Solid

Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

There are many dozens of explanations of the teaching of Chazal that the Yom Tov of Purim is similar to Yom Kippur, though that is not the point of this column. However, I do wonder how we are supposed to be when Purim is done. Since Purim is similar to Yom Kippur, it stands to reason that they are meant to accomplish a similar goal. What is it?

After engaging in the days of Elul and the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, when Yom Kippur arrives we are prepared for tasks of the holy day and spend 24 hours perfecting ourselves.

If we had conducted ourselves according to the halachos of the day, as Yom Kippur ends we should be cleansed of our sins and prepared to lead better lives.

By the end of the day, we have a clear understanding of our obligations and where we stand in relationship to our tasks in this world. 

We arrive at the conclusion of Purim very differently. We begin increasing our joy as the month of Adar begins. In order to be happier despite the many challenges life presents, we need to grow in emunah and bitachon. The greater and more real our faith in Hashem is, the easier it is for us to relate to our personal hills and valleys, for we recognize that everything that happens is by design and nothing is by chance.

There is a reason we struggle. There is a reason we work hard. There is a reason our kids get sick and there is a reason we get sick. There is a reason our neighbor has an expensive car and we have a cheap one. Everything in life is for a reason. Knowing that life is not a haphazard collection of minutes, days, months and years helps us get through the drag and drudgery that often accompany our sojourn through life.

So to make ourselves increasingly happier each day of Adar, we study and work on chovos halevavos, our duties of faith, and when Purim arrives and we thoroughly become familiar with its story and many lessons, we are strengthened in our beliefs that everything that transpires in this world is orchestrated by Hashem, who seeks the best for us.

Then, by performing the mitzvos of Purim, we gain further clarity of our obligations to ourselves and to each other. Topping everything off with the drinking of wine at the mishteh hayayin, we gain clarity with respect to our sense of purpose and obligation. Wine removes the dirt from our lenses and helps us see things in a way we usually don’t.

At the conclusion of Purim, we should experience the same type of clarity regarding our obligations in the world as we would after Yom Kippur. What we reach on Yom Kippur through seriousness, we accomplish on Purim through joy. After the avodah of Purim, we should feel so spiritually high that we can to seek to draw that joy into our souls and have reserves of simcha available at all times.

The Shela explains that Binyomin was the only one of the shevotim who did not bow to Eisov. When a person bows, he accepts some degree of the power possessed by the person or object he is bowing to. All of the shevotim, except Binyomin, bowed to Eisov, and thus, to a certain degree, Eisov was able to harm them, and maintain a hold on them, with his powers of tumah.

Shmuel Hanovi anointed Shaul Hamelech king, because, as a descendant of Binyomin, he was confident that Shaul would be able to remove the effect of Amaleik, the descendant of Eisov, from Am Yisroel. However, Shaul sinned and failed in his mission.

Mordechai Hatzaddik took over where Shaul left off (see Medrash, Esther Rabbah 10:14). As a descendant of Binyomin, he was also untouched by Eisov and Amaleik and was able to stand up to Haman and remove Amaleik’s hold. With strength inherited from his forefather, Binyomin, who did not bow to Eisov and remained untainted by him, “lo yichra velo yishtachaveh,” Mordechai did not bow to the Amaleik of his day. Putting his life in jeopardy to reject the power of Amaleik, Mordechai was able to defeat him.

Binyomin and his offspring are blessed with an additional source of strength to withstand the forces of evil. The Medrash in Esther Rabbah (7:7) lists several similarities in pesukim pertaining to Yosef and those talking about Mordechai. This strength came from Rochel Imeinu, mother of Yosef and ancestor of Mordechai, says Rav Gamliel Rabinovich. She was moser nefesh to preserve the pride of her sister Leah and implanted this ability, a burning ga’avah d’kedusha, in her children.

Mordechai fused the pride and strength of Rochel with Binyomin’s purity and was thus able to withstand Haman’s threats. He rallied Am Yisroel around him and, b’achdus, together, they dislodged Amaleik’s grip over them. 

Hence the new light of Purim, laYehudim hoysah orah, for their light had been dimmed by Amaleik and their Torah wasn’t complete as long as the shadow of Amaleik hovered over them. Purim marks the day when all the Jews were freed from the veil of darkness.

