An excerpt from a pamphlet published in honor of the
eighteenth anniversary of the founding of the girls' seminary
in Ofakim
"These days of Purim will never pass from among the Jews, and
their remembrance will not cease from their children"
(Esther 9:28). Chazal expound from this posuk
that although in the times of Moshiach all holidays will be
annulled, Purim will remain. Furthermore, the Vilna Gaon
points out that even after the ruling of Chazal that each
yom tov must be "half for Hashem and half for you"
(Pesochim 68b) Yom Kippur is an exception, and is
"entirely for Hashem." The Gaon goes on to say that Purim
complements Yom Kippur (according to what the seforim
hakedoshim write, that Kippurim means "ke-
purim, like Purim") since it is "entirely for you," the
whole day being intended for a person's enjoyment.
There is a basic question that must be raised: Why will this
day of all days, that is designated to be "entirely for you,"
remain when Moshiach arrives, even though all other yomim
tovim will cease?
In order to answer this question we must first understand
what is meant by a day being "entirely for you." Chazal rule
that, "a person is obligated on Purim to become intoxicated
until he cannot discern between `cursed be Haman' and
`blessed be Mordechai.'" We see that on Purim a person is
allowed to deviate to a certain degree from his regular
limits of physical pleasures. All of this is, of course, part
of a person's spiritual duty on Purim. This duty is no less
difficult, and perhaps even more difficult, than our
avodoh on Yom Kippur when we are required to elevate
ourselves above our material sphere and to reach a lofty
level of spirituality.
In light of the above it is unquestionable that we learn an
important lesson from Purim.
In the end of parshas Beshalach the Torah writes: "And
he said: `The hand upon the throne of Hashem; Hashem will
have war with Amolek from generation to generation'"
(Shemos 17:16). Rashi (Ibid.) explains that the
hand of HaKodosh Boruch Hu is raised to swear on His
throne that He will wage war against, and hate, Amolek
forever. Rashi continues to explain why `throne' is written
as keis and not kisei, and why Hashem's name is
written only yod kei, without the final two letters:
"HaKodosh Boruch Hu swore that His name and throne
would not be complete until the name of Amolek is entirely
wiped out, and when his name is wiped out, then Hashem's name
will be complete and His throne complete."
Amolek symbolizes the power of evil in the world. This is
the only nation that does not accept any possibility of
spirituality — neither within itself nor in anyone else.
This inspired Amolek to fight against bnei Yisroel
before we received the Torah so as to prevent us from
receiving it.
Despite the victory over Amolek in the war at Refidim, the
war has not ended. Hashem's name and throne are not complete
until the final victory over Amolek, when it is wiped out of
existence. Only at that time the rejection of spiritual
values will stop, and Hashem's kingship will be recognized by
all creatures.
If we consider, according to the above, what the wiping out
of Amolek's name actually is, we will see that Amolek, who
symbolizes evil, represents the part of nature that denies
Hashem's existence. The final victory over Amolek will wipe
out the negative side of nature: its concealment of the
Creator's existence.
The moment that the darkness of Amolek is wiped out, nature
will become transparent and through it we will be able to see
the Creator's existence. Only when the physical pleasures of
nature are under our control will Amolek be vanquished. Only
then will the aim of the Creation be revealed: to see
Hashem's reality from behind the screen that conceals it.
Victory over the physical is not won by denying it but by
overcoming it. This is the significance of the mitzvah of
Purim and the story of the Megilloh. We are not
commanded to disregard the physical, since it too was created
by HaKodosh Boruch Hu. Our duty is to overcome it and
to utilize the physical without its negative aspects.
The entire story of the Megilloh is one of darkness.
The very name Esther implies the concealing of Hashem's
reality (hester ponim). This concealment is evident in
the Megilloh itself. One who reads the Megilloh
as a regular story sees it as a chain of natural events
that just "happened" to be bound together. A person who reads
it superficially cannot understand the connection between
Achashverosh's feast (in which the Jews participated), the
refusal of Vashti to appear before the king, the rebellion of
the king's courtiers, the ascent of Haman to power, and
Achashverosh's insomnia. No miracle is apparent, no
intervention by HaKodosh Boruch Hu. Even Hashem's name
is not mentioned once in the Megilloh. Everything is
darkly clouded over.
