Purim (Collection)
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ShareThe Miracle of Purim
The Jews fulfilled and accepted upon themselves to observe these two days of Purim (Esther 9:27)
Our sages learned from the words 'fulfilled and accepted' that Israel re-accepted the Torah during the reign of Ahasuerus (BT Shabbat 88a). But the Talmud uses this same verse to prove tha the book of Esther was composed in the holy spirit (BT Megillah 7a). These two views seem interconnected.
Rashi on the passage in Shabbat says that Israel re-accepted the Torah "due to loving the miracle." But why should this miracle of Mordecai and Esther have been more beloved to them than all the others? Hadn't they already seen the ten plagues and the splittng of the sea and lots more during the Exodus?
....There are two types of miracles, the revealed and the hiddenץ A revealed miracle is like the splitting of the Red Sea and the Exodus where it is clear to all that that nature is transformed. And then there are hidden miracles. A hidden miracle is the sort that took pace for Mordecai and Esther, in which the forces of nature went on undisturbed; the miraculous took place within the realm of nature. Our teacher the holy lamp R. Dov Baer taught that she was name Esther because of hester ("hiddenness"), the hiding of the miracle within nature...
Now we can understand why this miracle was so great that their love allowed them to accept the Torah. It took place within nature, where God's kingship is hidden. That made it all the greater. It is no great surprise when the king comes along with a vast army and wins the battle. But what if the king is alone in the forest, without either weapons or trops, and wins by his courage alone? Or imagine the fear and submission that overwhelm you when you come into the king's palace and see all his grandeur...But suppose you met that same king alone in the forest, without any soldiers and dressed like an ordinary person, yet you were still overcome by fear and shame? Wouldn't that be a much greater wonder? The blessed Holy One can transform nature and make His heavenly kingdom appear. The one who created everything can change things as well.
This is not so great a mircle as when God works through nature, with His kingship hidden, and yet does wonders. That was what happened at the time of Mordecai and Esther, and it was so wondrous that it caused Israel to re-accept god's Torah.
But let us look at this in a more inward way, particularly the issue of [Israel] accepting the Torah in love during the time of Mordechai and Esther. First we should note that the term megillah [used especially for the "scroll" of Esther], when God's kingship was hidden within nature...[derives from the word megalleh "reveals"], since God was revealed to be present in the natural world and still to defeat evil...This idea [of God defeating evil in nature] is connected to the word megillah [revealed] - that God's actions and kingship within nature, which were hidden, are revealed. Hence the name megillah - the revealing of that which is hidden
Why then did they come to accept the Torah?...They read the Megillah in that first year...and through it they saw clearly God's active presence within the natural, physical realm. They then accepted the Torah out of love...
(Source: Speaking Torah, Arthur Green et al. v.2 p.205-6)
The Jews fulfilled and accepted upon themselves to observe these two days of Purim (Esther 9:27)
Our sages learned from the words 'fulfilled and accepted' that Israel re-accepted the Torah during the reign of Ahasuerus (BT Shabbat 88a). But the Talmud uses this same verse to prove tha the book of Esther was composed in the holy spirit (BT Megillah 7a). These two views seem interconnected.
Rashi on the passage in Shabbat says that Israel re-accepted the Torah "due to loving the miracle." But why should this miracle of Mordecai and Esther have been more beloved to them than all the others? Hadn't they already seen the ten plagues and the splittng of the sea and lots more during the Exodus?
....There are two types of miracles, the revealed and the hiddenץ A revealed miracle is like the splitting of the Red Sea and the Exodus where it is clear to all that that nature is transformed. And then there are hidden miracles. A hidden miracle is the sort that took pace for Mordecai and Esther, in which the forces of nature went on undisturbed; the miraculous took place within the realm of nature. Our teacher the holy lamp R. Dov Baer taught that she was name Esther because of hester ("hiddenness"), the hiding of the miracle within nature...
Now we can understand why this miracle was so great that their love allowed them to accept the Torah. It took place within nature, where God's kingship is hidden. That made it all the greater. It is no great surprise when the king comes along with a vast army and wins the battle. But what if the king is alone in the forest, without either weapons or trops, and wins by his courage alone? Or imagine the fear and submission that overwhelm you when you come into the king's palace and see all his grandeur...But suppose you met that same king alone in the forest, without any soldiers and dressed like an ordinary person, yet you were still overcome by fear and shame? Wouldn't that be a much greater wonder? The blessed Holy One can transform nature and make His heavenly kingdom appear. The one who created everything can change things as well.
This is not so great a mircle as when God works through nature, with His kingship hidden, and yet does wonders. That was what happened at the time of Mordecai and Esther, and it was so wondrous that it caused Israel to re-accept god's Torah.