Purim serves as a beacon to us to withstand temptation and threats of evil. On Purim, we are pumped and realize our true strength. We realize that we really do have what it takes to be good, to do good, to withstand life’s challenges and to not grow morbid. We are all strong enough to stand up to our enemies. Not only shevet Binyomin, but all of Klal Yisroel. Not only the children of Rochel, but all of us.

Our first encounter with Eisov’s grandson, Amaleik, comes in Shemos (17:8), where the posuk states, “Vayavo Amaleik vayilocheim im Yisroel b’Refidim.” Amaleik came and battled Klal Yisroel in Refidim. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 101a) explains that the posuk states that the battle took place in Refidim to tell us that Amaleik was able to fight Klal Yisroel because the nation became weak - rofu yedeihem - in their study and observance of Torah.

In order to defeat Amaleik and his descendants, we have to be dedicated to the Torah. Amaleik is the descendant of Eisov and inherited his abilities. Yitzchok promised Eisov that when Yaakov is weak, he shall rise over him.

So much about what goes on around us is fallacious that it becomes harder to recognize the truth. Politicians think that we are all fools, and the ability to lie and obfuscate seems to have become the strength du jour.

There has been a non-stop bashing of Donald Trump by Democrats and a nice number of Republicans saying that he had worked with Russians to manipulate the election so that he would win. Dossiers were written, leaked and published by Trump’s political enemies to prove how depraved the man is and the levels to which he sank to steal an election. The heads of the FBI, CIA and National Intelligence colluded with leaders of the Justice Department, the national media and politicians to seek to unseat a duly elected president through a series of investigations and concerted public lampooning.

It was for naught, however, because the lengthy investigation upon which the opposition based its hopes for the overthrow failed to turn up anything that could be used to unseat the president or portray him as corrupt or complicit in any collusion.

National leaders swore, testified, wrote books and staked their reputations on claims that turned out to be lies, yet they escape scrutiny and carry on with new allegations and investigations and ways to impede the work of the administration.

Similarly, as the election campaign continues in Israel, candidates continue to portray themselves as things they are not. Everyone becomes an expert, lobbying shells at each other and at entire segments of the country in a bid to be viewed as an effective leader.

For example, General Benny Gantz, who formed a party together with our old friend, Yair Lapid, spoke at Aipac this week. He knows a lot about religion and is an expert on the Kosel. This is what he said: “In Bergen-Belsen, no one asked who is Reform and who is Conservative, who is Orthodox and who is secular. Before going into battle, I never checked to see who had a kippah under their helmets. …As a proud owner of a red beret, worn by this liberator of the Kotel, I can tell you with confidence that the Western Wall is long enough to accommodate everyone. Everyone!” 

Of course, the secular crowd went nuts, roaring its approval for the man who wants to topple the best prime minister Israel has ever been blessed with in a time of war.

Another genius who addressed Aipac sought to portray the Democrat Party as pro-Israel, when everyone knows that it has taken a frightening shift leftward and away from the Zionist state.

Rep. Steny Hoyer, majority leader in Congress, said, “There are 62 freshman Democrats. You hear me? Sixty-two — not three.” He was trying to fool the gathered Jews into thinking that the three prominent freshmen Democrats who are anti-Semitic and anti-Israel have a minor role in the party, though it is so clear that even senior Democrats are following the lead of these three  freshmen. Another politician, another liar.

These examples are emblematic of the sheker of this world. We can’t let ourselves be subsumed by it or think that we have to resort to using the implements of Eisov to defeat him.

If we want to be able to combat the various evils prevalent in the world, we have to embody the powers of good, the koach hatov. We cannot overcome our enemies if we become as vacuous as they are. Darkness is beaten by light. If we aren’t drawn to the light, we won’t be able to stand up to the forces of darkness.

On Purim, we relearn how to grab on to the faith of Mordechai as we do on Yom Kippur. We recognize that our personal and national strength emanates from Torah, and we do not bow or capitulate to anyone, nor do we compromise with people who seek our destruction. We proclaim our loyalty to the truth and strengthen its tributaries.

And most of all, on Purim we solidify that which we have learned since the beginning of Adar, bringing ourselves simcha and yishuv hadaas, which come not from what we see, but from what we believe.

The believer possesses a calm assurance that engenders the joy of faith. Those attributes enable us to happily and successfully conquer life.

In this week’s parsha, we learn how Aharon Hakohein reacted with silence to the terrible pain of losing two sons.

