The Truth About Purim [video]

Rabbi Mendel Kessin


 

Huge Prayer Rally

Huge prayer rally! A positive commandment from the Torah To cry and shout about any calamity that comes upon the public [Rambam Hilchot Ta’anit, Chap. I; and Mishna Brura #5076]

In these crazy days when the degree of judgment [Midat Hadin] is overstretched and a sword hangs over us from without, when they sow fear among us and there is not one moment without harm, and when our troubles increase day by day, and we have no power except for prayer. Therefore, at the order of the great leaders of our generation [Gdolei Hador] it is a holy obligation for every man and woman to gather and  stand together for the sake of our souls, in prayer.

Erev Ta’anit Esther, Tuesday evening, March 22nd The day when we say “v’Nahafoch hu” [things are turned upside down] and on which the primary miracle occurred and the hour of salvation and mercy occur at midnight, [we will gather].

At the graves of our holy fathers At the Cave of Machpelah in Hevron To recite Tehillim and Slichot and to accept the Yoke of Gd with a great audience and unity to sanctify Gd’s name with repentance and love for Israel.

Buses at low cost will be dispatched from all over the country. Generous amounts of refreshments and drinks will be available until dawn. National information number: 077-229-2222 Volunteers are needed to help publicize and distribute this information in their places of residence: 052-713-0094

Powerful Prayer Day

Many classic sources tell us that Purim represents a special opportunity for one’s prayers to be answered.

The Sefer Kav HaYosher says the following: Taanis Esther is a day that is very auspicious for one’s prayers to be answered in the merit of Mordechai and Esther. Whoever needs mercy for any particular needs should put aside time for themselves and do the following: First, recite Chapter 22 in Tehilim. Then, pour out your heart to Hashem and ask for all your needs and mention the merit of Mordechai and Esther [whose merits saved us from Haman]. The Gates of Mercy will be opened and your prayers will be accepted beratzon. 

More segulot for Purim at Zchus Avos

The Ritv”a in his commentary to Megillah 7a quotes the Talmud Yerushalmi which explains regarding the fulfillment of the obligation to give matanos la’evyonim [gifts to the poor] on Purim, that kol ha’posheit yado leetol yitnu lo - we give to anyone who extends his hand to receive”. This is to say that on this festive day we give money to everyone who asks, without first checking to see if they truly are poor and worthy of receiving tzedakah funds. The Chasam Sofer writes that just as we are not particular if the people to whom we give charity on Purim are truly deserving, and whoever extends his hand gets helped, so, too, does G-d listen to all our prayers on this special day, and kol ha’posheit yado leetol yitnu lo – He gives to anyone who extends his hand to receive.

Also see: Purim's Golden Opportunity

R' Mendel Kessin: Amalek - The True Story in Relation to Current Events

A new shiur from one of our favourites, Rabbi Mendel Kessin. I haven't listened yet, but am looking forward to doing so.

 

Purim 2016

Just uploaded, a new shiur from Rabbi Mizrachi.

Purim Katan: The Rebbe Explains

According to the Jewish calendar, a second month of Adar is added in a leap-year. While Purim is usually celebrated in Adar, during a leap-year it is postponed until the second Adar, and we mark Purim Katan - “the small Purim” in the first month.

 

The Alter Rebbe, Sarah and Esther

Adapted from the works of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson 

Source: Chabad.org

The 24th of Tevet marks the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad. On this day, it is customary to gather for farbrengens, informal chassidic gatherings where Torah thoughts, inspiration and stirring melodies are shared around a festive table.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson—who was a direct descendant of Rabbi Schneur Zalman—wrote extensively about the greatness of his illustrious ancestor and pointed out how the details of various aspects of his life were in tune with the teachings of the Kabbalah. While the full teaching is beyond the scope of this article, let’s focus on Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s understanding of the name Schneur Zalman.

The name Schneur (שניאור) contains within it two Hebrew words, שני (two) and אור (light): “two lights.” This is a most appropriate name for a man whose life mission was to teach others the two illuminations of the Torah: the revealed portion of Torah, which is embodied in his Code of Jewish Law; and the hidden Kabbalah, which he espoused in his many chassidic teachings.

Taking it a step further, אור (light) has the numeric value of 207. Adding together “two lights” (207+207) brings us to a total of 414, the numerical value of ואהבת (“and you shall love”).

Indeed, Rabbi Schneur Zalman devoted his life to helping people live the values of “And you shall love the L‑rd your G‑d” and “And you shall love your fellow like yourself,” as well as a love for the Torah and a love for the Land of Israel, which he actively supported through the Colel Chabad charity he led.

Curiously, Abraham our forefather was also associated with these same qualities of love and light. Isaiah refers to him as “Abraham, my lover,” and the Midrash tells us how he brought light to the world, saying, “Until Abraham, the world functioned in darkness—Abraham came and began to shed light.”

If the two lights of Schneur are associated with Abraham, then the name Zalman must connect with Sarah, his wife.

Sarah is the only woman in the entire Torah whose age is recorded: 127 years, a number the Kabbalists explain denotes perfection and achievement. And you guessed it: Zalman (זלמן) has the numerical value of 127.

Now, the 127 years of Sarah’s life were not all identical. There were the first 90 years before G‑d blessed her with a child, and then there were the last 37 years, when she raised her son Isaac, fulfilling her essential role as a mother of our people.

The name Zalman (זלמן) can be divided neatly into these two halves: זל=37, and מן=90.

One last facet:

The 127 years of Sarah came into play a thousand years later, when Ahasuerus, who eventually married Esther, ruled over 127 countries. Why 127? The Midrash fills us in:

Why did Esther merit to rule over 127 countries? Said G‑d: “Let Esther, the descendant of Sarah who lived 127 years, come and rule over 127 lands.'' [Esther Rabbah 1:8]

Concerning Esther, the Megillah tells us that she was taken to the king’s palace to be queen in the month of Tevet. Quite appropriately, Rabbi Schneur Zalman (whose connection to Esther is expressed in the number 127) was taken to G‑d’s supernal palace on the 24th of Tevet.

Purim Sameach

For Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast a pur-- that is, the lot -- to consume them, and to destroy them... Therefore they called these days "Purim" after the pur...   Esther 9:24-26  Read more

Purim is the holiest day on the Jewish calender, even holier than Yom Kippur

For everything you need to know about Purim customs click here



Chassidishe Penguin


''Happy'' Purim


28 minutes of non-stop Purim music


The Maccabeats Purim Song

The Purim Codes

[adapted from Keeping Posted with NCSY, Fall 1999 edition and also from Torah.org article by Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld]

There is a famous "code" in Megillat Esther :- towards the end of the story, King Ahashveirosh allows the Jews to avenge themselves of their enemies on the 13th day of Adar. In Shushan, the capital, the Jews kill 500 men and hang Haman's ten sons on a gallows. Queen Esther then approaches the King with an additional request: "...allow the Jews who are in Shushan to do tomorrow as they did today, and let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows" [Esther 9:13]. It's curious that she would request the hanging of Haman's already slain sons. Nevertheless, the King complies.

