Category: Purim
Parshat Tizaveh- Purim February 25, 2010
In this week’s Parasha there is a clear hint to the holiday of Purim. In Parshat Tizaveh Moshe Rabbeinu is commanded to tell Aaron the High Priest to make special garments and ornaments called the bigdey kehunah. (Exodus 28:12) “The two stones placed on the shoulders of the High Priest, (each one symbolizing 6 tribes) will be a remembrance of the twelve tribes of Israel.” This imagery brings to mind the first station in the Land of Israel when Joshua entered the land straight to the shoulders of Israel- Shechem (literally- shoulder), to Har Gerizzim and Har Eval the two mountains that received six tribes on each. The Priests stood in the valley of Shechem and blessed the nation. This occurred in the tribal portion of Yosef who signifies unity, who gathered all the brothers to him. The ideal of achdut (unity) is what protected and blessed the Bnei Yisrael. This is what Haman noticed about the Jewish people and it disturbed him greatly. Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is one nation scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain in peace.” (Ether 3:8) As long as the Jewish nation remained united they were able to conquer the land and defeat their enemies. Later, as we read in the book of Judges, they began to assimilate and fall apart. They became exposed, endangered and most of all disillusioned. Their faith dropped. They lost their national and religious identity. This was a good time for the enemy to strike.
The first scene in the book of Ester has Achashverosh, the evil king that swears to annihilate Israel, dressed up in the bigdey kehunah (the very ones we read about in this parsha) at his banquet. This was a clear act of disrespect for the sanctity of the Priesthood, and the Jewish people, but worse, the text vividly describes how the Jews who participated in the merrymaking there, at this point of the game ate, drank, and danced the disco of peace, love and music for all… (Oh the illusion of assimilation!) There was one person that stood in holy chutzpah and did not bow down to Achashverosh and Haman – Mordechai the Jew, from the tribe of Binyamin. When Yaakov came to the Yabok on the Jordan after leaving Lavan’s house for once and for good, he met Esav, who he feared. The Torah describes how all the camps of his household bowed before Esav, one after the next. The only one not to bow before him was Binyamin. ( He was not born yet.)
Achmanijad was invited to speak at a famous University in New York. The liberal Jews said, “what the heck, let him talk”. Goldstone, a Jew, thinks he’s placating and discoing the dance of peace. But a Jew is a Jew is a Jew. Purim is not even a story of banquets, partying, and masquerading. It is a scenario familiar to us all. Whether it’s a Haman, Pope Urban II in 1095, a Nazi, or a Chamas terrorist- they DO NOT differentiate if we are partying with the world or being actively Jewish. It is those that don’t bow down, like Mordechai Hayehudi, that have the holy chutzpah and wear the uniform of an idea, the ones that call for achdut (unity), the ones that go to fight for the truth- they are the heroes- They have internalized the message of Purim.
Shabbat Shalom, Leah Goldsmith
The thirty days that exist between Purim and Pesach bring with them an association of different ideas. For some people, it is the budding of the trees, the sweet earth becoming warm with beautiful spring. For others it’s time to start taking action in readying the home for Pesach. The feeling of coming out of the seclusion winter brings with it also can be described by many people too, a kind of redemption. If Purim has us preparing slowly towards it, Pesach brings with it a sense of immediacy, like we’re leaving Egypt RIGHT NOW! The overrunning mood of this time is making a personal appearance(whether in costume or not) in the new start of 1) the natural process of redemption and later 2) the spiritual and physical rescue that happened to our forefathers through miracles and it’s affect upon us today as we recall the coming out of Egypt.
1) The redemptive process starts first with actions we take and is confined to the natural order of the world. How does it happen? By good people doing good things, like Mordechai and Ester. By the acts of chesed and lovingkindness that we do on Purim by sending manot and giving charity, the opening is made here on earth to receive the Divine light. This process of regeneration in essence paved the road to the rebuilding of the 2nd Temple. Purim is the holiday of Joy. Our Rabbis say that being happy always is the greatest of mitzvoth. The joy we feel here despite what we are faced against, in knowing that Hashem is all good and wants only good is what creates the opening for Divine Light. This is when we can overcome the klippah (husk) of Amalek.
2) Pesach is the first of the 3 festivals but preparations for it are made on Purim. When the opening is made by our actions, Hashem Himelf pulls the opening wider and showers miracles upon us. This is Pesach. The days leading up to Pesach are the transition days from our actions, mainly prayer and good deeds, to witnessing real miracles. Last week I was at a wedding. Under the chuppah it is standard practice to put ashes on the head of the groom in memory of the Temple that has been destroyed for 2,000 years. This particular groom has the ashes of the Tomb of Joseph, Kfar Darom ( a settlement from Gush Katif ) and the Temple Mount placed on his head. Recent and distant tragedies that befell these most holy places. Our relationship with Hashem on Pesach is like a bride standing under the canopy with her groom. It is the union of Israel with God himself. We acknowledge the pain of the past but every new home being built by every new couple forming new generations is the redemption itself. We pray that the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem is restored, as well as all of the communities of Gush Katif and our Temple in Jerusalem will stand everlasting.
