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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier
In תהלים כ”ד:א, Psalms 2:1, it states, “למנצח על אילת השחר מזמור לדוד – To Him who grants victory, upon the strengthening power of day’s dawning, a psalm of Dovid.”
The גמרא יומא דף כט explains that this Psalm is referring to the time of Queen Esther. Her era is defined as the “morning star” since just as the morning is the end of the night – darkness, so too Esther – the miracle of Purim – was the finale of all miracles.
It seems the opposite! If all open miracles ceased it should be a time of darkness that descended upon the world, for now we won’t be inspired with the open hand of Hashem?
The יערות דבש answers that on the contrary; we don’t need open miracles anymore to recognize and perceive Hashem’s involvement with His world. The narrative of Purim which took place over a period of thirteen years was the first time that Klal Yisroel was able to behold and appreciate that Hashem in His eternal, relentless, unyielding love of Klal Yisroel orchestrated the hidden miraculous deliverance of His people and their subsequent victory. Just as a jigsaw puzzle, where every piece has to fit perfectly, every occurrence at that juncture was perfectly planned to save Klal Yisroel and to elevate them to a higher spiritual plateau.
חז”ל teach us (שבת פח, תוס’ ד”ה מודעה) that at the time of the Purim story, due to the intervention of Hashem that saved us from annihilation; Klal Yisroel with unmitigated love of Hashem enthusiastically accepted all of the Torah, for the first time in our history. When one can truly, with unequivocal clarity recognize the immense, eternal, constant, unmitigated love Hashem has for us, and in turn His attention to us every moment – the הכרת הטוב, the unyielding appreciation Klal Yisroel had, brought them to reciprocate with love to Hashem. (A rule of life- the more intense and real the appreciation, the natural consequence is a higher level of love.)
Throughout history, עמלק, Amalek has tried to destroy the Jewish people. עמלק and ספק have the same גמטריא – Amalek and Doubt in Hebrew have the same numerical value – 280. Amalek’s whole definition, philosophy is to destroy the idea that anything is absolute. To be a follower of Torah necessitates that one accept that Hashem is absolute, that His Torah is absolute and one has to live with absoluteness. Today we witness, before the advent of Moshiach, a world society that rejects G-d, rejects law and order (police) and rejects the idea that one is male or female by “design of nature”, but rather denies that even nature is absolute. Hitler and Stalin, ימח שמם, promoted the idea of no G-d, no responsibility to another, no value of another being, the absolute craziness of the idea of morality and dignity but on the contrary, man is the ultimate only when they dominate and control others.
At the time of the Purim story, Esther HaMalka implored Mordechai, “לך כנוס כל היהודים, go gather all the Jews.” What is the word “all” adding? The Rabbis explain that even the 18,000 men who had succumbed to the diabolical plan of אחשורוש – that Persian women would seduce the Jewish men, thereby causing Hashem’s wrath (and the subsequent decree of annihilation of the Jews) – they must be part of the three days of fasting and prayer. For if not the אחדות, the oneness of Klal Yisroel, the dedication to one another, would be mitigated. Only when we are united and care for one another, when we are truly a united nation despite the laxity and mistakes of another, does Hashem care for us. Additionally, when one despises another due to one’s wrongdoing, it’s usually a manifestation of one’s need to feel better than another, a sign that one hasn’t absolutely subjugated their essence and will to Hashem, the ultimate manner of experiencing self-importance and in turn, exhilaration and nobility.
The פסוק, verse continues; “[Go and gather all the Jewish people] who are in Shushan and they should fast for me [that Hashem protect me]… and I… will fast the same way.” The אלשיך explains that we have a rule that “whoever entreats Hashem to help another and they have the same need, they are answered first.” Esther HaMalka was instructing Mordechai, let all of Klal Yisroel, despite their state of danger, only pray for me and I too, notwithstanding my imperilment, will focus on everyone else. In this manner, everyone in Klal Yisroel was selflessly focusing on the others’ predicament, an exemplification of selflessness and caring for Hashem’s people.
המן, Haman had argued that the G-d of the Jewish people won’t protect them for they are מפוזר ומפורד, they are scattered and splintered, not caring for one another and therefore even if they beseech their G-d, He won’t listen (יערות דבש). To rectify this, the idea of unity of all was what saved the Jewish people. The unification of all, the selfless dedication to another is the opposite of Amalek. When one relates to Hashem as absolute, one views the world through a prism of His world, “I must always ponder with integrity as to how my actions can be of the biggest benefit to His world.”
The transcendence we experienced on Purim to negate selfishness, to perceive Hashem’s love for us, to in turn dedicate ourselves to Him with undiluted love and enthusiasm is a metaphysical dynamic endemic to Purim eternally. On Purim we are taught that if one truly feels this, one’s prayers are accepted by Hashem more than any other time. Let us beseech, plead that Hashem should shower us with the ultimate love, the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days.