The Hebrew word for "tomorrow" ["machar"] occasionally refers to the distant future. Further, the Sages tell us that whenever the word "king" appears in the Megillah it alludes to the King of kings as well. Thus, the verse could be understood as a request by Esther to G-d to again hang the ten sons of Haman at some point in the distant future. Now, when the Megillah lists the ten sons of Haman during their hanging [Esther 9:7-9] there are a number of unusually-sized letters. [There is a tradition to write certain letters in the Torah larger or smaller than the standard size.]

According to the most accepted tradition, there is a large 'vav' [numerical value = 6] and a small 'tav' [400], 'shin' [300] and 'zayin' [7]. The following suggestion has been made: The large vav refers to the sixth millennium [of the Hebrew calendar]; the small letters refer to year 707 of that millennium. The meaning, then, is that G-d agreed to hang Haman's ten sons again in the year 5707 = 1946-7.

When listing the ten sons of Haman who were hanged [Esther 9:6-10], three letters, namely Taf, Shin, and Zayin, are written smaller than the rest [most printed texts reflect this; if yours doesn’t, look in another]. The commentaries offer no explanation for this other than that it is a prophecy. The letters "Taf-Shin-Zayin" represent the Hebrew year 5707, corresponding to the secular year 1946-47.

On October 16, 1946 (21 Tishrei, 5707) ten convicted Nazi war criminals were hanged in Nuremberg. (An eleventh, Hermann Goering, a transvestite, committed suicide in his cell. The Midrash tells us that Haman also had a daughter who committed suicide.) As if the parallel were not obvious enough without further corroboration, Nazi Julius Streicher’s last words were: "PURIM FEST 1946!". [In case you question the accuracy of Streicher’s last words, they are are well-documented; they appeared in Newsweek, October 28, 1946]


It is fairly safe to assume that (a) Streicher did not know about the three small letters in the Megilla, (b) he did not know that these letters corresponded to the year in which he was being hanged, and (c) even had he known, he would have had no motivation to reinforce the validity of Jewish texts, traditions, or prophecies. One could not ask for a more independent confirmation of the all encompassing knowledge to be found in the Sifrei Tanach.

Rabbi Weissmandl - a great Hungararian scholar and holocaust survivor - made a number of findings concerning Megillat Esther using skip distances of 12,111 letters - the exact number of letters in Megillat Esther. If one starts with the first regular mem [as opposed to the "final mem"] in Bereishis 4:14, where the name Esther [vocalized differently] appears for the only time in the Torah, and count at intervals of 12,111 letters, one finds spelled out the phrase "Megillat Esther." Coincidence? I think not.

Ta'anis Esther 5775

Something to think about 

Once there was a King in Shushan, the most powerful ruler in the world, who had a strong disdain, dislike or perhaps even hatred of Jews. 

Today there is a President in Washington, the most powerful ruler in the world, who has a strong disdain, dislike or perhaps even hatred of Jews. 

Once there was a Persian who wanted to kill all the Jews, but needed the King's authorization to proceed with his plan. 

Today there are Persians who want to kill all the Jews, but need the President's authorization to proceed with their plan. 

The King didn't really care, as long as there was something in it for him - lots of money. 

The President doesn't really care, as long as there is something in it for him - a deal with the Persians.  

The Jewish Queen wanted to tell the King what was really happening, but going in to talk to the King was dangerous. 

The Jewish Prime Minister wants to tell the President and his Congress what is really happening, but going to talk to them is dangerous. 

Some people thought she shouldn't go, it would just anger the King and make things worse. 

Some people think he shouldn't go, it will just anger the President and make things worse. 

She asked the Jews to fast and pray for the success of her mission. They did so, the King accepted her words and the plot to destroy them was thwarted. 

Will we fast and pray for the success of his mission? Will the President and Congress accept his words? Will the plot to destroy us be thwarted? 

We commemorate the fasting prior to the Queen's plea to the King on Taanis Ester. 

The Prime Minister of Israel has been invited to address the United States Congress on March 3. 

This year Taanis Ester begins on March 3.

How Do We Prove that Judaism Is Not Racist?

Art: Raphael Nouril

Why Did Esther Not Refute Haman's accusations against the Jews?

by Rabbi Y. Y. Jacobson

"I wouldn't belong to a club that would have me as a member."

-- Groucho Marx

"The modern Jewish maxim is Incognito, ergo sum, 'I am invisible, therefore I am.''

-- Sidney Morganbesser.

The Case for Genocide

In the biblical book of Esther, Haman, the viceroy and second in command in the large and powerful Persian Empire, and whose defeat we celebrate on the holiday of Purim [this year Thursday, March 8th], makes a short but powerful presentation to the Persian king, Ahasuerus, attempting to persuade him to embrace his plan of Jewish genocide.

"There is a certain people," Haman says to Ahasuerus (1), "scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from all the other nations, and they do not observe the King's laws. Therefore it is not befitting the King to tolerate them. If it pleases the King, let it be recorded that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand silver talents … for deposit in the King's treasuries."

Haman's argument is straightforward and clear: Jews are different. They are alien, outsiders, an obstruction to normal society. They don't fit into the rest of the human family. They have their own faith and their own laws, which they feel are superior to the king's laws. They are a nuisance, a threat, a growth in an otherwise harmonious and integrated society. They ought to be disposed of.

The Talmud (2) records an oral tradition describing Haman's presentation in some more detail. "They don't eat from our food," Haman lamented to Ahasuerus; “they do not marry our women, and they do not marry their women to us [ironically, at this point they were both unaware that the King's wife was Jewish]. They waste the whole year, avoiding the King's work, with the excuse: Today is the Sabbath, or today is Passover."

Haman also discusses bad Jewish habits: "They eat, they drink and they mock the throne. Even if a fly falls in a glass of wine of one of them, he casts away the fly and drinks the wine. But if my master, the King, touches a glass of wine of one of them, that person throws it to the ground and does not drink it (3)."

The Jews, Haman argues, see themselves as superior to us; they will forever stand out. Who needs them?

Repeating Haman's Words

Some six centuries after Haman, these same words are repeated by Philostratus, a third-century teacher and resident of Athens and Rome, who summarizes the pagan world's perception of the Jews.

