Three Rabbi Binyamin Kahane Classics on Purim
1-The Hidden Hope in The Hidden Message of Purim
2- Drinking for Clarity
3- Purim is the holiday of Jewish isolation
1- The Hidden Hope Which Lies in the Hidden Messsage of Purim (1997)
Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane
Translated by Lenny Goldberg
Two points in Megilat Esther are not clear. Firstly, what brought on the decree to destroy all the Jews, and secondly, what suddenly happened that caused the decree to be canceled? To understand this, we will look at the story of Purim.
Like a bolt of lightning, the decree "to destroy to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day" fell upon Persian Jewry. The reaction of the Jews to this edict was quite puzzling. The Megilah says that the "City of Shushan was in consternation". Consternation? Certainly, a more normal reaction would be to shout or cry. But "consternation"?
But if we take a glimpse at the of situation Persian Jewry at the time, we would see that consternation is the reaction we might expect after all. For it never entered their minds that such a thing could ever happen. They were the biggest patriots! They were the most loyal to Achasverosh! That is why when Achashverosh (nine months earlier) sent out invitations for the 180-day feast, the Jews were the first ones to confirm their attendance. All this despite the protests from the "extremists" such as Mordechai, who warned against their participation in such a feast, since it's intention was to make the Jews assimilate. But the Jews wanted to prove that they are not different than the rest. Thus the reaction of consternation upon hearing the shocking decree.
But then the Megilah continues: "And Mordechai knew all that was done..." He had no illusions, and understood fully what caused the decree. He knew that the assimilation - precisely what the Jew thought would ease anti-Semitic tensions, was the very cause of the decree! For the rule was learned since our days in Egypt: Whenever the Jew tries to water down his Judaism and be accepted by the gentile, the latent hatred (which is always there) of the gentile towards the Jew outwardly manifests itself.
If so, why was the decree annulled? Because immediately upon receiving word of the decree, Mordechai, as we mentioned, knew the reason for it, and did not give up. He also did not go on a boot-licking campaign to plead the case of the Jews to the king or his cabinet, despite the fact that he was no stranger to the palace and had connections there. What he did was to undergo a last-ditch effort to awaken the Jews to understand the real cause of the problem - that precisely their effort to shed their uniqueness as Jews and to blur over their Jewish identity and be like goyim is what brings upon them bad times.
Indeed, it is not easy to convey such a message to a Jew, when he is socaught up in having the goy love him. Because such a message seems tocontradict all logic. But in Shushan, a great miracle occurred, and it is the real hidden miracle of Purim - the Jews did "Tsheuva"! And not just "Tsh'uva" of talking without backing it up, but rather one of deeds. Instead of continuing to grovel to the Persians and bring down barriers as most Jews naturally react, they made themselves subservient to the truth of Mordechai only, admitting to their original mistake of participating in the forbidden banquet. This was the significance of the mass fast which was declared. It signified a genuine "Tsheuva" to G-d.
By the way, now we can see why the Name of G-d does not appear in Megilat Esther, despite the fact that the theme of the story is "Tsh'uva to G-d". It is to tell us that when there is distress, one should not just rely on G-d to solve our problems in some miraculous fashion. Rather, we must prove by our actions that we understand the reason for the distress, and then do the right thing, even if it appears to be "illogical".
This should give us encouragement for today. For the problem of today is the same: Our need to copy the gentiles, to blur over our uniqueness as a people, and our absolute dependency on the world. At times it seems there is no hope. Can our people ever understand that America won't save us? And behold, we have a precedent in our history where from great distress, the Jewish People were able to wake up and to cling to the truth of Hashem. May we see the same awesome "Naha-Fochu" (a turning of the tables) quickly.
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2- Drinking for Clarity (1998)
Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane
Translated by Lenny Goldberg
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 695:2) brings down as law the words of oursages' in Megillah (7b): "A man is required to mellow himself (with wine) onPurim until he cannot tell the difference between 'cursed be Haman' and'blessed be Mordechai'." Many fine Jews have pondered this somewhatbizarre utterance, and have given different explanations.
Is the phrase teaching us that we should get absolutely "plastered" onPurim, to the point where our minds cannot distinguish properly? It seemsodd that the sages would encourage such a thing. After all, Purim, like anyother holiday, is intended to convey to the Jew certain ideas. Since one ofthe central ideas of Purim is the struggle between good and evil; betweenMordechai and Haman - why would the sages want to muddle and obscure theseconcepts? Furthermore, the expression, "to mellow oneself" does not connotethat one should be "rip-roaring drunk", and certainly it is not likely thesages would endorse such a state of mind.
