Purim : Unfettered by Intelect

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Here are a couple of pages from SichosInEnglish on some reasons we observe Purim as we do today...

http://www.sichosinenglish.org/cgi-bin/calendar?holiday=purim13308

Unfettered By Intellect

A Mitzvah to Drink

The Talmud [1] states that "on Purim we are obligated to drink wine to the point where we do not know the difference between 'Blessed be Mordechai!' and 'Cursed be Haman!'."

Our Rabbis [2] point out that according to the rules of gematria, the letters that constitute the two phrases have the same numerical value; our Sages' injunction means that we should drink to the point that we are unable to realize this relationship.

But once a person is intoxicated, he is incapable of even the simplest numerical computation; why, then, do the Sages tie the amount of wine one is obligated to drink on Purim to this particular gematria?

This question can be answered by realizing that a numerical correspondence between two words in gematria is not coincidental, but reveals an intrinsic bond between them. [3]

The Torah [4] states that G-d created the world through speech.

The Alter Rebbe explains [5] that the letters that spell out the Hebrew name of an object comprise the conduit which conveys its G-dly life-force, bringing it into being and maintaining its existence.

It follows that if there is a letter-relationship between the names of two objects, there is also an underlying spiritual relationship between them. Hence, though the expressions "Blessed be Mordechai" and "Cursed be Haman" appear to be diametrically opposed, their shared numerical value reveals a basic similarity between them. The same Divine intention motivates both of these expressions.

Deriving Positive Input from Haman

Nothing created by G-d has a negative purpose.

In some cases, G-d's positive intention is openly manifest; in others, He desired that man reveal His positive intention by transforming apparent evil into good.

G-d created Haman (as well as everything else that appears to be evil) so that the Jewish people could bring about a fundamental change in the nature of evil and transform that which is evil into good.

It is for precisely this reason that the Sages obligate us to blur the distinction between "Blessed be Mordechai" and "Cursed be Haman."

On Purim we are required to elevate our understanding to the point that we perceive no essential distinction between Mordechai and Haman. For the ultimate goal in the creation of Haman is that he become a force for good, like Mordechai.

The events of Purim exemplify this concept.

The threat posed by Haman endangered the very existence of the Jewish people. In response, they demonstrated self-sacrifice and dedication to Torah which transcended the limits of reason. Their commitment transformed the entire nature of the situation. Thus, instead of destroying our people, Haman's plot enriched us with a festival and a day of rejoicing.

A Constructive State of Not-Knowing

Given that we can intellectually understand the true relationship between "Blessed be Mordechai" and "Cursed be Haman" without drinking, why is it necessary to drink on Purim to the point of intoxication?

Why is the intellectual exercise not enough?

To answer this question, we must consider the concept of "not knowing."

Generally, we consider "not knowing" to be a negative state, a deficiency in sensitivity and awareness, while "knowing" is seen as a sign of personal development.

There are, however, two states of "not knowing," one that is inferior to conscious knowledge, and one that transcends it.

Within the limitations of this world, understanding represents the highest of our faculties.

G-d's essence, however, is not bound by the limits of our faculties: it transcends all definition and restriction.

Moreover, G-d's infinite capacity is reflected in our souls; each of us possesses "a spark of G-d" [6] that is unrestricted. From this perspective, we can understand the adage, "The ultimate in knowledge is not to know." [7]

Reason is, by nature, limited and prevents the expression of our unlimited potential, which can be tapped, not through "knowing", but by rising above our powers of understanding. This mode of divine service - self-transcendence - is the goal of our drinking on Purim.

For Darkness to Illuminate

The state which transcends the limits of reason is related to the concept of transforming evil to good.

From an intellectual perspective, good and evil have clearly defined boundaries: mitzvos help us connect with G-d and sin draws us away, obstructing our relationship with Him. [8]

However, the infinity of G-d's essence (and likewise, the infinite potential of our souls) is not bounded by these limitations. At this level, "darkness is like light." [9] Even sin and evil cannot prevent us from returning to G-d.

Regardless of a person's current state, he always remains able to reorient his life, to turn to G-d in teshuvah, and to leap over all the obstacles created by sin.