"The Jews," Philostratus wrote, "have long been in revolt not only against the Romans, but against humanity; and a race that has made its own life apart and irreconcilable, that cannot share with the rest of mankind in the pleasures of the table, nor join in their libations or prayers or sacrifices, are separated from ourselves by a greater gulf than divides us from Sura or Bactra of the more distant Indies (4)."

The same argument, in one form or another, would be repeated thousands of times throughout history. The greatest Roman historian, Tacitus, living in the first century CE, had this to say about the Jews:

"The Jews regard as profane all that we hold sacred; on the other hand, they permit all that which we abhor… toward every other people they feel only hate and enmity, they sit apart at meals and they sleep apart, and although as a race they are prone to lust, they abstain from intercourse with foreign women."

One example he mentions to describe the moral conflicts between the Romans and the Jews is worthy of note. "The Jews," Tacitus writes, "regard it as a crime to kill any newborn infant." The Romans, as the Greeks before them, killed mentally and physically handicapped infants. In their minds, keeping such children alive was pointless and unaesthetic (5).

First Lady Intervenes

Back to the Haman story of Purim. The viceroy's arguments persuade the King. A decree is issued from the Persian throne. Every Jewish man, woman and child living under Persian dominance would be exterminated on a particular date.

Then, in a delightful turn of events, the First Lady, the Jewish queen Esther, invites her husband and Haman to a drinking feast. As we recall, Esther, from all the thousands of young women who were brought from across the Empire as potential candidates for the role of queen, succeeded in gaining the affection and grace of the King. "The King loved Esther more than all the women, and she won more of his favor and grace than all other women; he set the royal crown upon her head (6)." Years later, during this wine feast, the King makes a pledge to Esther that he would fulfill every request and petition. She utilizes the opportunity to make the fateful pitch.

"If I have won Your Majesty's favor and if it pleases the King," Esther tells Ahasuerus (7), "let my life be granted to me as my request and my people as my petition. For we — I and my people — have been sold to be destroyed, slain and exterminated. Had we been sold as slaves and servant-girls, I would have kept quiet. The compensation our adversary [Haman] offers cannot be compared with the loss the king would suffer [by exterminating us, rather than selling us as slaves]."

Clearly, Esther is attempting to approach the issue from two sides, a personal one and an economical one. First, she exposes her Jewish identity. The queen is a member of the people condemned to death. Esther knows, however, that this alone may not do the trick, so she continues to discuss dollars and cents [Haman too, as recorded above, used a two-point approach in persuading the King: logic and money]. By selling the Jews as slaves, Esther argued, Ahasuerus would be profiting far more than by exterminating them. The money Haman offered him is miniscule vs. the potential profit from their sale into slavery.

The King, who never realized that Esther was Jewish, is outraged at Haman. He has his minister executed and his decree subverted. In subsequent conversations with Esther, Ahasuerus grants the Jews the right to self-defense against anybody who would dare to harm them. The entire climate in the Persian Empire toward the Jew is radically transformed. Esther's first cousin, a Jewish sage, Mordechai, is appointed viceroy, replacing Haman.

Yet, one question remains. Haman did not argue the case for Jewish extermination on the basis of senseless venomous passion. He presented what was to the King a sound and persuasive argument. The Jews, Haman argued, were an alien growth, a bizarre people, a separatist nation that would not accept the King's ultimate authority and even considered their law superior to the King's. A leader could not tolerate such a "superior group" in his empire.

This is a strong accusation. The King accepts it and as a result issues a decree demanding his subjects dispose of all the Jews — men, women and children. Yet nowhere in her entire dialogue with the King does Esther refute this argument. Why did Ahasuerus consent to the abolishment of his original plan if he believed Haman's outcry to be valid?

One might argue that Esther's charm and grace were the exclusive factors for the King's change of heart. Yet, as proved above, it is clear that Esther does not rely on this alone. That is why she presents a logical argument for slavery vs. genocide. She refutes the economic offer made by Haman by demonstrating that the king would lose money. How, then, could she ignore the powerful and persuasive argument of Haman advocating a "Judenrein" society?

What is more, Haman's accusation had some truth to it: The Jews indeed have their own set of laws which they will not break even if it contradicts the law of the King. The Jews are indeed a people who remain distinct from other nations! Esther needed to address these major issues.

When False Notions Face Reality

Some questions are canceled out via answers; some arguments refuted by counter-arguments. But there are those beliefs or notions that require neither debate nor dialogue to disprove them. Reality does the job. When reality is exposed, they dissolve into nothingness.

Haman's argument fell into this category. Esther responded to Haman's argument for Jewish genocide not by dialogue, but by her sheer presence. The moment she identified herself as a member of the Jewish people and as a product of the Jewish faith, Haman's previously attractive "thesis" vanished.

Ahasuerus knew Esther intimately. She was his wife. He sensed her soul, he touched her grace, he cherished her personality. He adored her body, her glow, her charm, and would do almost anything for her [as he explicitly told her]. He knew that Esther's character and values were noble, dignified and pure. He chose her from thousands upon thousands of young women, all of them not Jewish. Yet the king never realized that she was Jewish—a daughter of the Jewish people and a product of the Jewish faith.

When Ahasuerus suddenly discovered that she was a proud member of the Jewish people, an adherent of the Jewish faith, he immediately realized the falsehood of Haman’s arguments—not through dialogue and debate, but through Esther’s very living presence. Esther’s day-to-day life demonstrated, louder than any argument could achieve, the absurdity of Haman’s arguments that the Jews threatened society. Looking at Esther, seeing her refinement and inner beauty, and learning that this was a "product" of the Jewish people and the Jewish way of life, the King understood that this alien Nation who lived by another code, ought not to be loathed, but respected. They may be very different, but it is an otherness that elevates other nations rather than threatens them. [Leo Tolstoy wrote: "The Jew is that sacred being who has brought down from heaven the everlasting fire, and has illuminated with it the entire world (8)."] The Jew may be very different, but it is this "otherness" that has the power to inspire all of the nations of the world to live and love deeper, to encounter their individual path to G-d.

When the Persian King learnt that the royalty of Esther was a symptom of her Jewishness, he did not need to hear anything else. He got it. The last thing he needed to worry about was the Jewish people and their faith. If anything, they would prove to become the greatest blessing for his Empire. The decree was annulled.

Should We Hide?

The lesson for our times is clear. Sometimes Jews think that by hiding the “otherness” of Judaism and the Jewish people they will gain the approval of the world. Yet the facts prove otherwise: Assimilation, eclipsing the otherness of the Jewish people, has never assuaged anti-Semitism. Tradition tells us (9) that the Jews of Shushan [the capital of the Persian Empire at the time of the Purim story] were quite assimilated. Yet, this did not deter the Persian viceroy and king from believing that despite all of the Jews' compromises and attempts not to be "too Jewish," they were still strange, distinct and different.

