BS"D
SACRED SANCTITY: PURIM
Shira Smiles shiur – 2023/5783
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
The Zohar tells us that Yom
Hakipurim is related to the holiday of Purim, that that lofty day is
a day kiPurim/like Purim. How can we compare these two
holidays and appreciate their connection?
One of the major themes that
runs through both of these special days is the theme of teshuvah/return
to Hashem/repentance and atonement. We can begin with the central word in the
names of these festivals, purim, drawing lots. Drawing of lots is a
major component of both of these days. The fact that we call our holiday Purim,
the plural of pur/lottery, alludes to the Yom Kippur service, the other
drawing of lots. In that ritual, two goats are brought to the Temple. Through a
drawing of lots, one will be designated for Hashem and the second will be
destined to Azazel, the scapegoat to be thrown off a cliff in the
wilderness. This ritual would atone for the sins of Bnei Yisroel and remove the
bad decree against the people.
Drawing lots is also central
to the Purim narrative. Haman decided on the day to carry out his plan to
annihilate the Jews by drawing lots from the pool of all the months and all the
days of the month. The "winner" was the fourteenth day of the month
of Adar, the day we now celebrate Purim as the day of our salvation. After this
drawing of lots, Mordechai and Esther also effected the removal of this decree
against the Jewish people, as does Yom Kippur, noted Rabbi Strickhoff in Inside
Purim.
It is not two completely
different lotteries that were cast in our history. The Shvilei Pinchas
draws on the writings of the Bnei Yissaschar to add a deeper
understanding to the double lotteries. Rabbi Pinchas Friedman notes that when
Haman cast his lots down below, Hashem was casting parallel Yom Kippur lots
above. Symbolically, which goat will be dedicated to Hashem and which goat to
destruction, Mordechai or Haman. Mordechai was an Ish Yemini, not simply
from the Tribe of Binyamin, but especially on the right, the hand receiving the
lot designated for Hashem, while the left hand would pick the "goat"
for Azazel. Haman's decree and Ahashuerosh's sealing the deal by giving Haman
his signet ring achieved greater teshuvah than forty eight prophets were able
to achieve.
It was this teshuvah
that Esther was counting on to help her when she formulated her plan. Her
request, although ostensibly to Ahashuerosh, was a veiled plea to Hashem
to accompany her -- יבא המלך והמן
היום /May the King and
Haman come today [to the party I will host]. Within this invitation we have
hidden the four lettered name of Hashem as the first letter of each word.
But the Torah states Hashem's
name is incomplete as long as Amalek exists. Even Ahashuerosh could not give
Esther the complete Name, only half the Kingdom. But with the death of Haman,
Hashem's name would now be complete. Mordechai named the holiday Purim,
concludes the Shvilei Pinchas, al Shem hapur/for the Name of
God written on the lots.
We know that Yom Kippur was a
day of forgiveness for Bnei Yisroel after the sin of the golden calf. It was on
Yom Kippur that Hashem gifted us with the second set of luchot, the
unbroken set signifying our eternal connection to Hakodosh Boruch Hu and the proof
of Hashem's accepting our teshuvah. But Yom Hakipurim is a day of awe and
fasting in spite of the great joy and celebration. On Purim, we accepted the
Torah anew, this time out of great love. While both Yom Kippur and Purim are
days of complete joy, Yom Kippur is dedicated totally to Hashem, while Purim is
the day we include physical celebration with food and drink, the celebratory
meal we cannot observe on the awesome fast day of Yom Kippur, notes the Gra.
Just as we received the second
set of luchot after deep teshuvah, so were we also saved on Purim after deep
teshuvah, writes the Sifsei Chaim. When we accepted the Torah at Sinai,
we accepted it under duress. But that duress was not physical force. It was the
force of clarity, of absolute knowledge that nothing else exists except Hashem.
How could we not accept the Torah! On Purim, we saw with that same clarity that
Hashem is always with us in all circumstances, even when we have failed. With
this insight, we accepted the Torah anew, this time out of the deep love we
were reciprocating to Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
In Removing the Mask,
Rabbi Bernstein picks up this thread. He explains that the miracle of Purim
differed from the earlier miracles we had experienced. Hashem performed the
earlier miracles for us when our relationship with Him was relatively intact,
when our covenant was unbroken. At this point in our history, even if we
dutifully observed the mitzvoth, we felt no love, connection or passion while
observing them by rote. This was part of Haman's argument. that the Jews ישנו /were asleep, only going through the motions [and therefore
their God would not save them]. But Hashem proved Haman wrong. Hashem's love
for us is eternal, even if we have lapsed.
These two aspects of Hashem's
love for Bnei Yisroel is reflected in the two versions of the blessing
immediately preceding the recitation of Shema. In the morning, when
things are bright and full of promise, we are aware of Hashem's great love אהבה
רבה. However, when times are
dark, even in the night of our exile, Hashem's love for us is eternal
אהבת עולם . And that promise sustains us
in every generation.
This realization led us to
accepting the Torah anew, out of love, knowing that Hashem loves us
unconditionally, even when we are undeserving, even if we do not observe His
mitzvoth properly. This is the concept embedded in the name of the scroll we
read, Megillat Esther, revealing the hidden [aspect of Hashem's love],
buried deep within the connection. And the threat of annihilation equally
revealed the hidden nature within the Jews themselves, that although our sense
of connection to Hashem may be dormant, it continues to exist, and will be
awakened to a desire to reconnect to Him through prayer and repentance.
This, too, is the essence of
Yom Kippur, to wipe away the layers of wrongdoing and reveal our deepest, pure
inner essence, and connect to our reciprocal love of Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
That realization led to our
accepting the Torah from our sense of pure love, and a need to celebrate with
an external demonstration of that love and inner joy, writes the Sifsei
Chaim.