Not only that, but our Sages explain [10] that through teshuvah motivated by love, even "purposeful sins become merits." Through connecting with G-d at this level, the G-dly life-force that was overlaid by sin is transformed into good.

In light of this, we can understand our Sages' teaching [11] that "In a place where baalei teshuvah stand, even perfect tzaddikim cannot stand." The divine service of a tzaddik engages those more reachable aspects of G-d's will that have been garbed within the limits of the Torah and its mitzvos.

The spiritual momentum of a baal teshuvah, however, catapults him to a level of Divine connection that defies all limitation.

An Unlimited Commitment

This concept of unlimited commitment is intrinsically related to Purim; it is even alluded to in the name of the holiday. [12]

Purim means "lots", and casting lots symbolizes a step above the realm of the rational. (For this reason, lots were used to determine which of the two prepared goats was to be sent to Azazel in the Yom Kippur service in the Beis HaMikdash. [13])

In this spirit, during the time of the Purim miracle, the Jews rose to a level of commitment that transcended the realm of intellect. They were prepared to sacrifice their very lives for the sake of the Torah.

Their inspired commitment and its expression in actual deeds brought about the transformation of evil into good: a great miracle occurred. Instead of the annihilation of the Jewish people, we merited great deliverance. Moreover, Haman's house [14] and position were handed over to Mordechai and "many from among the people of the land became Jews." [15]

The AriZal, [16] commenting on the verse, [17] "And these days are recalled and celebrated," teaches that when a holiday is "recalled" properly, when it is relived, the same spiritual influences which were originally revealed become "celebrated" and actualized every year anew.

Thus, our current efforts to transcend our selves and rise above our intellectual limitations will surely bring about a process of transformation in the world. The darkness of exile will give way to the light of Redemption.

Adapted from Likkutei Sichos: Vol. VI, Purim; Vol. VII, Parshas Vayikra
Footnotes:

• (Back to text) Megillah 7b.
• (Back to text) Agudah, quoted in Darchei Moshe, Orach Chayim 695, Bayis Chadash (loc. cit.).
• (Back to text) Cf. Shomer Emunim, First Dialogue, sec 21-23.
• (Back to text) Bereishis, ch. 1.
• (Back to text) Tanya, Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 1.
• (Back to text) Tanya, ch. 2.
• (Back to text) Ikkarim 42:30; Shelah 191b.
• (Back to text) See the interpretation of Yeshayahu 59:2 in Tanya, Iggeres HaTeshuvah, ch. 5.
• (Back to text) Tehillim 139:12.
• (Back to text) Yoma 86b.
• (Back to text) Berachos 34b; Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah 7:4.
• (Back to text) See Torah Or, p. 99d ff.
• (Back to text) The parallel between the two holidays is further reflected in the Biblical name - Yom Kippurim, which Tikkunei Zohar (sec. 21) understands on a non-literal level of interpretation to mean "a day like Purim" (as if it were vocalized Yom kePurim).
• (Back to text) Esther 8:2.
• (Back to text) Ibid. 8:17.
• (Back to text) Ramaz, cited in Sefer Tikkun Shovavim; Lev David by the Chida, ch. 29.
• (Back to text) Esther 9:28.

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http://www.sichosinenglish.org/cgi-bin/calendar?holiday=purim13310

The Physical Festival

Each year, on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, we celebrate the festival of Purim. We fulfill the observances of the day as they have been practiced for 2,350 years: we read the megillah, the "Scroll of Esther," in which the story of Purim is transcribed; we send gifts of food to our friends and increase in charity to the poor; we partake of a festive meal, replete with food, drink and unbridled joy.

Originally, however, there were two different conceptions of how the miracle of Purim should be commemorated, propagated by the two heroes and founders of Purim, Mordechai and Esther.

Our sages tell us that it was Mordechai's desire that Purim should be a full-fledged Yom Tov, a day of sabbatical rest like the first and last days of Passover and Sukkot. [1]

On the other hand, while both Mordechai and Esther instituted the observances of mishloach manot (sending of food-portions), mattanot la'evyonim (gifts to the poor), and mishteh v'simchah (feasting and rejoicing), the concept of the megillah came solely from Esther. It was she who desired that the story of Purim should be written in a scroll and included among the twenty-four books of the "written Torah" (the "Bible"), and that this written account should be read aloud each Purim. [2]

The different Purims envisioned by Mordechai and Esther reflect their respective roles in the events of the time.