This pattern has repeated itself in every milieu since. Never in history has assimilation solved the problem of Jew hatred. Jews in Germany were the most assimilated and integrated in mainstream society, yet it was in that very country where the worst Jew hatred in history sprouted.

Scores of great non-Jewish thinkers, sympathetic to Jews as well as to anti-Semites, saw in Jews and Judaism something different, bizarre and extraordinary. In Tolstoy's letter above he continues: "The Jew is the religious source, spring and fountain out of which all the rest of the peoples have drawn their beliefs and their religions." John Adams wrote that "the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation (8)." Friedrich Nietzsche, on the other hand, believed that the Jews introduced to the world the "slave virtues" like "pity the kind and helping hand, the warm heart, patience, industriousness, humility, friendliness," designated "for the weak and envious (10)." Hitler blamed the Jews for inventing the life-denying reality called conscience. Today, many academics and laymen believe that the Jews are responsible for the great conflict in today’s world.

As much as we attempt to run from our identity as Jews, the non-Jewish world reminds us of who we are and where we came from. The non-Jew senses that since the day the Jew stood at Sinai, he or she has been different.

The solution for the Jewish people is therefore not to deny its otherness. That will never work. Rather, the Jew ought to embrace his or her Jewishness, and just like Esther, be proud with the lifestyle and moral ethic of Torah. When we learn how to embrace our otherness with love and grace, rather than with shame and guilt, it will become a source of admiration and inspiration for all of humanity.

Just like Esther, the presence of a Jew who is permeated by the love and dignity of Torah and Mitzvos—speaks for itself. The grace of a true Torah Jew, the integrity, the innocence, the discipline, the modesty, the moral code, the sensitivity to all that is noble and dignified in life, the love for man and G-d which Torah inculcates in the Jew, the majesty of a Shabbat table and the depth of Torah wisdom—all these refute the arguments of Haman more than debate can ever hope to achieve.

Reb Chaim of Volozhin once remarked: "If a Jew doesn't make Kiddush [to sanctify himself by maintaining a distinctly Jewish lifestyle], then the non-Jew will make Havdalah for him [by making the Jew realize he is truly different]."

Israel, for example, will never succeed portraying itself to the world as “a regular country.” Its choice is either to run from its destiny or to embrace it, and thus become a source of pride for the entire world.

[This essay is based on a talk delivered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Purim 5729; March 4, 1969 (11)]

To view the footnotes click here

The Megillat Esther Code [video]

This is a video showing the story of the hidden code in Megillat Esther - the hidden message about Haman's 10 sons. A few versions of this video are available, this is the kosher version. [Hat tip Andrew]

Purim: Edom -v- Paras

I wonder if there was a special message - a hint, if you like - in the gift of the Megillah from Bibi to Obama yesterday.....

Remembering that the Gulf War in 1991 ended on Purim, [as foretold by the Lubavitcher Rebbe], and the second Gulf War [Iraq] began on Purim 2003.

Will there be a Purim war in 2012?
It's certainly looking like it, and it's probably a good time for prayer.

[The following was received via email from Jacob]

The Righteous Tzadikim have said that when the Megillah says that the King couldn’t sleep it was referring to the King Of The Entire Universe.

There is a power in the world every Taanis Esther and on Purim to wake the King.

Every Jew must feel deep In his heart and in his soul the danger the Jewish people are in. We are literally in the same situation where the lives of every Jewish man, woman and child are in danger.  One doesn’t have to be a chacham to see that we are in deep danger.

Every man, woman and child must cry and scream TO WAKE OUR KING FROM SLEEP to draw down

His mercy from above upon us.  [The Rabbis actually say it is our sleep that makes it seem like the King is sleeping but when we arise like a lion the King Of Kings will rise and completely destroy our enemies. Amein Kein Yehi Ratzon.

It has been passed down that the prayer read by Esther to beg and plead to Hashem before approaching Achashveirosh was Tehillim [Psalm] 22.   This Psalm has the power to nullify harsh decrees.

The Tzadikim have said that through the Fast of Esther and the happiness of Purim, Klal Yisrael can and will destroy any decree upon Hashem’s beloved people.

May it be this year that our enemies, wherever they may be, whether within or without, be obliterated forever. Amen!!!

Tehillim 22

Psalms Chapter 22 תְּהִלִּים

א לַמְנַצֵּחַ, עַל-אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר; מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד.

1 For the Leader; upon Ayeles ha-Shachar. A Psalm of Dovid.

ב אֵלִי אֵלִי, לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי; רָחוֹק מִישׁוּעָתִי, דִּבְרֵי שַׁאֲגָתִי.

2 My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me, and art far from my help at the words of my cry?

ג אֱלֹהַי--אֶקְרָא יוֹמָם, וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה; וְלַיְלָה, וְלֹא-דֻמִיָּה לִי.

3 O my God, I call by day, but Thou answerest not; and at night, and there is no surcease for me.

ד וְאַתָּה קָדוֹשׁ-- יוֹשֵׁב, תְּהִלּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל.

4 Yet Thou art holy, O Thou that art enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

ה בְּךָ, בָּטְחוּ אֲבֹתֵינוּ; בָּטְחוּ, וַתְּפַלְּטֵמוֹ.

5 In Thee did our fathers trust; they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them.

ו אֵלֶיךָ זָעֲקוּ וְנִמְלָטוּ; בְּךָ בָטְחוּ וְלֹא-בוֹשׁוּ.

6 Unto Thee they cried, and escaped; in Thee did they trust, and were not ashamed.

ז וְאָנֹכִי תוֹלַעַת וְלֹא-אִישׁ; חֶרְפַּת אָדָם, וּבְזוּי עָם.

7 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

ח כָּל-רֹאַי, יַלְעִגוּ לִי; יַפְטִירוּ בְשָׂפָה, יָנִיעוּ רֹאשׁ.

8 All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head:

ט גֹּל אֶל-יְהוָה יְפַלְּטֵהוּ; יַצִּילֵהוּ, כִּי חָפֵץ בּוֹ.

9 'Let him commit himself unto the LORD! let Him rescue him; let Him deliver him, seeing He delighteth in him.'

י כִּי-אַתָּה גֹחִי מִבָּטֶן; מַבְטִיחִי, עַל-שְׁדֵי אִמִּי.

