Holy Days
PURIM
1. THE PURIM FEAST
The reason that the Sages instituted drinking and feasting on Purim and not on Chanukah is as follows: In the days of Mordechai and Esther, the Jews sinned through eating, by partaking of the feast of Ahashuerus. This was physical sin, and therefore they were endangered, measure for measure, with physical annihilation. In contrast, in the days of the Hasmoneans, the Jews sinned through almost assimilating into Greek culture and thereby ignoring the study of the Torah; therefore they were endangered not physically but spiritually he Greeks wanted to outlaw the practice of Judaism. Therefore, the commemoration of the miracle of Chanukah is chiefly through vocal observance: praise and thanksgiving, which emphasize the spiritual, whereas that of Purim is chiefly through drinking and eating, which emphasize the physical.
[from Benei Yissachar]
2. SOME PURIM-RELATED OBSERVANCES
SHABBAT ZACHOR ["Shabbat of Remembering"] 11 Adar (Feb. 23,2002)
This is the only Shabbat each year that every man and woman is obligated (according to most authorities) by Torah law to go to shul. On this day, Zachor is appended to the weekly Torah reading. By hearing it read publicly on the Shabbat immediately preceding Purim, we fulfill the Torah commandment in it [Deut. 25:17-19]: “Remember what Amalek [the ancestor and inspiration of Haman, the villain of Purim] did to you.”
(Anyone who is unable to be present at this reading should make an extra effort to hear the Torah reading [Ex. 17] that takes place immediately before the morning Megillah reading on Purim, or at least to hear Zachor read when it comes up in the regular Shabbat cycle of Torah readings [Sept. 9, 2000] as the final verses of the portion Ki Teitzei.)
TA’ANIT [Fast of] ESTHER 13 Adar (Monday, Feb. 25, 2002)
The fast starts before dawn and ends after dark. No eating or drinking. Special services at shul morning and afternoon. The money saved by not eating should go to charity; the time, to Torah-study and mitzvot-performance.
PURIM 14 Adar (Mon. night - Tues., Feb. 25-26)
1. Hear a public reading of the Scroll of Esther in the evening and again during the day.
2. Give money [matanot l’evyonim] to at least 2 needy individuals. (If you don’t encounter anyone that qualifies, put the money in a safe place until you do.)
3. Send (via a third party) a gift [mishlo’ach manot] of 2 or more kinds of ready-to-eat foods and/or drink to at least 1 friend (not a relative).
4. Celebrate at a festive day-time meal with bread, good food, and plenty of wine. The Talmud and Codes of Law instruct us to drink until we can no longer differentiate between “Blessed is Mordechai” and “Cursed is Haman”! (A few authorities opine that the minimum obligation is to drink only “a bit more than what one is used to.” Looking ahead to Pesach night, perhaps the quantity implied is 4 cups plus!)
5. Add “Al HaNissim” to the Amidah prayers and to the Blessings-After-Meals.
SHUSHAN PURIM 15 Adar (Tues. night - Wed., Feb. 26-27)
Inhabitants of cities that were important enough to be surrounded by walls at the time of the Jews’ entrance into the Holy Land celebrate Purim one day later than everyone else (see Esther 9:17-19). Prime example: Jerusalem. The status of Tsfat and several other cities in Israel is unclear, so the day is celebrated somewhat in addition to regular-Purim, “just-in-case.”
3. BEHIND THE MASKS
by Moshe Wisnefsky
The word Purim is Persian for “lots.” The whole manner in which a lot works transcends rationality. Take, for example, the Temple service of Yom Kippur: a lot was cast to determine which of two goats would be pushed off the cliff to certain death, and which would have the distinction of being offered on the altar. Before the lot was cast, it could go either way: neither goat was logically more “fit” for one or the other of the two fates. Only the lot decided; the entire affair was altogether beyond intellect.
Ultimately, the Jew is connected to G-d in the same superrational way. Despite whatever inconsistencies there may be in his conscious or rational relationship with Him, the essential, intrinsic. supperrational connection always exists; he can always fall back on it. By tapping into it, all shortcomings can be overlooked and forgiven.
However, if there is a level at which evil is overlooked and doesn’t matter, it would seem that the forces of evil could also draw sustenance from that level, once the pipelines of life-force are opened. Haman knew that there is a superrational level of relationship to G-d. from which good and evil can draw equally. This is why he cast lots when devising his scheme to wipe out the Jews. He wanted to “imitate” the Jews’ relationship with G-d; to “rise” to that level where intellect has no say and cannot deny him the power he wants.
But Esther realized what Haman didn’t. She knew that there are two facets of the superconscious: true, G-d is above good and evil; His essence exists outside the context of creation, and “As for your many sins-can they harm Him?...and if you acted righteously-will it benefit Him?” (Job 35:6-7).
But this is only when we take reality at face value. What we see is that G-d gives life to all creation, and no moral strings seem to be attached. Good and evil seem to be equally capable of receiving, and there appears to be no advantage in being aligned with one or the other.
But the Jew knows to look behind the facade, behind the “mask” and “costume” the world is wearing. The Jew knows that G-d created the world for the purpose of ultimately revealing Himself in it, and whatever creative force he invests in keeping the externalities of the world operative if there only to serve the higher purpose. G-d needs a running world to serve as a backdrop for the drama of human history, He gives life-force to the world regardless of its moral performance. But that life-force is only the external dimension of His energy and interest in the world. G-d’s inner intention is that His presence be revealed in the world and this is possible only through holiness, Torah, mitzvot, and Jews. On this level, the highest of all, evil has no “equal rights.” A dog may be able to eat from a king’s table, but only what is thrown “over the shoulder.” the scraps. To actually sit down and dine at a royal feast, one must be refined, one must be worthy. Esther knew this, and took advantage of Haman’s ascending to the vantage point where rationality has no sway in order to reveal his true colors.
In order to prevent Haman from succeeding, Esther did two things. First, she and Mordechai inspired the Jewish people to do teshuvah: “Then Esther told them to tell Mordechai: ‘Go gather all the Jews in Shushan and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink for three days, nights and day: Also I and my maidens will fast...’” (Esther 4:15-16). It was necessary for the Jewish people to delve into themselves and reveal a deeper connection to G-d than that normally operative; they had to rise to the level of His innermost Will. This is the inner meaning of the continuation of the verse: “....and so I will go into the king, though it is against the law.” The soul ascends to its most intimate level of communion with the King, higher than rationality- “against the ‘law.’”
Once that was done, Esther invited Haman to a feast with the king (Esther 5:4). By according him the distinction of dining with the royal couple, she led him to believe that he was in fact on their level. Now that she and her people were holding by the inner dimension of G-d’s will, she was able to elevate Haman to that level as well. At that dramatic point, the king realized Haman’s true intentions to destroy the Queen and rape her in front of him. When Haman’s ultimate nerve was exposed, he was thrown to the gallows.
[Interestingly, it is in this verse that G-d’s name -which is not mentioned explicitly in the entire book of Esther-appears as the initials of the words “Let the king and Haman come today....”]
By revealing within himself his absolute and essential bond with G-d, the Jew wipes out any possibility of evil getting out of hand. This is the message if of Purim: by taking all things to their root, the Jew eradicated evil automatically.
[from Ascent Quarterly #14 (based on Ma’amarei Admor HaZaken p.381)]
(Moshe Yaakov Wisnefsky is one of the founders of Ascent of Safed. He currently lives and writes in Jerusalem.)