It was Mordechai who personified the faith of his people with his refusal to bow to Haman; it was he who identified the source of Israel's vulnerability to Haman's decree, who called upon the Jewish people to repent and return to G-d, who led them in three days of fasting and prayer, who gathered thousands of Jewish children and studied Torah with them in order to arouse the mercy of Heaven.

Esther, on the other hand, was the one who risked her life by approaching King Achashverosh on the matter, who provoked the king's wrath against Haman and prevailed upon him to empower the Jewish people to defend themselves against their enemies.

In other words, Mordechai was the soul of Purim - the one who rectified the spiritual state of his people and summoned forth the divine salvation - while Esther was its body, the one who manipulated the physical events through which the salvation came about.

Thus, Mordechai envisioned Purim as a spiritual Yom Tov, a day on which the Jew eschews all creative involvement with the material world, while Esther saw it as a day that is very much part of the physical reality.

This is also why it was Esther who insisted that the story of Purim be written down, and read aloud each Purim, while Mordechai felt that it was enough that it be "remembered and observed" [3] when the events of the day are commemorated by a series of observances, as is the case with the other festivals.

To Mordechai, it was enough that the Jews of future generations be reminded of the miracle when they observe the rituals of Purim, whereas Esther felt that the events should be perpetuated not only as thoughts in the consciousness of Israel but also in the tactual form of written and verbalized words.

The Decision

When the observances of Purim were institutionalized by the Sanhedrin [4] on the first anniversary of the miracle, it was Esther's vision that prevailed. The Purim we observe today is Esther's physical Purim rather than Mordechai's spiritual model.

Indeed, the section of the Torah devoted to the story of Purim is called "The Book of Esther" - not "The Book of Mordechai" or "The Book of Mordechai and Esther," or even "The Book of Esther and Mordechai." Purim has been decisively established as Esther's story, Esther's miracle, Esther's festival. For Purim is the festival of the Jewish body.

Mordechai, too, recognized this when, together with Esther, he instituted a series of decidedly physical observances for Purim: gifts of food and money, and joy achieved through feasting and drinking.

On the most basic level, this is due to the fact that "the decree was to destroy and kill the bodies of the Jewish people... not their souls (as, for example, was the endeavor of the Greeks at the time of Chanukah)... thus, the salvation is commemorated by physical means...." [5]

Also, the physicality of Purim reflects the "natural" form of the miracle it commemorates. No seas split on Purim, no oil yielded eight times its potential light, no divine voice issued from a flaming mountain.

To the perfunctory observer, the events of Purim do not appear miraculous at all, but a series of fortunate coincidences. Indeed, the name of G-d is not once mentioned in the Book of Esther (!), an absence fully consistent with its "story line" of a palace intrigue involving an evil minister, a beautiful queen and a fickle king.

While other festivals celebrate G-d's supra-natural interventions in history for the sake of His people, Purim extols the hand of G-d concealed within the natural world, the divine providence implicit within even the most mundane workings of the physical reality.

A Matter of Being

On a deeper level, the physical nature of Purim is at the heart of its unique contribution to the relationship between G-d and Israel.

Common wisdom has it that spirit is superior to matter. The physical is finite and temporal, while the spiritual is not bounded by time and space; the physical is inert, the spiritual vibrant and transcending. Yet the physical body relates to the divine truth in a way that is beyond the scope of the loftiest spiritual reality.

The soul of the human being was forged in the "image of G-d." [6] Its qualities and virtues - its intelligence, its compassion, its sense of beauty and harmony - are divine qualities, divine attributes reflected in the human spirit. But these divine "qualities" are wholly extraneous to the divine essence. To say that G-d is wise, compassionate or harmonious is to refer to what is but a most superficial aspect of His being.

There is, however, one element of G-d's creation that reflects His quintessential being: the physical reality.

