Page 53 - HaMizrachi #27 Purim USA 2021

PURIM READING

Rabbi Judah Mischel

The Inner Light

of Purim

o hear the great tzaddik Rabbi – to annihilate us physically, regard- The miraculous salvation and turnabout
Shalom Rockeach, the Sar less of religious observance or Jewish of Purim was a spiritual jolt that woke
1
T Shalom of Belz, lein the Megil- expression. us out of this state of sleep (“ ֹונ ׁ ְ שֶי”). It
lah, was an unforgettably uplifting expe- It was Antiochus, the villain of the put the ora back in Torah, restored
rience. When he was a young man, still Chanukah narrative, who outlawed the simcha of the Yamim Tovim, and
an unknown budding student of the mila, moed and Shabbat. And it was revealed the sasson of our Covenant and
Chozeh of Lublin, he was called upon the Roman Era persecution which the honor of wearing tefillin. Mitzvot
to read the Megillah in the Chozeh’s Beit forced Jews into hiding to “illegally” that were taken for granted and had
Midrash. Those assembled didn’t recog- study Torah. There is no indication in become perfunctory observances were
nize the young scholar, but sensed they the Megillah that Haman or the Persian filled with life once again.
were experiencing something special. At authorities interfered with our obser- May this Purim be one we experience
the completion of the Megillah leining, vance of mitzvot. with attunement to real inner growth
the Chozeh remarked: “I have heard the Another drasha in the Gemara (Megil- and renewal. In the spirit of the Chozeh
Purim story many times, but I’ve never lah 10b) explains Haman’s description of Lublin, may we say, “It’s a celebration
heard it told quite like this.” of the Jews: ד ָ רֹפ ְ מּו רָּז ֻ פ ְ מ ם ַ ע ֹונ ׁ ְ שֶי, “There I’ve enjoyed many times, but never quite
e is a people that is spread out and set like this.”
apart….” ֹונ ׁ ְ שֶי can also be read as “they Wherever we may be, and from whom-
Megillat Esther describes how we cele- slept,” i.e., our Yiddishkeit was “sleepy;” ever we hear the Megillah, may we listen
brated upon hearing of Haman’s down- our mitzvah observance had become and internalize the story like never
fall and the miraculous turnabout of stale, lacking chiyut, vitality. We were before – lishma. And may Purim and
Purim. ר ָ קי ִ ו ןׂשׂ ָ ש ְ ו ה ָ ח ְ מׂ ִ ש ְ ו ה ָ רֹוא ה ָ תְי ָ ה םי ִ דּוהְּי ַ ל, distracted, pulled in all sorts of direc- our mitzvah-observances all year round
ֹ
“The Jews experienced light, happiness, tions away from what truly mattered. be drenched with this light, happiness,
joy and honor” (8:16).
Rav Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin offers joy and honor!
The Gemara (Megillah 16b) explains a moving interpretation: we did learn
the four terms in this verse: ה ָ רֹוא, “light,” Torah, but by rote, lifelessly turning
alludes to Torah, ה ָ ח ְ מׂ ִ ש, “happiness,” pages as if studying a secular text. There 1 Literally, “Prince of Peace”.
alludes to Yom Tov, ןׂשׂ ָ ש, “joy,” alludes was no ora, light, in our limmud. In the
ֹ
to brit mila, and ר ָ קָי, “honor,” alludes to days of the Persian exile, Jews kept Shab-
tefillin. bat and Yom Tov, but our experience
of those exalted, holy days lacked the
However, this explanation seems to main ingredient: simcha. Even brit mila,
miss a basic point in the narrative of circumcision, became just another life- Rabbi Judah Mischel is Executive Director
the Megillah and the experience of the cycle event, lacking sasson, the deep joy of Camp HASC, the Hebrew Academy for
Jews of Shushan, namely that the decree of appreciating what our covenant with Special Children. He serves as an edu-
of Achashverosh and Haman against G-d means. Wrapping tefillin day in and cational consultant to schools and syna-
gogues in the United States and Israel.
Am Yisrael had nothing to do with the day out had become labor-intensive in
mitzvot described here! In the Purim our eyes, our daily prayers but a heavy A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
story, the goal was clear: ד ֵּ ב ַ א ְ לּו גֹר ֲ ה ַ ל obligation. mizrachi.org/speakers

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