Aharon’s reward for his acceptance of Hashem’s will was that the Ribbono Shel Olam taught Klal Yisroel a new parsha, a halacha transmitted through Aharon alone (Vayikra Rabbah 12:2). The law that a kohein may not perform the avodah while intoxicated was said by Hashem directly to Aharon.

Because Aharon reacted calmly to a difficult blow, he was rewarded by Hashem teaching through him the halacha that avodah can only be performed by a person who is in a calm state and not intoxicated.

Through internalizing the lessons of Purim, we increase our happiness and calmness as we confront daily challenges. We don’t leave behind Purim and its unique mix of utopian joy when we remove the masks and unwrap the mishloach manos packages.

The efforts we expended to fashion for ourselves and our families the Purim experience should yield not only good pictures and memories, but also a joyous spirit to carry us through the coming weeks.

Eternal Enemy

Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

Ever since I was a child, I heard about Amaleik. As I grew older, I understood it on deeper levels. But I still wonder, and I think that others do as well, about the big to-do regarding Amaleik. Why are we so caught up with him? Why is he our eternal enemy, always out there somewhere ready to pounce on us? What threat does he represent that is different from that of the early Canaanite nations that we must be on the lookout for him, thousands of years after his nation apparently ceased to exist?

How does the story of Purim tie in to Amaleik?

Quite often, we meet up with a person whose position is not fueled by logic, information and intellect. That person begins debating us about something in current events, Jewish history or hashkofoh. Although the antagonist is not well-read and has sub-par knowledge of our history, he is convinced that he is correct. He is sure that the facts are the way he states them and refuses to listen to anything you say.

To us, we hope, facts are facts. They are stubborn things that cannot be shoved aside when they get in the way of an argument. However, to people with whom we tangle, facts are fungible and not definite. To people who are argumentative and think they know everything, facts are at most uncomfortable things that are easily discarded. Information based on assumptions and hearsay is as valid as established fact and proven reality.

To them, nobody can be trusted. Anyone who doesn’t agree with their position is corrupt and under the influence of evil people. There is always a story behind the story, which you are too foolish to know, because you are naïve and unwise to the ways of the world. There is always a conspiracy of people who never met, who make sure that the wrong narrative takes hold. You, of course, are too tied to your position to see what is plainly visible to them. You, your books and your teachers are closed-minded and foolish. So, to them facts are unrelated to the truth and truth doesn’t really matter anyway. It is only their position and their agenda, that has any value.

Such people are akin to the Amaleikis. The way they deal with the world and everything with which they disagree is the way Amaleik treats Hashem and Am Yisroel. From the earliest roots of Amaleik, his father, Eisov, portrayed the danger of our eternal enemy. The posuk (Bereishis 25:34) speaks of when Eisov sold the bechorah to Yaakov: “Vayivez Eisov es habechorah.” Rashi explains that the Torah was testifying to the wickedness of Eisov, who mocked what was important.

The Baal Haturim connects this posuk to the Megillah, which uses the same term “vayivez b’einov” (Esther 3:6) in reference to the way Haman mockingly viewed Mordechai. In Parshas Ki Seitzei (25:18), Rashi defines the essence of Amaleik. The posuk commands that we remember what Amaleik did to us when we left Mitzrayim. “Asher korcha baderech - They caused you to be cooled down from your fiery excitement.” All the nations feared the Jewish people at that time, for Hashem had miraculously led them out of enslavement. But Amaleik, as is his nature, instead mocked the Jews and declared war upon them. He did so to mock Hashem in front of His own people and in front of the entire world.

The Purim victory of the Jewish people over Amaleik is celebrated through the drinking of wine. As Chazal say, “Chayov inish levesumei bePuraya ad delo yoda.” Of wine it is said, “Nichnas yayin yotza sod,” for wine has the ability to reveal what is in the depths. Wine is a spiritual drink that affects the spiritual nature of man and reveals what is hidden within. Amaleik is a superficial being; his logic is superficial and he cannot see past the surface. One who mocks everything and everyone does not possess the ability to see and appreciate the depth of the person or matter he is denigrating.

We celebrate the victory by demonstrating that we appreciate the truth and the depth of life, and aren’t satisfied with pseudo-knowledge and glib simplistic shallowness. We aren’t impressed by the showiness and aren’t influenced by arguments that haven’t been thought through, but are based upon haughtiness and shallow thought.

