Page 59 - HaMizrachi #27 Purim USA 2021

GENERAL INTEREST

Rabbi Hanoch Teller Rabbi Azarya Berzon
The Hidden Message

of Ta’anit Esther

.י ִּ ת ְ ד ָ ב ָ א י ִּ ת ְ ד ַ ב ָ א ר ׁ ֶ ש ֲ א ַ כ ְ ו If he overcomes those passions that that Providence had offered her, to stop
)זט:ד רתסא( brought him down the first time, he is Amalek dead in his tracks. She accepted
considered a genuine ba’al teshuva. her responsibility to enter the king’s
sther and her attendants fast chamber and risk losing not only her
before she enters the inner cham- The story of Megillat Esther is the story own life but the opportunity to save
Eber to present herself to the king. of the Jewish nation facing its greatest her people as well. She would pray for
What feelings should we have today ever threat, the terror of Amalek. On a Divine assistance and recite Psalm 22,
when we commemorate her fast? And spiritual level, what is Amalek’s agenda? יִנ ָּ ת ְ בַז ֲ ע ה ָ מ ָ ל י ִ ל־ ֵ א י ִ לֵ־א. In doing so, this great
what lesson are we to learn from the Amalek seeks to find our ת ֹוד ֵ ב ֲ א, and woman becomes the expediter of the
salvation channeled through Esther? to prevent us from re-acquiring them redemption of Israel.
and becoming ba’alei teshuva; to seize
Let us try to answer these questions these תֹוד ֵ ב ֲ א and prevent us forever from On Ta’anit Esther, we are called upon
based on a study of one mitzvah in the reclaiming them. If Amalek succeeds, to experience the emotions and the
Torah, the mitzvah of returning a lost Heaven forbid, we are lost. As Haman prayers of ה ָּ כ ְ ל ַּ מ ַ ה ר ֵּ ת ְ ס ֶ א as she entered
object, ה ָ ד ֵ ב ֲ א ת ַ ב ָ ׁש ֲ ה. Our analysis of this proclaims: ם ָ ד ְּ ב ַ א ְ ל ב ֵ ת ָּ כִי בֹוט ך ֶ ל ֶּ מ ַ ה ל ַ ע ם ִ א, “If the chamber of the king. We must
ְ
mitzvah is based upon a metaphoric it please the king, let it be written that rededicate ourselves to search for our
rather than a literal understanding of they be destroyed (ם ָ ד ְּ ב ַ א ְ ל, which shares own תֹוד ֵ ב ֲ א and recognize that if we do
ה ָ ד ֵ ב ֲ א. We will apply the methodology a root with the word ה ָ ד ֵ ב ֲ א).” so, we will surely merit our own salvation
of ה ָ רֹו ּ ת ַ ל םיִנ ָּ פ םי ִ ע ְ ב ִ ׁש and suggest that this and advance the final redemption, may
1
mitzvah – at the level of remez (lit. hint) Divine Providence chose a modest young it come speedily in our days!
– is more than a particular obligation woman to face the greatest challenge of
engendered by a lost object, but rather Amalek in all of Jewish history. Why was
a symbolic representation of all of our such a pure soul selected to enter the 1 Literally, 70 facets to Torah, meaning there is a
service to G-d. palace of the king, a place of vulgarity broad variety of ways and approaches through
and contamination, of immorality and which to interpret the Torah.
Every experience, every moment, every idolatry? Why does Esther declare:
encounter in our lives generates both י ִּ ת ְ ד ָ ב ָ א י ִּ ת ְ ד ַ ב ָ א ר ׁ ֶ ש ֲ א ַ כ ְ ו, “and if I am to perish,
an opportunity and a challenge to fulfill I shall perish (י ִּ ת ְ ד ָ ב ָ א, literally, “I shall be
G-d’s Will. Whether obligations – תֹוו ְ צ ִ מ lost”)”?
ה ֵ ׂש ֲ ע – or prohibitions – ה ֶ ׂש ֲ ע ַּ ת אלֹ תֹוו ְ צ ִ מ,
we must find within ourselves the Esther recognizes that so much spiritual
spiritual energy necessary to overcome energy was lost when the Jewish people
the formidable barriers created by the were dazzled by the magic of the King’s
yetzer hara. No one can succeed all the banquet. The spiritual forces of our
time; even the tzaddik fails sometimes. adversaries seized these תֹוד ֵ ב ֲ א and now
The ה ָ ד ֵ ב ֲ א, conceptually, represents the it was her challenge to free them and
wasted energy, the opportunity lost, return them to their rightful owners.
and we are obligated to retrace our In His infinite wisdom, the Almighty Rabbi Azarya Berzon has over 4,800
steps, seek and find our ת ֹוד ֵ ב ֲ א, and knew that Esther and no one else could shiurim online and has served as a
transform them into a positive force. prevent Amalek from stealing the ה ָ ד ֵ ב ֲ א. Scholar-in-Residence in many communities
The Rambam (Hilchot Teshuva, 2:1) With the support of Mordechai, she worldwide.
describes the situation of one who failed would demand that Klal Yisrael fast
a test but now finds himself in the same and repent and retrieve their lost תֹוד ֵ ב ֲ א. A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
situation, facing the same challenge. She recognized the unique opportunity mizrachi.org/speakers

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