When Bani Yisroel entered the
Sinai Desert to receive the Torah, and when they left Refidim after the sin of
the golden calf, they were in a state of repentance. So too were Bnei Yisroel
in a state of repentance when they re-accepted the Torah on Purim, accompanied
by great joy.
Rabbi Strickoff quoting Ta’ame Minhagim notes
a fascinating inversion in our celebrations of Yom Kippur and Purim. Yom Kippur
establishes the day Hashem forgave us for the sin of the golden calf, a sin
that was accompanied by feasting and drinking. To atone for that sin, we now
celebrate by fasting. Purim, on the other hand, was preceded by fasting, and so
we celebrate by drinking and feasting.
Our holidays are meant to be
half dedicated to Hashem, and half remaining for our enjoyment [with Hashem].Yom
Kippur and Purim are two halves of this one whole. The Yom Kippur half is
totally dedicated to Hashem, while Purim is for us, each bringing purity in
different ways.
On Yom Kippur, when we are
totally immersed in prayer and connection to Hashem, it is relatively easy to
maintain a state of sanctity; on Purim, when we are feasting and drinking, it
is a more difficult process. It is easy to fall into gluttony or drunken
behavior. Our goal is to elevate the physical elements of Purim to a state of sanctity,
to an expression of love and gratitude to Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
Rabbi Strickoff quoting the
Yid Hakadosh notes that Yom Kippur and Purim never fall on the same day of the
week. Yom Kippur can only fall on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Shabbat.
These are days of purity in creation. On the other days of creation, things
that can become impure were created. On Sunday, Hashem created the earth, and
earthenware can become impure; on Tuesday, Hashem created the trees, and wooden
vessels can also become impure. Finally, on Friday, Hashem created Man and
animals, and both can become impure. Since Yom Kippur is a day of total
sanctity, it cannot fall on these days. In contrast, Purim is a day to extract
purity from impurity. Therefore, Purim will only fall on the days which have an
element of impurity. We are meant to extract the purity from within the
impurity, to reveal the hidden sanctity.
Rabbi Kluger sees the
connection between Purim and Yom Kippur manifested through the mitzvah of mishloach
manot. On Yom Kippur we are sustained spiritually by the ‘manna’
created from the spiritual power of our tefillot. The man that fell in
the desert had a layer of dew underneath and was covered with another layer of
dew. In commemoration of the man, we send our mishloach manot
in some container that is also covered below and above.
Our sending of mishloach
manot is meant to create a sense of achdut/unity within Bnei
Yisroel. Rabbi Rivlin notes that creating achdut among Bnei Yisroel was
one part of Esther's plan. First, gather all the Jews together, and then follow
with the preparation of prayer and fasting, the elements of teshuvah most
closely associated with Yom Kippur.
The Torah itself has further
allusions to a connection between Yom Kippur and Purim. The Netivot Shalom
finds such an allusion in the text outlining the Yom Kippur service. The Torah
says Aharon will enter the Holy of Holies only one day in the year, on the day
he brings the atonement offering, one day a year he will bring atonement for
your generations. The Slonimer Rebbe suggests that the first "one
day" refers to Yom Kippur and the teshuvah and service in the Beit
Hamikdosh to effect atonement for Bnei Yisroel. But the second "one
day" for all generations refers to the atonement one can receive through
his teshuvah on Purim. On Yom Kippur, the teshuvah is a result of awe and fear;
on Purim the teshuvah is the result of love.
But the Netivot Shalom
finds a compelling difference between the possible outcomes of the two days.
When the verdict is sealed on Yom Kippur, it can no longer be overturned. On
Purim, however, even when the edict is sealed with the seal of the King, as
Haman's edict to kill all the Jews, the edict can still be reversed. On Purim,
love opens a new pathway in spite of opposition. Love overcomes all decrees.
How can we reconnect to
someone when we have done something hurtful? We can acknowledge our sins as we
do on Yom Kippur. But saying, "I'm sorry," is difficult and may not
eliminate resentment. On the other hand, going over to the other, perhaps
beginning with a hug, and saying, "I love you. I'm so sorry I hurt
you," usually melts the differences. It is this power of love that we can
access on Purim.
Our mitzvah observance is what
we do for Hashem Whom we love, and we should do it happily, as a way of filling
our lives with meaning and with joy.
Rabbi Kluger offers further
insights to consider as we read the Megillah. He notes that the number that
appears most frequently in the Megillah is thirteen, and the word found most
frequently is חן /grace,
favor. Thirteen reminds us of Hashem's thirteen attributes of mercy, so
dominant in the Purim story, as does chen, finding favor in someone's
eyes without necessarily earning it.
On Purim, the gates of heaven
are open wide as we extend our hands in prayer. Similarly, we are told to
accept the request of anyone who extends his hand and asks for our help on this
day.
The holiest moment on Yom
Kippur is when we recite Kesser in the Kedushah of Mussaf.
[nusach Sefard] Every moment of that sanctity is imbued in the entire day of
Purim, notes Rabbi Biederman. Hashem wants to bring that crown down to earth
for us. To deter "thieves", the Satan, He will put this holy and
expensive crown in unimposing containers, like gaiety and feasting, costumes
and drinking so that the Satan will not suspect the love that is contained
within. But Rav Schlesinger cautions that we should not let the outer frivolity
take our focus off the deeper message and connection to Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
When Purim comes, let us
rejoice in this special opportunity to connect to our Maker and express this
love in ways which gladden both the body and the spirit. May Hashem grant each
of us LOTS and LOTS of joy.