10 For Thou art He that took me out of the womb; Thou madest me trust when I was upon my mother's bosom.

יא עָלֶיךָ, הָשְׁלַכְתִּי מֵרָחֶם; מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי, אֵלִי אָתָּה.

11 Upon Thee I have been cast from my birth; Thou art my God from my mother's womb.

יב אַל-תִּרְחַק מִמֶּנִּי, כִּי-צָרָה קְרוֹבָה: כִּי-אֵין עוֹזֵר.

12 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

יג סְבָבוּנִי, פָּרִים רַבִּים; אַבִּירֵי בָשָׁן כִּתְּרוּנִי.

13 Many bulls have encompassed me; strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

יד פָּצוּ עָלַי פִּיהֶם; אַרְיֵה, טֹרֵף וְשֹׁאֵג.

14 They open wide their mouth against me, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

טו כַּמַּיִם נִשְׁפַּכְתִּי-- וְהִתְפָּרְדוּ, כָּל-עַצְמוֹתָי:

הָיָה לִבִּי, כַּדּוֹנָג; נָמֵס, בְּתוֹךְ מֵעָי

15 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; {N}

my heart is become like wax; it is melted in mine inmost parts.

טז יָבֵשׁ כַּחֶרֶשׂ, כֹּחִי, וּלְשׁוֹנִי, מֻדְבָּק מַלְקוֹחָי; וְלַעֲפַר-מָוֶת תִּשְׁפְּתֵנִי.

16 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my throat; and Thou layest me in the dust of death.

יז כִּי סְבָבוּנִי, כְּלָבִים: עֲדַת מְרֵעִים, הִקִּיפוּנִי; כָּאֲרִי, יָדַי וְרַגְלָי.

17 For dogs have encompassed me; a company of evil-doers have inclosed me; like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet.

יח אֲסַפֵּר כָּל-עַצְמוֹתָי; הֵמָּה יַבִּיטוּ, יִרְאוּ-בִי.

18 I may count all my bones; they look and gloat over me.

יט יְחַלְּקוּ בְגָדַי לָהֶם; וְעַל-לְבוּשִׁי, יַפִּילוּ גוֹרָל.

19 They part my garments among them, and for my vesture do they cast lots.

כ וְאַתָּה יְהוָה, אַל-תִּרְחָק; אֱיָלוּתִי, לְעֶזְרָתִי חוּשָׁה.

20 But Thou, O LORD, be not far off; O Thou my strength, hasten to help me.

כא הַצִּילָה מֵחֶרֶב נַפְשִׁי; מִיַּד-כֶּלֶב, יְחִידָתִי.

21 Deliver my soul from the sword; mine only one from the power of the dog.

כב הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי, מִפִּי אַרְיֵה; וּמִקַּרְנֵי רֵמִים עֲנִיתָנִי.

22 Save me from the lion's mouth; yea, from the horns of the wild-oxen do Thou answer me.

כג אֲסַפְּרָה שִׁמְךָ לְאֶחָי; בְּתוֹךְ קָהָל אֲהַלְלֶךָּ.

23 I will declare Thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.

כד יִרְאֵי יְהוָה, הַלְלוּהוּ-- כָּל-זֶרַע יַעֲקֹב כַּבְּדוּהוּ;

וְגוּרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ, כָּל-זֶרַע יִשְׂרָאֵל.

24 'Ye that fear the LORD, praise Him; all ye the seed of Yaakov, glorify Him; {N}

and stand in awe of Him, all ye the seed of Israel.

כה כִּי לֹא-בָזָה וְלֹא שִׁקַּץ, עֱנוּת עָנִי-- וְלֹא-הִסְתִּיר פָּנָיו מִמֶּנּוּ;

וּבְשַׁוְּעוֹ אֵלָיו שָׁמֵעַ.

25 For He hath not despised nor abhorred the lowliness of the poor; neither hath He hid His face from him; {N}

but when he cried unto Him, He heard.'

כו מֵאִתְּךָ, תְּהִלָּתִי: בְּקָהָל רָב--נְדָרַי אֲשַׁלֵּם, נֶגֶד יְרֵאָיו.

26 From Thee cometh my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my vows before them that fear Him.

כז יֹאכְלוּ עֲנָוִים, וְיִשְׂבָּעוּ-- יְהַלְלוּ יְהוָה, דֹּרְשָׁיו;

יְחִי לְבַבְכֶם לָעַד.

27 Let the humble eat and be satisfied; let them praise the LORD that seek after Him; {N}

may your heart be quickened for ever!

כח יִזְכְּרוּ, וְיָשֻׁבוּ אֶל-יְהוָה-- כָּל-אַפְסֵי-אָרֶץ;

וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְפָנֶיךָ, כָּל-מִשְׁפְּחוֹת גּוֹיִם.

28 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the LORD; {N}

and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee.

כט כִּי לַיהוָה, הַמְּלוּכָה; וּמֹשֵׁל, בַּגּוֹיִם.

29 For the kingdom is the LORD'S; and He is the ruler over the nations.

ל אָכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ, כָּל-דִּשְׁנֵי-אֶרֶץ-- לְפָנָיו יִכְרְעוּ, כָּל-יוֹרְדֵי עָפָר;

וְנַפְשׁוֹ, לֹא חִיָּה.

30 All the fat ones of the earth shall eat and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall kneel before Him, {N}

even he that cannot keep his soul alive.

לא זֶרַע יַעַבְדֶנּוּ; יְסֻפַּר לַאדֹנָי לַדּוֹר.

31 A seed shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord unto the next generation.

לב יָבֹאוּ, וְיַגִּידוּ צִדְקָתוֹ: לְעַם נוֹלָד, כִּי עָשָׂה.

32 They shall come and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He hath done it. 

Spiderman Prepares for Purim

Esther and the 72- letter name of G-d

by Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz From "Manos HaLevi"

Translation by R. Carmel Kehati [words in brackets are the translator's additions]

"And thus I [Esther] will approach the king." [Esther 4:16]

Rabbi Yosef Gackon writes, concerning Esther's three-day fast, that Esther [in fasting for exactly three days] had the following kabbalistic intention. Namely, that three days and nights contain seventy-two hours, and "B'chen" ["thus", in 4:16] equals seventy-two numerically [in letter-gematria], corresponding to the [exalted 72-letter] Name of G-d hinted in the three verses [that begin], "Vayisa", "Vayavo","Vayet" [Exodus 14:19, 20, 21, each of which contain seventy-two letters precisely]. It was with the power of this Name that G-d split the [Red] sea and had the Israelites cross over, and He guided them in His protection and they had no fear [of the enemy].