Our teacher, Rabbi Kahane, HY"D, offers a powerful explanation to thisquestion. The point is not that one should drink until he becomes confusedand says, "Cursed be Mordechai", G-d forbid. Rather, he should understandthat there is no difference between blessing Mordechai and cursing Haman,between blessing the righteous man and cursing the evil one. Both aremitzvot. It is a mitzvah to fight and curse the evil-doer precisely the wayit is a mitzvah to bless the righteous man. The two are equal, complementingone another.
Jewish Complex: The Mercy of Fools
Let us develop this idea. It would not be a shocking revelation if we saidthat Jews in our generation, as well as in past generations, have a seriousproblem with the concept of cursing and hating evil. Despite the fact thatthis subject is a central part of Judaism, permeating the Tanach, Mishnah,Talmud, and halacha, for all kinds of reasons it is difficult for Jews tointernalize the need for the burning out of evil, and the hating of theevil-doer. It is a hang-up we are familiar with from the days of King Saul(who in his misguided mercy spared Agag the Amalekite, which eventuallybrought upon us the episode of Haman!) - until this very day, where mercy onenemies and murderers has brought us to the brink of tragedy.
For the record, Queen Esther did not fail in this area. After the first dayof Jewish vengeance against their enemies, Achashverosh asked her if she hadanother request. She answered: "If it please the king, let it be granted tothe Jews who are in Shushan to do tomorrow also according to this day'sdecrees, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows". In otherwords, Esther did not have the galut complex of taking pity on a fallenenemy, but rather requested that the Jew-haters be killed one more day.
Drinking Straightens our Thinking
When the sages tell us that we should not distinguish "between cursed isHaman and blessed is Mordechai", they are coming to tell us: You arerequired to mellow yourselves with wine, so that you will not hesitate tocome to the full understanding that the concept of "Blessed is Mordechai" isequal to the concept, "Cursed is Haman". That is, hatred of evil is no lessimportant or fundamental than love of good, and there is no one without theother. Purim is the time to elevate ourselves in our thinking. Precisely bygetting a little tipsy on wine, we can remove the usual inhibitions andhesitations, which commonly prevent us from cursing and hating evil!
The Rav has taught us something tremendous. Purim is not a holiday ofdrunken confusion and chaos, or for casting off our heavenly yoke. On thecontrary. Purim is the day to cast off the hypocrisy of our everyday lives,and to sever ourselves from the phony self-righteousness which causes us tonot to want to condemn the wicked. Getting mellow or tipsy on winestraightens us out. If foreign, un-Jewish concepts permeate our thoughts allyear round, on Purim we reveal our authentic, uninhibited selves. Withoutapologies, without "the mercy of fools" (as termed by the Ramban); withoutbeing "more righteous than our Creator" (as the midrash depicts Saul when herefuses to kill Agag).
In Conclusion, a Word About Dr. Goldstein
At this juncture, let us mention that this Purim is the fourth annualYohrzeit for the holy Dr. Baruch Goldstein, HY"D. In all his deeds, weremember Dr. Goldstein as a man, who in his life and his death, was a symbolof "not knowing the difference between cursed is Haman and blessed isMordechai". On one hand, he was the epitome of good. His dedication as adoctor to heal his patients was incredible. "Ahavat Yisrael" conquered hisheart. From this aspect, he was "blessed is Mordechai". On the other hand,this love was not "out of control". He knew that just as it is an obligationto love the good, it is also a "mitzvah" to hate the wicked. This is the"cursed is Haman" aspect. May we merit to be whole in our attributes, and tointernalize our understanding that the war against evil is part and parcelto the goal of bringing good to the world.
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Jewish Isolation: Recipe for National Security (1994)
Weekly Parsha Commentary by Binyamin Zev Kahane
Translated by Lenny Goldberg
There always existed Jews who delude themselves into thinking that if only we could bring down the walls between us and the Gentiles, we could live together in peace, and anti-Semitism would disappear. What these self-hating, guilt-ridden Jews do, in essence, is blame the anti-Semitism on the Jews themselves, who distinguish themselves from the Gentile and are not willing to assimilate. But the fact is that the very opposite is true. History has proven that precisely when the Jew tried to get close to the Gentile, a wave of vicious and "unexpected" anti-Semitism would explode, bringing with it pogroms and holocausts. In Germany, Jews had stopped referring to themselves as Jews and called themselves Germans of the Mosaic persuasion. More Jews died defending the Father Land in WW1 than in all the wars of Israel. German Jews were the epitome of assimilated Jews prior to the Holocaust.
The Torah and our sages teach us about this strange law of nature, and we see a perfect example in the Megilat Esther, and the story of Purim. The story in the book of Esther centers around two major events; the sin of the Jewish participation at Achashverosh's party, and the intentional provoking of Haman by Mordechai who would deliberately wait at the gates which Haman had to pass, and then would refuse to bow down to him.