It was immediately following Kabbolas HaTorah that Amaleik appeared to show his hatred for the truth as represented by Torah. He immediately pounced upon the Jewish people and sought to separate them from the Torah, mocking its essence and mocking them for abiding by its laws and truths. “Hashem isn’t as powerful as it appears,” Amaleik said. “The winds were blowing differently the night the Jews escaped.” They had an excuse and explanation for everything, and to prove that they were right, they went to war against the Jews, so convinced were they that they would quickly defeat the nascent nation.

This is perhaps why the Vilna Gaon writes in Even Sheleimah (11,8) that the baalei machlokes among us are called Amaleikim. The midah of Amaleik, his klipah, is to foment machlokes with and among the Jewish people, to cause division and postpone the redemption. The klipah of Amaleik always seeks to provoke hatred against the Jewish people through a variety of devices and contemptible propaganda.  

Amaleik’s arguments are proven hollow time and again, yet that doesn’t stop the lies against the Jews. Every decade, it is a new struggle against a new group, led by a lunatic who leads people astray by peddling populistic nonsense introduced to the world by Amaleik and repeatedly disproven over the ages.

They formulate alternative facts, sell fiction as non-fiction, and spin wondrous tales of how much better off mankind would be if they would find a way to be rid of the awful Jews. If people believe in space aliens and a secret cabal that controls the world, why is it so difficult to convince people that they are poor and unhappy because of the Jews?

The more intelligent people become, the more wealth there is in the world, and the more democracy and capitalism expand opportunities for all, the more you would think people would respect the Jews for their accomplishments. In fact, the opposite is true. Over the ages, the more successful Jews became, the more people hated them. This is because Amaleik, who is at the root of the hatred for the Jewish people, is not concerned about the truth. He is only concerned with destroying the absolute truth and the Jews who cleave to it.

The internet empowers him. There was a time when misguided people were a minority and were often unable to find intellectual support for their failed theories. They were lonely and had no voice. Many faded off into oblivion. Today, though, any crackpot with a smartphone can connect to other misguided persons. They offer each other support and are no longer lonely in their fatuous senseless beliefs. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the internet is Amaleik, he and his ilk definitely use and benefit from it significantly.

A Jew-hater with no audience can now sit in anonymous comfort and engage in a daily dissemination of acrid poison against a group of people. He gains followers, who grow exceedingly brazen in their cantankerous language and calls for violence. Away from Facebook, they may appear to be normal individuals, who are kind to their pets and families, but in their hearts lie evil hatred. We never hurt them, we never interfered with them, and nothing we did impacted their lives. When we meet them and see the hatred pour out of their staring eyes, when we read their dribble online, we wonder why the antagonism and venom.

We read the history of Germany, a fine, advanced, cultured nation, and it boggles the mind. It didn’t take more than one madman to strike a match and a horrorful lust for blood overtook the entire country. The people turned into killing robots, engineered to kill millions of Jews in a bid to erase the children of Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaakov from the face of the earth. Such is the abhorring abomination of Amaleik, ever-present, hiding under a veneer of gentility, awaiting its resurrection.

Torah is the only antidote.

“K’shezeh kom, zeh nofeil.”

Hence the great joy of Purim, when the Jews accepted the Torah on a much higher level than they did at Har Sinai. “Kiyimu vekiblu.” Without being forced, they independently took upon themselves - through love - to follow the Torah.

Although Amaleik is still here, he still has not recovered from that blow. As long as we abide by the agreement the Jews accepted at the time of Purim, we will be able to overcome Amaleik each time. Devotion to Torah, coupled with unity among ourselves, will lead us to the day when we deliver to him a final blow and allow for the arrival of Moshiach.

May it be very soon.

Ah freilichen Purim.

Rise Up Shushan

Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

Last week in Congress, the seat of the world’s oldest and most powerful democracy, outright Jew-hatred led to a joke of a resolution protesting anti-Semitism. The majority party was afraid that it would tick off three or more first-year congresswomen. The Democrat party is increasingly moving left, under the leadership of progressives. Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, AOC, refers to herself as “the boss” of Congress, and the old-school party bosses run scared.