From that Name, [the flow of] the Divine life-force comes to Esther's supernal [corresponding]sefira; for Esther [as our Sages say] was greenish [olive skinned] in complexion [green is a color associated with the sefira Chesed, Divine kindness, as the life-flow descends through the upper worlds]. Esther, with the power of these seventy-two hours, approached [G-d], King of the world, in her prayers; for she was sure of His help [that He would answer her and save the Jews]. Then, in this [lowly physical] world, she approached King Ahasuerus.

Much more at: Secrets in the Book of Esther

[With thanks to Miguel for this link]

Ahmadinejad and Haman: Revenge of a Bird

By: Rabbi YY Jacobson

A fascinating Midrash compares Haman to a foolish bird attempting to take revenge on an ocean which destroyed its nest. What this seemingly simple fable tells about the secret behind Anti-Semitism, the inner conflict within the Jewish psyche and the meaning of Jewish history. A journey into the heart of what it means to be a Jew.

The Frog

A lonely frog, desperate for any form of company, telephoned the Psychic Hotline to find out what the future has in store for him.

His Personal Psychic Advisor advises him, "You are going to meet a beautiful young girl who will want to know everything about you."

The frog is thrilled and says, "This is great! Where will I meet her, at work? At a party?"

"No," says the psychic, "in a biology class."

The Bird and the Sea

As our imagination is once again consumed by threats coming from Iran and its President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, let us pay heed to a Midrash about the Purim story which also occurred in Iran, in ancient Persia.

There is a fascinating Midrash [1] describing the plot of Haman, the villain of the Purim story:

“What is an apt parable for Haman the Evil One? To what can he be compared? To a bird which made its nest on the shore of the sea, and then the sea came and swept away the nest. The bird said: I will not budge from here until the sea becomes dry land, and the dry land becomes the sea. What did the bird do? It took some water from the sea in its mouth and dropped it on dry land, and took dirt from the land and dropped it into the sea. Its friend came and stood alongside. He said to the bird: You ill-fated, hapless one! How do you ever hope to succeed?

“Similarly, G-d said to Haman the Evil One: Fool of fools! I myself planned to destroy the Jewish people and was, as it were, unsuccessful, as it is written [2] ‘He intended to destroy them [and would have] were it not that Moses, His chosen one, stood before Him in the breach to return His wrath from destroying,’ and you, Haman, think you will be able to decimate and annihilate them?! I swear by your life, that your head will be in place of theirs; they will be saved and you will be hanged.”

At first glance, the Midrash is saying that the annihilation of the Jews is as impossible and ludicrous as the draining of the ocean, beak-full by beak-full, by a bird. The bird is so blinded by its anger at the sea for destroying its nest, that it does not realize the absurdity of its quest.

Yet the Midrash is perplexing.

1) The role of a metaphor in Midrashic and Talmudic literature is to explain and clarify a difficult concept. What is the concept being clarified via this metaphor of a bird attempting to drain an ocean? What component of the Haman story begs for enlightenment to be understood only via this metaphor?

2) In the Midrashic fable, the sea first sweeps away the bird’s nest, arousing its quest for revenge. What is the paralleled meaning of this sequence of events? What did the Jewish people – compared to the sea – do to Haman – compared to the bird -- pre-empting his desire to destroy them? Is the Midrash suggesting that we, the Jews, were guilty of his hatred [3]?

3) The bird was quite foolish in its strategy to dry an ocean drop by drop. It is a ludicrous proposition. Haman -- the viceroy of the greatest empire of the time, who had the full cooperation of the mightiest man in the world, King Achashveirosh – had a well-thought-out plan, and it came dangerously close to fruition. Why then is he compared to the bird trying to drain the ocean, defined as the “fool of fools?”

4) The Midrash relates that “G-d said to Haman the Evil One: Fool of fools! I myself planned to destroy the Jewish people and was unsuccessful.” How can G-d be “unsuccessful?” Who can possibly stop G-d from executing His plans?

Why the Jews?

It is here that we discover, once again, the untold layers of depth contained in the tales of Torah literature. A simple fable in the Midrash captures the secret behind Anti-Semitism, the inner conflict within the Jewish psyche and the ultimate meaning of the long Jewish story. In this Midrashic metaphor, we are invited on a journey into the heart of what it means to be a Jew [4].

What was it that really perturbed Haman about the Jewish people? What was it about the Jews that struck such a deep cord in so many Haman’s throughout the ages, including during our very own times? “Why the Jews?” is one of the oldest mysteries of civilization. Are we really that different?

The Midrash, in its own inimitable way, gives us a perspective. Like that little desperate bird trying to take revenge for a nest which the sea swept away, Haman felt that as long as the Jews were alive, the nest he attempted to build would be washed away.

One millennium before Haman was born, at the foot of a lone mountain, the Jewish people received a gift which transformed their destiny and changed the landscape of human civilization. It was an experience which imbued Jewish life with the nobility of transcendence, the majesty of Divine ethics and the grandeur of holiness. The gift of the Torah inculcated Jewish life with great moral and spiritual responsibility, but it simultaneously bestowed upon the Jewish heart, the Jewish home, the Jewish family and the Jewish community a piece of heaven, a glow of eternity.

But what is heaven for one person may spell hell for another; piano lessons for a 4-year-old Mozart is a paradise, while for another child the lessons may be a living purgatory. Heaven for the Jews was hell for the Haman’s of the world. If G-d exists, then the moral law prevails, and there must be limits to power and self-aggrandizement. If G-d exists the barbarian must vanquish himself. Haman felt that two diametrically opposing and mutually exclusive powers were competing for the heart of humanity. If his “nest” was to take root, the Jews must be obliterated [5].

2300 years later this notion was captured by a contemporary Haman, Adolf Hitler. He remarked that “The Jews have inflicted two wounds on the world: Circumcision for the body and conscience for the soul. I come to free mankind from their shackles."

But Haman, the avid student of history [6], knew that this was no simple task. He had seen many powerful and seemingly permanent “nests” washed away by the Jewish “sea.” He knew what had happened to Pharaoh, Sisera, Goliath, Sancheirav and Nevuchadnezzar; how they each attempted to “drain the sea,” to eradicate the Jew once and for all and how they each ended up eradicated and forgotten themselves. Like that poor frog which ends up having its moment of glory in a biology class, all of these cultures and civilizations today appear only in history classes…

Yet the Jew still remained. Not only in Wikipedia, but in real life as well. What was the secret of this “sea?”

It is here where Haman invented an ingenious strategy. Haman believed that he had the “final solution” which had eluded all of his predecessors; he knew how to solve the “Jewish problem,” this time for real. And that was by taking beak-full after beak-full of water, and dumping it on dry land.