The physical object is - unequivocally and definitively. "I am," it proclaims, "and my being is wholly defined by my own existence." Ostensibly, this makes the physical the greatest concealment of the divine truth, the most blatant denial of the axiom, "There is none else beside Him." [7] But it is precisely for this reason that, in all of creation, the physical object is also the most poignant expression of the divine being.

In the physical object we have a model for absolute existence. Indeed, it is only as an analogue of its Creator's being that it can possess this quality, which, in essence, is the exclusive prerogative of the Divine.

Our calendar is replete with spiritual avenues of relationship with G-d: the experience of freedom on Passover, the reliving of the revelation at Sinai on Shavuot, the imperial awe of Rosh Hashanah, the teshuvah of Yom Kippur, the sublime joy of Sukkot and Simchat Torah, the subtle light of Chanukah.

But once a year we access a dimension of the relationship that no spiritual experience can capture. On Purim, it is our very physicality that affirms our commitment to G-d, expressing the truth that the definitive being of our bodies is but a reflection of the absolute being of G-d. [8]

Based on the Rebbe's talks on Purim 5724 (1964), and on other occasions [9]
Footnotes:

• (Back to text) Talmud, Megillah 5b; Torah Ohr, Esther 100a.
• (Back to text) Thus, in Esther 9:32 we read that "The decree of Esther was established concerning the words of this Purim, and they were written in a scroll," while the aforementioned institutions of "festivity and joy, sending food-portions to one's friends and gifts to the poor" (ibid., v. 22) are described as "what has been established for [the Jewish people] by Mordechai the Jew and Queen Esther" (v. 31). See also Talmud, Megillah 7a: "Esther wrote to the sages: "Establish me (the reading of my story - Rashi) for all generations... Write me down (as a book in Torah -Rashi) for all generations...."
• (Back to text) Esther 9:28.
• (Back to text) Council of seventy-one sages that was the supreme legal and judicial authority.
• (Back to text) Levush Mordechai, Orach Chaim 670:2.
• (Back to text) Genesis 1:27.
• (Back to text) Deuteronomy 4:35.
• (Back to text) According to the teachings of Kabbalah and Chassidism, the spiritual is the "male" element of creation while the physical is its "female" aspect. Thus Mordechai relates to the spiritual or "masculine" constituent of Purim, while Esther is identified with its physical or "feminine" dimension.
• (Back to text) Likkutei Sichot, vol. XVI, pp. 352-358.

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Maamar V'Kibel Hayehudim - Chapter 2

When G-d beheld that Satan's messengers were causing the Jewish people to sin and that the state of observance of Torah and mitzvos was constantly worsening, He had the archenemy and oppressor of the Jewish people, Haman, get Achashveirosh to issue various harsh decrees against the Jews.

Haman assembled kindred spirits who, like him, were rabid Jew haters, in order to decide when would be the best time of year to carry out the evil decree of annihilating - may it never come to pass - the Jewish people. He then went to Achashveirosh to receive his permission to carry out the slaughter.

Haman put together a cunning slander of the Jews. He was sure that his calumny would bear fruit and the king would approve his plan of annihilating the Jewish people. Haman was sure of the success of his evil decrees, for he knew how sinful the Jewish people were and that the "attribute of justice" would incite - G-d forbid - against the Jewish people.

Indeed, this was the inner and more profound meaning of Haman's slander; that Satan, the primordial serpent, incited before King Achashveirosh, [i.e., G-d, known as Achashveirosh because ] He that the first [in Hebrew reishis] and the last [in Hebrew achris] are His, as the verse states: "I am first and I am last."

Haman slandered the Jews, saying: "There exists [in Hebrew yeshno] one [in Hebrew echod] nation, scattered and dispersed among the nations, whose laws differ from the laws of all other nations, and the king's laws they do not obey."

[In spiritual terms the complaint of Satan was as follows:] "There exists - yeshno - one nation...." The word yeshno [comes from the Hebrew word yesh which] means might and will.

Satan slandered the Jews saying that the might and will of the Jews which was given to them by G-d, for which reason they are called "one nation" as the verse states: "And who is like Your people Israel, the one nation on earth,"[ was not being properly utilized.]