Since the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jews have overwhelmingly been voting Democrat. Perhaps the embarrassing watered-down resolution last week against all forms of hatred ought to have opened their eyes to the current face and direction of the party. The Jewish big-shots who run the committees, such as Nadler, Lowey and Engel, thought that they would formulate another of many meaningless congressional resolutions and everyone would vote for it and they would move on. They would offer some platitudes against anti-Semitism and everyone would vote for the statement. Instead, leading presidential contenders, such as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, followed the newly-minted progressives and refused to support a simple boiler-plate resolution against anti-Semitism.

After a fierce debate, the party adulterated the statement, did not mention the offending congresswoman, and omitted the obvious - that she is not deserving of sitting on important committees. There was a statement, Congress approved it, and then they were able to go back to whatever it is that they do.

What does it say about our time that the Democrat Party cannot stand up to a freshie member of Congress who drips with Jew-hatred?

It is now over seventy years since the Holocaust, and it is again in style to mock and curse Jews in the halls of power around the democratic world. We have become accustomed to European Jew-hatred over the years, but in America? The bastion of freedom that is home to millions of Jews? The country that brought down Nazism, communism and fascism? The bulwark of democracy since its founding almost 250 years ago? That America is now becoming a place where Jews feel uncomfortable, harkens back to the days we thought would never be seen again.

Ilhan Omar, the offending congresswomen, isn’t shying away from the hubbub she created. “I am certainly not looking to be comfortable, and I don’t want everyone necessarily to feel comfortable around me,” she said with a mischievous smile tugging at her lips. “I think really the most exciting things happen when people are extremely uncomfortable.”

The Jews are feeling uncomfortable? Good. They should.

The charges against the Jews are nothing new, though thankfully what is new is that in times gone by, such scape-goating would be followed by pogroms, mass murder and pillaging. Today, so far, the calls are empty.

It is not only in Washington that this is going on. It is happening in many other places where there are large percentages of Jews. Groups of gentiles band together and claim that the Jews are kicking them out of their homes and neighborhoods. The Jews don’t obey the laws, they claim. The Jews are dirty, unpatriotic and disrespectful, they allege. “We need to stop them,” they cry. “We need to keep them out of the neighborhoods that belong to us.”

Throughout our history, we have encountered this animosity. Although there have been times when the hatred was delicately concealed, it is currently becoming more in vogue and acceptable to bash Jews. It has become acceptable for celebrities and icons to express their open hatred. While they couch their rhetoric in words of sympathy for the poor Palestinians, the truth emanates. They couldn’t care less about the Palestinians. They just hate Jews. Once again, Jews in Europe cower and seek escape routes, a chilling reminder of seventy years ago.

The Left battles Israel at every opportunity, offering nonsensical, hypocritical excuses for their anti-Semitism. Much of the modern anti-Semitism is depicted as anti-Zionism, though the folly is obvious. Jews fight for their safety and are condemned. Millions of Jews were driven to their deaths from those very countries in which anti-Semites currently flex their muscles.

Anti-Semitism morphs to fit with the times. The age-old hatred for the Jewish nation adopts different slogans and chants, but at the heart of it all is the same old hatred for Yitzchok by Yishmoel, and Yaakov by Eisov and Lavan.

Whether it’s under the guise of blaming the Jews for spreading the plague, or drinking human blood, as in the days of old, or cloaked in humanitarian vestments, hate is hate.

In Europe, a continent soaked with Jewish blood, it is in vogue to knock Jews, demonstrate against them, accuse them of the vilest crimes, and create an atmosphere reminiscent of the darkest days of Jewry that many believed we would never return to.

The eis tzorah is palpable in England, where Jews were burned alive; in Paris, where the Talmud was lit up and destroyed; in Germany, home of Kristallnacht and the Holocaust; Poland, home of the crematoria; Austria, birthplace of Hitler; and many other places.

We recognize that we suffer persecution and discrimination because we are Jews. The world’s hatred of the Jew is not derived from their concern about human rights violations or political decisions.

Next week, we will read the Megillah and recognize, in the words of Haman, the same rhetoric we hear now. “Rise up Shushan,” he yelled (3:8). “There is a people spread among us, and they are spreading all over…” What he was saying was, “They don’t follow the laws, they aren’t productive, and there is no reason to keep them around.”

Haman spoke the language of today. He spoke the language of thousands of years of Jew-haters and race-baiters.

What we hear today is nothing new. The Megillah teaches us how to deal with the Hamans of the day.