However, for someone who knows how to read between the lines,
who is able to understand more than he sees on the surface,
the reality of what happened speaks for itself. The truth of
the Divine Presence is invariably obvious. This victory over
the "incidental" is the victory over Amolek. History can
look dark, as if made up of "incidents," but one must know
and understand that this was the aim of Amolek when he
attacked bnei Yisroel in the desert — "How he
encountered (korcho, similar to mikreh, an
incident) you on the way" (Devorim 25:18).
Amolek attempted to make the Jewish Nation forget the Divine
Presence. Victory over Amolek means revealing from within
nature itself, from the incidents that apparently are
altogether natural, the reality of His presence.
The moment we are aware of Hashem's presence the physical is
no longer dark. It becomes transparent and through it one can
see the hand of Hashem in a totally clear and understandable
way. The aim of the Creation — the revelation of Divine
Presence — is then realized.
We attain this revelation of Divine Presence through
fulfilling the mitzvos of Purim. Chazal explain that we do
not say Hallel during Purim is since the Megilloh
itself is the greatest hallel (praise) to Hashem —
keri'osoh zo hi hilulah. The Megilloh is like an
artist's painting, with no explanations underneath it because
it does not need any explanation. What is more convincing,
and speaks more to the heart, than not interpreting at all?
This principle is apparent also in the other mitzvos of
Purim, that are also in the physical sphere: mishlo'ach
monos, matonos le'evyonim, and especially the Purim meal.
All of these are physical pleasure, or grant physical
pleasure to others, all of which pleasures are intended to do
the will of Hashem. The "animal nature" of man is emptied of
its physicality and is put to the service of Hashem.
Elevating the material and sanctifying it indicates that the
entire Creation testifies to Hashem's presence and the truth
of His Torah.
Accordingly, it is easy to understand why a Jew is required
to "become intoxicated" on Purim, and why this day is the
only one that will continue to exist when Moshiach comes. The
Creation will reach its final objective when Moshiach comes:
the lowering of the screen that conceals His reality from us.
Becoming intoxicated, according to this view, is a means of
serving Hashem. It gives us the power to penetrate into the
secret of the material after we have removed what is
undesirable from it. Chazal write "Wine enters, the secret
comes out," and yayin, wine, according to gematria
(yud 10, yud 10, nun 50 = 70) is the same as a
sod, a secret (samech 60, vov 6,
dales 4 = 70).
HaRav Yitzchok Hutner zt'l, the rosh yeshiva of
Yeshivas Chaim Berlin in Brooklyn, drew a most effective
parable to explain this. Two people were feeling their way in
the dark of the night. One of them could not see anything, so
he groped along his way in the dark and touched everything in
his reach: the people and the articles that he happened to
come across. In that way he attained knowledge, albeit
imperfect, because of his general inability to see around
him. The other person managed to find a candle and matches
and was able to illuminate the darkness of the night
partially. So he did not have to grope.
In the morning, when the sun comes up, the first person will
have the clear advantage over the second. Although both are
able now to see equally, the first person is aware of the
smallest details of the articles that he touched during the
dark night.
In the Megilloh, explains HaRav Yitzchok Hutner,
Hashem's Presence is less apparent than during the Exodus
from Egypt. One must grope and feel around him to see
miracles that are beyond nature. The glow that these miracles
lack here, in This World, will be clear and will gleam in the
future, when "the morning light" (Moshiach's advent) shines,
more than the overt miracles that happened when the Jewish
Nation left Egypt. The privilege to realize Hashem's reality
even in days of darkness, the privilege to overcome the evil
aspect of the material, the privilege to understand, and
despite all difficulties to vanquish Amolek, transforms
Purim to the symbol of the days of redemption after Moshiach
arrives.
Rabbi Dr. Yehuda Aryeh Cohen is the principal of the
girls' seminary in Ofakim.