The Jewish people have a will so strong and power so mighty that they are able - through their study of Torah, performance of mitzvos and good character traits - to draw down the One G-d even into this material world, that even in this world G-d's unity be recognized and that G-dliness be perceived and felt.

But they, said Satan, the one nation that was imbued by the One G-d with these mighty powers, are "scattered and dispersed among the nations" - they utilize their G-d given gifts and talents for various "national" affairs, i.e. mundane matters.

[Furthermore said Satan] "...whose laws differ from the laws of all other nations...."

Jews are different than all other nations. Every nation has its own physical and spiritual life style which they adhere to and do not change. This is not the case with the "one nation... whose laws differ from the laws of all other nations...." They are ready and willing to do and change anything and everything - G-d forbid - in order that they be similar to all other nations. This is due to the fact, he continued, that "...the Kings laws," i.e. G-d's laws, the King of the world, "they do not obey." It was of such calumny that Ravah said: "No one can approach Haman's ability to speak ill [of the Jewish people]."

Haman successfully incited against the Jews [before the King,] and Jews in all Achashveirosh's countries felt the great travails brought upon them by Haman's decrees. The painful affliction of the decrees aroused within a segment of Jewry a brokenheartedness that led to repentance.

This spirit of contrition aroused the wrath of the heretical leaders. They began consoling the Jews in a variety of ways.

They tried to prove to them that the harsh decrees were not so bad after all, but rather stemmed from the kingdom's sincere desire to have all manner of good showered upon the Jewish people.

This goodness, the heretics assured the Jews, would come about when Jews applied themselves diligently to labor and craft.

These leaders went on to say that Jews should not believe in G-d's salvation through His redemption of them from exile. On the contrary, they maintained that now more than ever it was of utmost importance to become one with the inhabitants of the land.

By dint of the words and deceitful actions of the evil leaders, Satan managed to convince the Jews that they regress in their brokenheartedness and repentance and in a variety of ways further their relationships with the land's inhabitants.

The Jews continued to sin, and Jewish afflictions increased accordingly.

Nothing came about from the empty promises of the heretical leaders except for profanation of holiness, eating of non-kosher food and other sins. All the while the Jews' torment and pain continued to increase.

However, "And Mordechai knew all that was happening." Says the Yalkut: Mordechai knew how to heal the torment; he knew which sins caused the afflictions, and he knew the healing measures.

Mordechai assembles all the Jewish people and tells them that all their afflictions stem from their straying down the evil paths of profaning the Shabbos, eating forbidden foods and other sins. Mordechai arouses the Jews to a tremendous awakening to repentance and assures them of the coming redemption. The Jewish people obey Mordechai's call to repentance, and they steadfastly believe in the coming redemption.

This, then, is the meaning of the verse "And the Jews took upon themselves [to do] that which they had begun to do."

They became pious and performed Torah and mitzvos with true Jewish self-sacrifice. A year later the redemption came, and within four years the Holy Temple was rebuilt.

Herein lies the awesome might of repentance.

Jews were, during that trying period, surrounded by opponents of their religion. They were also under the influence of people that denied G-d and hated Judaism - people who scoffed at Torah and mitzvos and mocked the righteous Mordechai and members of the Sanhedrin.

[All this notwithstanding], they were still able through repentance to attain a most lofty spiritual level, a level similar to that attained during the most holy time of receiving the Torah.

G-d accepted their true repentance, their regrets for past misdeeds and their good resolutions for the future to be loyal to Torah and mitzvos. G-d rains good fortune upon them through the miracle of Purim and the Jewish people are favored with the redemption.

Summary

Explains that the corrupting words of the heretical leaders brought upon the Jewish people Haman's decrees and the resulting travails.

Haman is empowered by Satan's calumny of the Jews, that they, the chosen people, use their G-d given powers only for mundane matters, and [Satan] exerts himself to the utmost to see to it that the Jewish people become unified with the laws of the nations and torn asunder from G-d's laws.

Mordechai's call to repentance affects the Jewish people. Their total self-sacrifice for Torah and mitzvos leads to the miracle of Purim.