But let us look at this in a more inward way, particularly the issue of [Israel] accepting the Torah in love during the time of Mordechai and Esther. First we should note that the term megillah [used especially for the "scroll" of Esther], when God's kingship was hidden within nature...[derives from the word megalleh "reveals"], since God was revealed to be present in the natural world and still to defeat evil...This idea [of God defeating evil in nature] is connected to the word megillah [revealed] - that God's actions and kingship within nature, which were hidden, are revealed. Hence the name megillah - the revealing of that which is hidden
Why then did they come to accept the Torah?...They read the Megillah in that first year...and through it they saw clearly God's active presence within the natural, physical realm. They then accepted the Torah out of love...
(Source: Speaking Torah, Arthur Green et al. v.2 p.205-6)
מתני': האומר יברכוך טובים הרי זה דרך המינין. ירושלמי (פ"ד ה"י): האומר יברכוך טובים שתי רשויות. ונראה פירושו, כאילו אומר יברכוך הטובים אבל הרעים יש להן אלוה אחר. ואם תאמר והא כתיב (תהלים קמה, י) וחסידיך יברכוך וכתיב (שם קמ, יד) אך צדיקים יודו לשמך. יש מתרצים דלא אסור אלא באומר כן בתפלתו, שאומר במקום וכל החיים יודוך סלה וכל הטובים יודוך סלה.
וי"מ יברכוך טובים מפני שיש לכלול בתפלה הרשעים עם הצדיקים, דגמרינן מושחלת וחלבנה (שמות ל, לד).
וי"מ יברכוך טובים מפני שיש לכלול בתפלה הרשעים עם הצדיקים, דגמרינן מושחלת וחלבנה (שמות ל, לד).
יברכוך טובים הרי זו דרך המינות על קן צפור יגיעו רחמיך ועל טוב יזכר שמך מודים מודים משתקין אותו
May the good bless You, this is a path of heresy, as heretics divide the world into two domains, good and evil. If one says the following in his prayers: Just as Your mercy is extended to a bird’s nest, as You have commanded us to send away the mother before taking her chicks or eggs (see Deuteronomy 22:6–7), so too extend Your mercy to us; or: May Your name be mentioned with the good; or: We give thanks, we give thanks, twice, he is suspected of heretical beliefs and they silence him.
אסתר מן התורה מנין (דברים לא, יח) ואנכי הסתר אסתיר מרדכי מן התורה מנין דכתיב (שמות ל, כג) מר דרור ומתרגמינן מירא דכיא:
They also asked Rav Mattana: From where in the Torah can one find an allusion to the events involving Esther? He replied to them that the verse states: “Then My anger shall be kindled against them on that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come upon them; so that they will say in that day: Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us? And I will hide [haster astir] My face on that day for all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned to other gods” (Deuteronomy 31:17–18). They also asked him: From where in the Torah can one find an allusion to the greatness bestowed upon Mordecai? He replied: As it is written with regard to the anointing oil in the Tabernacle: “And you shall also take the chief spices, of flowing myrrh [mor deror]” (Exodus 30:23); and we translate mor deror into Aramaic as: Mira dakhya, which resembles the name Mordecai.
(ירמיהו יג, יז) ואם לא תשמעוה במסתרים תבכה נפשי מפני גוה אמר רב שמואל בר איניא משמיה דרב מקום יש לו להקב"ה ומסתרים שמו מאי מפני גוה אמר רב שמואל בר יצחק מפני גאוותן של ישראל שניטלה מהם ונתנה לעובדי כוכבים ר' שמואל בר נחמני אמר מפני גאוותה של מלכות שמים
The verse states: “But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret [bemistarim] for your pride” (Jeremiah 13:17). Rav Shmuel bar Inya said in the name of Rav: The Holy One, Blessed be He, has a place where He cries, and its name is Mistarim. What is the meaning of “for your pride”? Rav Shmuel bar Yitzḥak said: God cries due to the pride of the Jewish people, which was taken from them and given to the gentile nations. Rav Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: He cries due to the pride of the kingdom of Heaven, which was removed from the world.
ומי איכא בכיה קמיה הקב"ה והאמר רב פפא אין עציבות לפני הקב"ה שנאמר (דברי הימים א טז, כז) הוד והדר לפניו עוז וחדוה במקומו לא קשיא הא בבתי גואי הא בבתי בראי
The Gemara asks: But is there crying before the Holy One, Blessed be He? Didn’t Rav Pappa say: There is no sadness before the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is stated: “Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and gladness are in His place” (I Chronicles 16:27)? The Gemara responds: This is not difficult. This statement, that God cries, is referring to the innermost chambers, where He can cry in secret, whereas this statement, that He does not cry, is referring to the outer chambers.