Haman’s Final Solution

The key to this puzzle lies in reflecting on another Talmudic metaphor concerning “sea” vs. “dry land.”

The Talmud relates the following story [7]:

The Evil [Roman] Empire had prohibited Torah study. Pappus the son of Yehuda came and found Rabbi Akiva making large public gatherings and teaching Torah. Pappus said to him: Akiva! Aren’t you afraid of the authorities? And Rabbi Akiva replied: I will give you a parable.

A fox is walking along a river. He sees the fish frantically scurrying from one place to another.

He says to them: From whom are you running?

-- From the nets and traps of the fishermen.

Why don’t you come up to the dry land, and we will live happily together, just as our forefathers did!

The fish replied: Is it really you whom they call the cleverest of animals? You are not clever, rather a fool! If we are afraid in the place of our vitality, how much more so in the place of our death!

Rabbi Akiva concluded: If the life is tough as we are sitting and studying Torah, about which it is written “It is our life and the length of our days,” how much worse it will be if we cease to study Torah.

The Torah – Rabbi Akiva is saying -- is to the Jew what the sea is to the fish. It is his necessary habitat, the source of his vitality, it is where he can live, breathe, thrive and be most creative. Like a fish washed up ashore, the Jewish soul deprived of Torah, will struggle to find real endurable meaning on “dry land,” in an environment unsuitable for his spiritual DNA to flourish and express itself fully. He, like the fish, will flip and flop, experiment with different ideologies and lifestyles, desperately attempting to find solace for his aching soul. He may become a Darwinist, a Marxist, a Bundist, a Buddhist, a Global Warmist, or what have you, failing to realize that by his essential nature he must remain in his water.

Haman therefore understood that what he had to do was dry up the sea; sever the relationship between the Jewish people and their Torah. His goal must be to antiquate the Torah, to teach the Jews how to become “land animals.” He must invite them, in the words of the fox, to “live together with us in peace as our forefathers did.” Once the fish was out of the water, it would be vulnerable to destruction.

And the time seemed ripe for this endeavor.

Out of the Waters

The Talmud asks [8], why was annihilation decreed on the Jews of that generation? Because they enjoyed the feast of that wicked man (Achashveirosh, the Persian king).” As the book of Esther relates in its opening chapter, the Persian monarch threw a major feast, and the Jews of Shushan, the capital of the Persian Empire, enjoyed the feast.

Note the words: The Talmud does not state that they were guilty of eating non-kosher food (if so, it would not make a difference who was serving the meal – a wicked or a righteous person, nor is death the penalty for eating non-kosher food), in fact, the Talmud relates [9] that there was a designated kosher section at the king’s feast. The issue was that “they enjoyed the feast of that wicked man.” It was not the food; it was the psychological transformation of the Jewish psyche: Their dignity and sense of inner worth did not stem from their own soul and identity; it came from being invited to the Persian “White House,” from rubbing shoulders with the Iranian celebrities and from having their photos appearing on the front pages of “The Shushan Times.” As they took their places among the Persians, Medians, Babylonians, Chaldeans and the other nationalities at the feast, they felt that they finally “made it.” After seventy years of exile, they had set themselves free from the “Jewish stereotype,” they were now a member of equal standing in the family of nations at Achashveirosh’s table [10].

Alas, the fish left the water and it was given a royal welcome! Everybody was cheering for the fish which finally made it out of its “prison,” the fish was flipping and flopping to demonstrate its excitement. But inside – it was dying…

This, then, was Haman’s strategy: Dry up the sea, take the Jews out of the water, introduce them to dry land, and they will become vulnerable to destruction.

So “G-d said to Haman: Fool of fools! I myself planned to destroy them and was not able to do so … and you, Haman, thought you would be able to decimate and annihilate them?!”

This divine response captures the essence of Jewish existence. G-d Himself, so to speak, could not destroy the Jews. Why?

Because the relationship between the Jew and Torah is innate, intrinsic and essential, and it can never be severed; only eclipsed. Unlike the fish, the Jew can never really leave the water. What occurred at Sinai was that Torah had become part of the very DNA of the Jew; he can love it, he can hate it, but he can’t ignore it. He can embrace it, he can run from it, but he cannot stop being defined by it, if sometimes only negatively.

Jewish DNA

The Anti-Semites of the world never loved secular, modern and assimilated Jews any more than religious and observant Jews. They acutely felt that the Jewishness of the Jew is embedded into his or her very essence, no matter the amount of “nose jobs” or soul-jobs he or she undergoes.

And paradoxically, this very truth has become our very source of eternal life. Since the Jewish people can never sever their relationship from Torah, our sea can never dry, and our existence can never be obliterated.

This is what G-d is telling Haman: Even I have tried… When the Jews sinned, I planned to destroy them, but I could not, because My relationship with them proved deeper than all of our “issues” with each other. It is like the relationship between parents and children: Parents sometimes harbor deep resentment toward the behavior of children who make their lives miserable. Sometimes a parent is tempted to write-off a child, to stop helping him, even to stop loving him. But they can’t… The inner bond proves far more powerful. “A kind is a kind,” a child is a child.

Haman’s strategy was brilliant, but he failed to understand “vos eiz a yid,” what is a Jew. He did not realize that Torah to the Jew is what the piano was to Mozart. The fish will never fully leave the water, and the Jews will never die.

[This essay is based on an address by the Lubavitcher Rebbe on Purim 5724 - 1964]

_________

To post a comment on this article, or to view the footnotes, please click here: TheYeshiva.net

A Mysterious Guest's Purim Secret

Rav Chaim Volozhin's Purim Secret From A Mysterious Guest

One Purim an old man appeared at Rav Chaim Volozhin's Purim seuda. Rav Chaim gave him a coin for tzedaka. The old man then said that if he gives him another coin, he will tell him a Chiddush in the Megila. Rav Chaim agreed and the old man asked a question.

The Medrash says that after the gezeira of Haman, Moshe Rabbeinu told Eliyahu HaNavi to go tell Mordechai to daven on earth while they will daven in Shamayim. Eliyahu told Moshe that he already saw that the gezeira was signed and sealed in Shamayim so there was no chance of salvation. Moshe asked, was the seal made out of earth or blood. Eliyahu said it was out of earth. In that case said Moshe Rabbeinu there is still hope.

Where, asked the old man, do we see in the Megila that the seal was not from blood? Rav Chaim didn't answer and the old man continued. The Megila says that Haman plotted to destroy the Yehudim, "U'Liabdam". If you break the word U'Liabdam into two words it says "V'Lo B'Dam", the decree was not sealed in blood.