Today, we read the news, and hear the threats, and wonder how to respond. Do we show panic? Do we act senselessly? Do we threaten in return? Do we quickly capitulate?

Since Har Sinai, we have been cast apart from other nations, despised, reviled, stomped on and murdered. Miraculously, we have endured. How have we succeeded?

Public servants who believe they can act as they please, without considering all the ramifications of their utterances, speeches, votes and threats, cause further harm to our people and further jeopardize our peaceful existence here.

Esther Hamalka occupied the second highest position in the land, but she had no agenda of her own. The queen’s every action and reaction was dictated by Mordechai. Laypeople see the world differently than people steeped in Torah. Very often, politicians, by their very nature, have a different outlook on their job and responsibilities. When the going is tough, they seek to portray strength, showing their constituents back home that they are defenders of the faith and the people, though at that time what might be necessary to ride out the storm is subtlety and intelligence. Mordechai should be the one who gets to decide the proper course. Rabbonim need to be consulted and the issues discussed with them.

In golus, it is not always prudent to flash muscle. Sometimes, we need to go along in order to survive. But it is Mordechai who gets to decide when to act this way and when to act that way. Very often, Mordechai is not popular.

Back in Shushan, all the Jews partook in the feast of Achashveirosh. Besides that it was quite a ball, they reasoned that they had to show that they were loyal citizens. As far as we know, only Mordechai was opposed to participating. Only Mordechai chastised the Jewish people for eating out of vessels of the Bais Hamikdosh. But he was mocked and nobody listened to him.

The Jews were punished for attending Achashveirosh’s feast and Haman accused them of being disloyal to the king, despite the fact that they were at the grand party. They rationalized that it was necessary to be there, but their reasoning was faulty and it backfired on them.

As we read and study the Megillah, we assume that we would have been righteous, learned and intelligent enough to go against the flow and follow Mordechai. The fact is, the vast majority of the Jewish people viewed Mordechai as a misguided negative cynic.

When Haman was appointed arch-minister and the entire nation bowed to him, Mordechai refused and forbade doing so. Once again, he was mocked and vilified by the Jewish people who accused him of putting their lives in jeopardy. He was unmoved. He wouldn’t budge. And it was the obstinacy of Mordechai that led to the salvation of the Jewish people.

We are accused of not caring about our children. The government, in numerous venues, alleges that religious Jews act in ways that jeopardize their children. To self-appointed spokesmen and to other amei ha’aretz, the response may seem simple, but it never is.

To merit a neis, we must follow the path of Torah. Quite often, that requires putting aside our own thoughts and comforts.

Of course, at all times, we should question our own conduct and ensure that when others observe Jews, they see a nation of princes. They should see people of distinction, manners, class and concern for others, people who are mekadshei sheim Hashem. That won’t change the way Ilhan Omar, or the Jersey haters, or the Rockland bigots, or the many other Hamanists out there view us, but it will help the way we look at others, bring us together, and make us more worthy of Heavenly blessings and miracles.

Purim is the Yom Tov of hester, celebrating that Hashem is looking out for us, even when we don’t see Him and the Divine is covered by the morass of golus. Instead of fixating on the negatives, let’s look at the positives in life and concentrate on them.

Purim reminds us that there is no happenstance, and even when all appears lost, triumph is just around the corner.

Purim reminds us that with proper faith and devotion, no matter how rough the trip is, the end will be bright and cheery.

Purim is the day when we consume enough wine - ad delo yoda - that we recognize that we cannot make the right calculations, figure everything out, and determine the proper course of action on our own, but must trust in Hashem and know that He will help us.

Lechaim. Stop worrying. Kein tihiyeh lonu orah vesimcha vesasson vikor.

Adar Joy

Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz 

Mishenichnas Adar marbim besimcha. The month of Adar is the happiest on the Jewish calendar. We commonly understand that the joy is brought on through commemorating the miracle that took place in the days of Shushan. However, it would seem obvious that the happiness flows from something more fundamental than the fact that the Jews were saved from Haman so many centuries ago. What does that historical brush with disaster and the nation’s salvation have to do with us today? So much has happened to our people since that day in Shushan over 2,000 years ago. What is so important about the miracle of Purim that it continues to excite us to this very day?