3) We pray for the final redemption to take place when “God will be king over all the world, on that day, God will be one and His Name one” (Zecharia 14:9). Shabbat Shalom, Leah Goldsmith
Shabbat Shalom Leah Goldsmith
Purim – Aday Lo Yada March 6, 2009
Purim comes out of a box we keep stored way up in the tip top of our closet.
Every year when it is dripping wet outside and a bright green in the valley, cold and windy but warm inside our home, our kids (who have grown to be my size) pull the magical box down and begin the ritual of the month of Adar. They parade through the house singing and dancing, happy with new additions stuck into this box. There are costumes of Sadaam Hussein, Bin Laden and other Hamans of the recent past that have not even hid their desire to destroy us. We have other costumes of Queen Ester, witches, Tinker Bell, Spider Man, a Hannah Montana wig and plenty of masks, veils and other disguises too. From the bottom of the box there are relics from the early days of Itamar, wreaths of fake flowers that we used to adorn the head of our then pet, Lolita the donkey. She led the Purim procession through the little row of houses.
There is a Purim that especially stands out in my memory; the day we pulled off the masking tape from the windows and came out of the sealed rooms. It was the year of Operation Desert Storm when Sadam’s missiles flew directly over our heads and exploded in Israel’s coastline cities. As whole buildings were demolished, people walked out without a scratch. It was a low that became a high. When you come to think of it, there are always missiles falling on Israel in different places. All the more so, it seems that there are endless miracles. Our enemies keep coming at us each time wearing different masks. Amalek is always rearing its head. As we prepare our costumes for this year, Iran is reaching the capacity of producing 50,000 centrifuges. Tachliss this means that right now Persia threatens to wipe Israel off the face off the earth. Luckily, we manage to overcome crisis when zero hour hits. Nevertheless, time is running out as Iran’s nuclear capacity perfects itself. True, Purim is a time that the imagination runs wild but don’t let anyone tell you this is all in your mind…
King Achashverosh had a wild imagination himself. He thought that it was over for Am Yisrael (who were exiled into the idolatrous kingdoms of Babylon and Persia just short of seventy years before his reign) They ate forbidden food, worshipped idols, and intermarried, descending to a disreputable low point. This is when Achashverosh made a great feast for all of his subjects using the holy vessels of the Temple as his silver service in a totally sacrilegious act. Many Jews participated in this banquet. Mordechai stood firm and did not give any gesture of respect to Haman, the evil advisor to the King. Ester, incognito, playacted with this wicked man who planned to kill her and all of her people. She eventually unmasked her real identity to the King and overturned the decree. Her bravado is followed by Am Yisrael demonstrating gevurah in driving out and killing their enemies. Shortly after this episode a very significant turn in events that reshaped history happened when Ezra and Nechemia returned to Israel with a small contingency and built the 2nd Temple. There were many more obstacles to overcome, (there was no Nefesh B’nefesh then or AACI ) but they learned from Mordechai and Ester’s examples that “When there’s a will there’s a way”.
Purim is the holiday that focuses on the display of different kinds of people with different identities. While we live in a generation that emulates celebrities, we look to our biblical celebrities and try and learn from their stories year after year. That’s what Purim is all about. Sometimes when someone does not totally reveal himself/herself at first there is a reason for this. This is what we learn from Ester. Also in the story of Yosef Hatzaddik, it took quite a few chapters in that saga until he let his brothers finally know who he really was. Rachel and Leah’s identities were also disguised. (Not to mention the ugly duckling!) Sometimes, even Hashem is not mentioned in a story full of miracles like in Megillat Ester. There is a covering over of reality itself like the clouds of glory that covered over Am Yisrael in the desert. Wearing a costume and disguising oneself is part of the mitzvah of Purim. Maybe it is exactly at this time that we ask ourselves, “Who am I. What am I?” (I sure had an identity crisis last year as a friend and I dressed up as a camel. I was the 2 back legs).
In Masechet Sanhedrin (Daf tzaddik zayin, A) it is revealed that in the final days of the redemption, our reality will be in such a state of topsy – turviness that what is up will be perceived to be down and vise versa. Today we experience this in all realms: The weather is bizarre with the unusual effects of El Ninjo- flooding in deserts, dryness in usually wet places. The stock market is erratic as well as the global economic situation. The world media disguises real circumstances causing millions of people to be brainwashed and ignorant. “This overall divergence,” the gemara says, “will completely cover over the truth.” What’s up is down and what’s down is up, like “adey lo yada!”
The happiness we feel on Purim should surpass any level of rejoicing we experience throughout the year. It is our red letter day as we delight in knowing that as we dance and clap our hands in joy we are abating the harshest of decrees against us. The happiness we feel that we know in complete faith that what goes down must come up, what is hidden will eventually be revealed, and this is the greatest mitzvah of all!
