is the
feast Queen Esther serves to Achashverosh and Haman. Achashverosh asks Esther,
“What is your request … and what is your petition…?” Esther’s response includes
the two words that constitute the very center of the Megillah, “If I have found
favor in Your Majesty’s eyes and if it pleases the King...She’aylosi
uvakashasi/My request and my petition” [5;7] Likewise, the central word
of the Megillah, is she’aylosi that is found in the following
verse. As is a general understanding in our study of Megillat Esther, the
King alluded to when not followed by the name Achashverosh is our King, the
King of kings. Thus, the central theme of the Megillah is prayer, requests and
petitions to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, not only from Queen Esther on that fateful
day, but also on every subsequent Purim for all of Bnei Yisroel. Of further
interest is that the numerical equivalency of PURIM is 336, the
same as She’AyLaH. Just as we ask
Hashem to respond to all our prayerful requests on this day, so too are we
instructed to extend our hand to all who request our help on Purim. Just as we
ask Hashem to grant our requests without scrutinizing us, so do we help anyone
who approaches us without investigating his credentials. Hashem is close to us
and wants us to call out to him every day, and especially on Purim.
We were on the verge of death, and Hashem in His great
mercy saved us. That same mercy, writes Rabbi Pincus zt”l, is available to us
on every Purim. The entire day is a day appropriate for prayer, but especially
during the Megillah reading. We end the Megillah with shoshanat
yaa’kov whose very ending is a call for all of us to use the time at the
conclusion of the Megillah to call out to Hashem in tefilla. The other
auspicious to daven is during our Purim feast, adds the Orchot Aharon
citing the Kotsker Rebbe. Note, the entire day of Purim has the power of kedusha
of Yom Kippur notes R. Biderman.
While Hashem listens and responds to all our prayers,
writes Rabbi Strickoff in Inside Purim, we must understand that Hashem
always answers our prayers letovah/for the good. Therefore, if what we
are requesting will be detrimental to us, Hashem saves the prayer and uses it
at another time when we will benefit from it [even when we may be unaware of
His help and response at that time].
Rabbi Wolfson brings a completely different
perspective to our discussion. We tend to view the world in a linear fashion,
but Hashem created the world in circular fashion, for like a circle, Hashem has
no end and no beginning. This perspective allows us to see every Jew as
equidistant from the center, from Hashem, rather than some further down the
road and some closer to Him at the top. Time, then, can also be viewed as
circular. The last month of the year, Adar, is not at the bottom of the year,
but closest to the beginning. Haman who viewed the world linearly was ecstatic
when his lottery designated Adar as the month for annihilating the Jews. Not
only was this the last month, but it was also the month in which Moshe died.
Haman assumed that with Moshe’s death, all his merits died with him albeit he
was also born in Adar. What Haman failed to understand is that Adar is close to
the rebirth of Nissan, the beginning of the year, and Moshe’s merits are reborn
in each generation through the life of the tzadik of that generation. In this
way, Mordechai, who was the gadol hador/the greatest [Rabbi] of his
generation, and the merits of Moshe Rabbenu were now carried forward through
Mordechai.
Perhaps Achashverosh was unconsciously emulating
Hashem when he invited first those from distant lands to his party, and then
those from closer provinces. According to Isaiah’s prophecy, Hashem also brings
peace, peace, first to those far [from Him] and then to those closer. This is
the gift Hashem brought to the world by creating it in circles.
The Shvilei Pinchas brings us back to the profound
message of Megillat Esther, the very title alluding to its purpose, to
reveal/legalot that which is hidden/nistar.
When we keep Hashem’s presence with us at all times, we are never lost.
Hashem’s presence in this world is in the very month of Purim, Adar, Aleph[Alupho
shel olam]/ The Master of the world dar/lives [in this world,
with mankind]. The printed letter aleph is actually comprised of two yud’s
one on top and one upside down on the bottom, connected by a diagonal vov.
In their numerical equivalents, that adds up to 26, the same as the four
lettered name of Hashem. When Yaakov fled Esau, he dreamed of the ladder with
Hakodosh Boruch Hu atop it all, and carried that image of Hashem with him to
support him in his challenges while living with Laban.
When Yaakov later returns, Esau comes out to greet him
with 400 men. The last letter of the aleph bet is tuf, equal to
400. In a circular system, that tuf is closest to the Aleph
again, so Yaakov did not despair, for he felt Hashem near him.
The Megillah records vaTichtov Esther/that
Esther wrote… this second letter of Purim. That Tuf is written larger
than all the other letters. Like our Patriarch Yaakov, Mordechai, Esther and
Bnei Yisroel could have despaired when they faced annihilation, but they continued
around the circle, knowing that the Alupho shel olam was hidden just
around the bend. They were not at the end of the line, but at a point to close
the circle.
The name Esther itself twice hints at Hashem’s hidden
presence. Spelled more closely aligned to the Hebrew letters, we get AST”R/Aluph
Sof Toch Rosh/God is always from the end to the beginning. No matter how
far away from Hashem we feel, we must remember that we are always approaching
Him. Often only in hindsight can we discern that His presence was with us
throughout.
Megillat Esther teaches us something else, writes
Rabbi Berkowitz in Six Constant Mitzvoth. It teaches us to examine the
details of our lives, to see Hashem’s hand in the minutiae and “coincidences”
that lead us along the path of our lives often even more that the major events
of our lives. If we stop reading the Megillah in the middle, we would never
connect the dots to see the pattern Hashem created for our salvation. This
should be the mental attitude with which we approach viewing our lives. The
saga is not yet finished, and Hashem is writing the script. We may not see the
full picture and understand the significance of the details until we have left
the stage and view our lives from the perspective of the next world.
No matter how far we think we are from Hashem, He is
always near. Purim brings that reality to life, and so offers us the
opportunity to approach Hashem in sincere prayer, knowing He will hear us. As
we listen to the Megillah, we keep despair at bay, for the circle will close,
and we will again recognize Hashem’s unique love for us.