Jewish history is replete with stories of salvation from the hands of bitter enemies. It seems that in every generation, someone rises up against us, promising to wipe the Jews off the face of the earth, only to leave the world stage in defeat. A cursory examination of the past 100 years of Jewish history bears that out. From the Bolsheviks, Communists, Nazis, multiple Arab armies and terror leaders to modern-day Iran, Syria and their allies, the left in England, anti-Semites in France, and the rising leftist and ultra-rightist anti-Semitism in this country, so many have proclaimed their intent to free the world of its Jewish problem.

Yet, here we are, and despite them, we continue to grow and flourish. What was singular about Purim that its observance continues until this very day and, as the posuk says, will never be forgotten by the Jewish people?

We can understand that the impact of the miracle of Purim and what set it apart from all other deliverances was that it inspired the Jewish people to re-embrace Torah. The miracle of Purim caused the Jewish people to rejuvenate their Torah study and observance of mitzvos. Their rededication culminated with the re-consecration of the second Bais Hamikdosh.

Many times, we were in grave danger and persevered, but Purim stands out because it was then that we reaccepted upon ourselves the Torah, as we did at Har Sinai.

Someone who looks around the world today can be excused for thinking that everything is about to collapse. Let’s examine some examples. Following the news in this country, you need not be a political partisan to recognize that there is something incongruous about the fact that while a president was taking courageous steps to make progress in a festering 69-year-old quagmire with nuclear repercussions, Congress was listening to a convicted liar on his way to jail as he dumped dirt on the president. The station that invented cable news spent over 420 minutes reporting on the known huckster and twelve on the talks between Trump and Kim Jong Un.

What does that say about the condition of this country and the world? What can we infer from that about the ability of our countrymen to separate the important from the trivial?

The Left in Israel is thrilled and cannot believe their lucky stars. The prime minister called for early elections and everyone was convinced that he would win re-election. The only question was by how much. A retired general, a blank canvas, came out of nowhere, joined with Yair Lapid and the party apparatus he has been leading for several years, and they have rocked the system. The telegenic Lapid and the old general with a perfect platform have upended the polls and may have what it takes to stop Netanyahu.

The Zionist leader from the right, who has served almost as long as the iconic socialist David Ben Gurion, could not be edged from his seat, from which he kept Israel safe, rebuilt the economy, and established relationships with numerous countries across the globe. Try as they could, the left and the media could not convince the Israeli people to dislodge Netanyahu from power and allow the left to return to the positions they believe are rightfully theirs.

Now, with several embarrassing indictments in his future and a strong opposition party formed for this election, his enemies, domestic and foreign, can almost smell victory.

US senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren wrote, “First embracing right-wing extremism. Now manipulating a free press, accepting bribes, and trading government favors. The allegations against Prime Minister Netanyahu are serious and cut to the heart of a functioning democracy. Corruption - in Israel, in the US, or anywhere else - is a cancer that threatens democracy. We need to fight back. And we can start by having the courage to call it out wherever it occurs. Even among our allies.”

The New York Times has joined the piling on, writing that “Many American Jews are growing weary of the prime minister’s long-standing bargain with Israel’s ultra-Orthodox, resulting in policies that have repeatedly inflamed less observant Jews in the United States.” They haven’t forgiven him for choosing to be dependent on the religious parties in the present coalition and remaining loyal to their traditional view of Jewish law and customs.

American liberals and Jews are drawing further away from Israel, upset with Netanyahu’s right-wing policies and support of President Trump.

The Times quotes David Makovsky, a so-called Israel expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Dumping on the prime minister, he said that “Netanyahu’s survival instincts were ‘so all-consuming’ as to overtake important policy decisions, and that he had ‘so sanctified his political base’ as to make the Israel-Diaspora relationship ‘expendable.’”

Anybody who doesn’t agree with them, anyone who doesn’t approve of liberal policy in governance and religious observance, is dangerous and expendable. Because he has refused to grant legitimacy to religious conversions that do not include religious observance, Netanyahu is an enemy of American Jews.

The Times adds a punch for those who might not have understood. The paper of record writes that “those expressing distaste for moves that antagonize less religious or more liberal American Jews include some of the prime minister’s longtime admirers. ‘Even those who respect his security experience have just felt distant because of the lack of respect for their religious pluralism,’ said Abraham H. Foxman, retired director of the Anti-Defamation League. ‘From that perspective, change can only be better.’”