Happy Purim, Shabbat Shalom Leah Goldsmith
Categories
A Purim Message
Dearest Friends it has been a while since I wrote to you. It is hard to believe that we are celebrating Purim already. Wow! The year is flying by so quickly. I wanted to give you all a small Itamar update with a Torah thought and of course wish you all a happy Purim.
Unfortunately, we have all been witness to some very tragic days here in Israel beginning with the terrible rocket fire on Sederot and culminating with the massacre of the boys in Mercaz Harav Yeshiva. Here on Itamar we had our share of security problems over the last few months as well. We have been suffering a lot of rock throwing at cars driving up our road and some infiltrations to our hilltops where sheep were stolen. In one incident, a rock hit a driver and caused a car accident where a guest visiting our community was hospitalized with moderate to serious injuries. Last Shabbat our security fence was cut and we were all put into high alert. There were also four shooting incidents at buses going through the nearby village; one took place last night. Thank G-d nobody was hurt but the busses were shot up.
The struggle for building our nation in the holy land goes on. Many people are asking themselves – when is this going to stop? If it is any way consoling, let us remind ourselves that this madness has been going on with ups and downs when the students of the Vilna Gaon and the Baal Shem Tov started to make Aliya 200 years ago. Our sages didn’t hide from us their teaching that the land of Israel is acquired through suffering. Ok, so we can’t say that we didn’t know that building the land would not be easy. Nevertheless, why does it have to be this way? One simple answer is that nothing that is of any value comes easy. The greater the gift the more we have to work hard to attain it. Eretz Yisrael is the most precious thing in the world. Therefore, in order to acquire it we have to work very hard. The harder we work the greater reward we will eventually see. Many evil forces are hovering over the land of Israel that are trying to prevent us from reaching our goals. Every person that believes in Hashem, His Torah, and His people must act. We can’t remain indifferent at such a special time. Life is too short and there is just so much that we have to do.
As we read today in the Megillah – Mordechai says to Queen Esther – “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will be lost. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” Mordechai is telling Esther that she must realize that G-d placed her in a special position for a reason of furthering the redemption of her people. When someone reaches the heights of royalty it is very easy to fall into the trap of wealth, honor and pleasure and forget about the priorities of life. Mordechai’s message was not only to Esther but it is for every one of us as well.
Although G-d has blessed us greatly with a comfortable life, we can not sit back while our nation needs help! Every day, we must spend a few minutes thinking about how we can help build our land. Those who have the strength should consider making Aliyah there is nothing greater than returning home. Those that are not ready to make Aliyah at this time must get involved in some Chesed activity for helping build the land. Any small action adds up. We have all been witness to the fluctuations of the stock market and the dollar around the world over the last few months. People are panicking about loosing their fortunes. Let’s put things into proportion, we have to thank G-d that we have food on the table and are not starving. After 120 years, a person is not going to take his dollar bills to the world to come. What he will take with him is the good deeds he did in this world.
I want to wish you all a happy Purim! Looking forward in seeing you here on Itamar.
Lehitraot,
Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith Mayor of Itamar
Dear Readers, A few years ago, my husband and I and some of our children went to demonstrate against the disengagement from Gaza- what in essence was actualized in the dismantling of Gush Katif and handing over that exquisite place to Chamas. On the way we drove through Ashkelon amazed at the beautiful marina on the sea and the luxury apartment buildings that have sprouted up over the last 2 decades. There were dove shaped, blue signs everywhere – “Ashkelon is for peace”. It was the blues of “peace” and the oranges of “no Land for “peace” ” in those days. People still wear their symbolic orange strings. They hang in people’s cars, on pocketbooks, knapsacks, doorways….but the blue signs in Ashkelon have been replaced with emergency sirens and posters with instructions about what to do in case of bombs falling. What a spring! The struggle for the Land of Israel continues. It is so painful when you think about how all of this could have been prevented if only there had been enough foresight. The south of Israel is exploding , the north – always an imminent cloud hovering over its communities and their safety, terrorists in the form of “Israeli citizens” born and bred in Jerusalem, exploding in the country’s capital in our yeshivas. We say and continue to say that we only console ourselves with those healthy minded individuals like you that love the Land of Israel. We, here in Itamar, in the very heart of the country – the heart that provides life sustenance to the entire body, can’t emphasize how important it is to be involved in helping to change the situation. We have to spread the word as much as we can. Spring with Purim and Passover on the way is a time of birth. A nation is born and has a mission to accomplish. A person is also born into reality with a target destination, much like a person born into a ship at sea. Sometimes the sea is tranquil, sometimes stormy- we don’t know why the weather fluctuates or even when we will reach port. So, we can act in three ways- 1) some people decide to jump off the ship and swim away from it, avoiding their reality and destiny and their connection to their crew. 2) some will play chess, drink beer, wherever the ship sways – so be it, go with the flow, but avoid effort or strategic thinking 3) and some people will take “the bull by the horns” and grab the oars to help direct the ship to its destiny. Grab an oar – let’s work together, with Hashem’s help, for the future of nation, the Land, and dock at the final redemption!
Purim Sameach Leah Goldsmith Itamar