Rav Chaim was so excited about this answer that when he went to visit his Rebbi the Vilna Gaon, he repeated it to him. The Vilna Gaon also became emotional upon hearing this and told Rav Chaim that the "old man" was none other than the old man who revealed this secret over 2,000 years ago during the story of Purim. It was Eliyahu HaNavi himself.

Source: Revach L'Neshama

Temple of Esther and Mordechai [video]

HT: Moriah

The iconic and legendary character of Esther, the Persian Queen, and the historical significance of the Temple of Esther and Mordechai in the City of Hamedan... A search of a non-Jewish Iranian filmmaker in the pages of the Persian cultural heritageand mythology relating to Esther, who is regarded as a savior of the Persian Jews. Today, the Iranian Jews are known as the children of Esther.

Esther: Some Things You Should Know

Art: John Cox

Reprinted with permission from Tzaddik Magazine

written by Esther Bashe

Esther is a ''precious stone''.  She descended into the depths on a secret mission.  Her very name means ''hidden''.  Only when her mission was accomplished did she and Mordechai record the events on a scroll called Megillat Esther.  Written with ruach haKodesh [Divine inspiration] the contents of this scroll are read every Purim around the world, testifying to the hidden and miraculous presence of G-d in the darkest of moments.  A prototype of hidden redemption, the Purim story is especially relevant to our generation.

Sometimes there are dilemmas so enormous that the mind cannot fathom a way out.  In this case, there is only one solution to circumvent everything.  Go to the microcosmic source that holds the root of everything.  The Foundation Stone [Even HaShetiyah] in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem had this quality, lying beneath the Holy of Holies - a place radiating unparalleled spiritual symmetry and beauty of irresistible attraction.  This innermost point was hidden inside Esther, as well as other great tzaddikim and tzidkaniyot throughout history. Redemption during periods of great peril is sometimes brought about through a lone individual.  Other times it involves the interaction between a pair of redeemers, as in the case of Mordechai and Esther.

The potency of Esther's power lay in its hiddenness: it flowed from the all-inclusive good point she possessed.  It wasn't just any good point, it was the microcosmic hub found within every woman who played a redemptive role in Jewish history - for instance, the three matriarchs Sara, Rivka and Rachel, as well as Ruth, Devorah, Yael, Rabbi Meir's wife Bruria, Rabbi Akiva's wife Rachel, and many others who remain hidden.  Evil individuals seeking to harm or destroy the Jewish people often met their downfall through women who put their body and soul on the line for the sake of the Jewish people.  Esther cried out in profound distress: Hatzila M-cherev Nafshi - Save my soul from the sword!  [Psalms 22:21 This entire chapter in the Book of Psalms is attributed to Esther] The first letters of this verse spell ''Haman''.

Since Esther's innermost point included the root of every soul, she is said to have encompassed Klal Yisrael.  She was also the living spiritual paradigm of ishah yirat Hashem - the ''G-d fearing woman'' [Proverbs 31:30] spoken about extensively in our holy writings.  Her humility formed the basis for every salvation, and allowed her to resist the empty lure of fame and recognition - something that would have undermined her success entirely.

A Timeless vs Time-Bound Beauty
There is another deeper aspect to Esther's powerful influences that involves time itself. [Toras Noson on Esther]   All suffering is the result of existing in a realm bound by time. Exile in particular personifies the pain and anguish of life under the constraints of time. We are unable to see the whole picture, something reserved only for the higher timeless consciousness of the World to Come. [Berakhot 34b et al]

But at extraordinary moments in history the two realms intersect, bringing redemption.  The reality that exists above time is miraculous because it suffers no lack or damage of any kind. Everything is whole and complete, and as such, holds the key to all healing and perfection. The essence of the Purim miracle [as well as that of Chanukah] came from this timeless realm and penetrates deeply into our world every year during Chanukah and Purim.  It is the same place from where Mashiach pulls down his strength to repair a very troubled and diseased earth. Because Esther possessed this microcosmic good point in her generation, by straddling both realms, she was the conduit of salvation for the entire Jewish people during Purim.

When she descended into the depths of evil, the Other Side rejoiced, figuring it had won the biggest prize by capturing the ishah yirat Hashem, the quintessential G-d fearing woman herself. She now would be lost along with everything else she held within her.  Vi-ka asher avaditi avaditi - And if I perish, I perish - she wept [Esther 4:17].  Taken into the inner chambers of Achashverosh, she was submerged in the constraints of time - the ultimate expression of exile.  However, the profound humility and righteousness of Esther prevented the wicked Achashverosh from accessing her inner essence. [R'Chaim Vital: Etz Chaim, Sha'ar Klipat Nogah 4-5; Ma'amar Ha Nefesh 11:3].  She nullified herself entirely and remained unaffected by any contact with him.  Her purity protected her during her descent, enabling her to elevate and restore the sparks of holiness that fell into the lowest time-bound realm of evil.

Esther's ''capture'' and exile to the lowest time-bound realm of Haman and Achashverosh was intended to suppress all hope for redemption rooted above time.  This supra-temporal level is where the Jewish people draw their strength.  Therefore, since the dimension of time had engulfed Esther, to prevail over her meant prevailing over Israel - since they were all rooted in her soul.  Yet she overcame everything through her heroic efforts on behalf of the Jews.  In so doing, she prevailed over the time-bound astrological calculations of Haman to annihilate the entire people on the 13th of the Hebrew month of Adar [the day preceding Purim, observed as the 'Fast of Esther' today].  Instead, the tables were completely turned on Haman and his supporters when the day earmarked for the destruction of the Jews brought devastation to Israel's enemies.  The redemptive light of the timeless realm converted everything into good - all in the merit of Mordechai and Esther, the redemptive duo of Purim.

''For the Jews there was light, gladness, joy, and honor - so may it be for us.'' [From the prefatory verses of the Havdalah ceremony recited at the conclusion of Shabbat, based on Esther 8:16]

Gog u'Magog: Purim Rumor

That rumor from last week, about Gog and Magog beginning on Purim has apparently been clarified by Rav Fish, but as I have not personally seen it, I can only blog this as a rumor. Hopefully someone will be able to confirm whether or not Rav Fish did send this out [please leave a comment if you know]

''And I also heard from Rav Tidhar Eilon Azulai Shlit"a that already in the upcoming month of Nissan, the great revolutions of the Redemption will commence.''

HaRav HaMekubal Tidhar Elyon Azulai Shlita from the Yeshiva Shemen Sasson, allegedly said to two people who came to him for advice, that it will be the last time they would be able to do a certain kind of teshuva, and that the Gog and Magog war will begin Purim 5772, and continue for two weeks leading up to Rosh Chodesh Nissan 5772......

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