Because Netanyahu has chosen to side with traditional Jews, whose numbers happen to be growing and whose dedication to the Land of Israel is strengthening, “change” and getting rid of him would be better for the country. Because he doesn’t respect the Judaism of groups that merely serve as an exit ramp from the religion, he should be voted out of office. Because he hasn’t caved to the pressure of groups who have deviated from every semblance of the Jewish religion, Abraham Foxman and his cronies say that he doesn’t deserve to be prime minister, though those who would replace him would seek to separate religion from the Jewish state as much as possible and have no proven ability to maintain security and one of the strongest economies of the world.

When liberals enacted laws in this country enabling pregnant mothers to kill their babies, they claimed it was because they cared about women and their rights. Since they were carrying the baby, they have the right to suck the life out if, should it get in their way. The Supreme Court agreed and it became the law of the land.

Now, liberals are seeking to extend that right. Last week, Congress refused to declare it illegal to kill a baby who somehow lived through the procedure intended to kill it. The mother’s health is no longer at risk, nor are her rights, for the child is now outside of her body, but they still want killing that infant to be legalized, because it is not the mother’s health they care about, nor is it women’s rights. They simply have no respect for human life.

Many elder care experts believe that nursing homes extend lives of seniors. They provide a social life and levels of medical care unavailable at home. Those experts claim that over the past few years, the government has been cutting funding for homes in a bid to force seniors who need help to hire home aides and stay in their homes. This is not being done to save lives, or enhance lives, or because studies show that home aides can surpass nursing home care, but rather because the folks who set up government health funding don’t value the life of seniors in declining health who require the care only a facility can provide. They are as helpless as infants and as unproductive, so why waste money on them?

The Rubashkin saga seems to have been repeated on a different level, but Sholom Mordechai has been freed through a very public miracle and now dedicates his life to giving chizuk to those experiencing challenges and promoting increased emunah and bitachon for a better life.

At times, we feel as if we are in a hopeless position, as he was. Purim reminds us that a Jew never loses faith and never gives up. New developments are always possible. Quite often, in fact, they are taking place behind the scenes, hidden from view. Hashem looks out for His people in a variety of ways, and even when it looks as if defeat is inevitable, a Divine plan is being played out, leading to our resurrection as a nation, as a people and as individuals.

Purim represents a beacon of hope to Jews for all time, symbolizing that Hashem is orchestrating world events behind a tapestry of natural-seeming events. Nothing happens by chance. Achashveirosh didn’t just happen to win the throne at a certain time. He didn’t just happen to choose a Jewish queen. The evil Haman’s star didn’t rise because of his prowess. He didn’t just happen to hate Jews. They were deserving of the threat of annihilation he set in motion.

We don’t always appreciate that. Often times, we think that the superficial acts we perform have the ability to extricate us from our troubles. Purim reminds us all that the forces of cause-and-effect that seem to guide history under the influence of politicians and world leaders are a façade. When Jews opened their newspapers in the 127 countries of Achashveirosh’s empire, few of them connected the dire events of their period to the seudah at which they drank from the keilim of the Bais Hamikdosh.

They may have tried all sorts of various lobbying efforts on behalf of the Jewish people, but it was of no avail. No amount of shtadlanus was able to change the minds of the king and his advisors until the Jewish people did teshuvah on a sweeping level, repenting for their actions that had caused the calamity.

We forget that we are in golus for our sins, and we delude ourselves into believing that we can influence the forces of history through our efforts.

Purim reminds us of the truth.

We don’t have nevi’im as did the Jews of Shushan. We don’t have a Mordechai Hatzaddik who can point with certainty to our course of action. But we are all aware of issues that are swept under the rug and ignored. The times we live in demand that we rise above factionalism and divisiveness, superficiality and indecisiveness, and rectify our failings.

Purim tells us to rally around the truth and not bow to charlatans and allow them to dictate our behavior and attitude. There are many things that we know are being done improperly, but we are scared to voice our opinions lest people mock us. Mordechai Hatzaddik, dressed in his sackcloth in the palace of the king, tells us to ignore those who mock us and to do what the halacha dictates.

Purim tells us that when our survival is threatened, we must rededicate ourselves to the study and observance of Torah.

Nobody got into power by chance, and no mandates were formulated out of thin air by evil people who happened to be in a position to inflict anguish upon us. They are there because it was willed so to test us, improve us and return us to the right path.

Whatever challenge you are facing, that thought should bring you joy.