Is there a connection between these two events? What could the participation in Shushan's banquet and Mordechai's provocation have in common? Many have difficulty understanding Mordechai's deliberate instigation of Haman. Why did he have to hang out at that very spot, looking for trouble? How could have Mordechai behaved in such an "irresponsible" manner towards this known Jew-hater? For them, it is obvious that it was Mordechai who caused the evil edict which called for the extermination of the Jews! The sages teach us otherwise, explaining that the Megilah opens with the story of Achashverosh's banquet to indicate that the real cause of the evil decree against the Jews was divine punishment for the pathetic participation of the Jewish community at Achashverosh's party.
Why did they take part in the feast in the first place? They thought that banning such an event which was to be attended by all the nations of the Empire, would make the Jews stand out and would incur the wrath of the nations. They thought that Jewish participation in the feast would help bring down the barriers, relieve tension and help put a halt to anti-Semitism. Mordechai and those faithful to Torah knew that assimilation and liaison to the Gentile not only does not ease anti-Semitism, but strangely enough intensifies it. They knew that there is a clear Torah prohibition against partaking in such a meal. This commandment is intended to prevent assimilation and the muddling of Jewish identity and uniqueness.
We can now understand Mordechai's "extremism". Mordechai understood that the direction the Jews of his generation were going in would surely lead to Divine Punishment. Thus, he took the zealous route. He purposely provoked Haman with the knowledge that this would infuriate him and provoke a reaction which would shock all of assimilated Persian Jewry. Mordechai knew his actions could not bring harm to the Jews, in the long run. He knew his act of faith could only lead to the awakening of Jews to their grave mistake of assimilating (which is indeed what happened when the whole nation of Israel joined Mordechai's call for three days of fast and prayer). This was the only way to cancel the evil decree.
The More Things Change, the More They Stay The Same
Today's peace process is nothing more than a modern banquet of Achashverosh, except this time it has been initiated by the Jews. The goal is to create a "New Middle East" which means the erasing of the Jewish character of the state in an attempt to merge, and turn Israel into a nation like all others. This plot to wipe out anything distinctly Jewish will not succeed in buying the love of the Gentiles, nor will it bring us peace. The Interfaith programs of the ADL and AJC, and the New Middle East of Shimon Peres will only exacerbate the very hatred and tensions they seek to diffuse. The Jewish way is the way of "Mordechai HaYehudi" - separation, and not assimilation.
Today, after the fatal bombing in Jerusalem we are once again reminded what the outcome of our "peace" with our neighbors will produce. The only answer is a real separation between Jews and the hostile Arabs who live in our midst. Peres speaks of building a fence around the Green Line, yet ignores the Arab threat within the Green Line. The Likud and the other "right wing" parties still speak of coexistence between Jews and Arabs. The Jewish way is our way and the way of "Mordechai HaYehudi" - separation now!
Skull-Cap Donning Hellenists
Legend has it that the late Professor Yeshiyahu Leibowitz was not particularly fond of the holiday of Purim. In order to evade this barbaric festival, it was his custom to travel to Jerusalem on the 14th of Adar, and on the 15th he would return to Ramat Gan. In an interview last year, his son denied this famous folklore, but admitted that it found its source in the fact that his father abhorred one of the verses in the Megilat Esther, and would skip over it during the reading. (We will bring the verse shortly)
Anyone who knows us, knows full well that when a hellenist (with or without a yamulke) rises up and goes against something in Torah, we will immediately become quite fond of that particular something. For Torah is complete perfection, and if it is not complete, it is not Torah. One who denies even one verse or word of Torah is denying all of the Torah. The Torah is not a supermarket where one picks and chooses.
The professor would have preferred that the Megilat Esther deal only in the "positive aspects". The idea of Jews killing their enemies was repulsive to him. But did anyone ever pay attention to the fact that almost all Jewish holidays involve to a large extent confrontations with Gentiles, our separation from them and our exacting of vengeance upon them? Take a look: Hanukah - Greeks; Purim - Persians; Passover - Egyptians. Even regarding the Holiday of Shavuot, the rabbis tell us that from Mount Sinai, the hatred of the gentile originated (and thus the Hebrew word for hate and "Sinai" are of the same root). Food for thought, no?
Last but not least, here is the "banned" verse. (Despite the fact that this verse constitutes a violation of the following laws: revolution, incitement, racism, assisting terror, use of free speech for prohibited goals, we will take the risk and present it for all the Shin Bet to see): "And the king said to Esther the queen, the Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the capital, and also the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the kings provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what more dost thou request? and it shall be done. Then Esther said, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do tomorrow also according to this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows." The result of Esther's request was 75,000 dead gentiles. I ask you, is that nice?
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