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Purim – Celebrating the Miracles of the Present

The Gemara comments, "Just as when Ab comes we reduce our joy, when Adar comes we increase our joy." Rather than simply establishing the obligation to increase our joy during the month of Adar, the Gemara found it necessary to compare the month of Adar and the month of Ab. The requirement is not simply to increase our joy during Adar, but to increase our joy just like we reduce our joy during Ab.

What is the meaning behind this comparison? How does the increase of joy during Adar resemble the decrease of joy during Ab?

We can answer this question by taking a closer look at the mourning we observe for the destruction of the Bet Ha’mikdash. Our Sages teach, "Every generation in whose time the Temple is not rebuilt – it is as though it was destroyed in that time." This means that if G-d has not yet restored the Bet Ha’mikdash, this is because if He did, He would have to destroy it again. We are just as unworthy as the generation of the destruction, and thus if the Temple would be rebuilt in our time, it would be have to be immediately taken from us. Indeed, the Zohar famously comments that the Bet Ha’mikdash is being built in the heavens at all times. Each time we perform a Misva, we add another brick to the building, whereas every misdeed causes a brick to be removed. Eventually, when the building is complete, G-d will bring it down to us. This is why we pray each day in the Amida, "U’bneh Otah Binyan Olam Bi’mhera Be’yamenu" (literally, "Build it as an eternal structure, speedily and in our days"). This may be read to mean that G-d builds the Temple "Be’yamenu," with "our days," based upon how we spend each day of our lives. If we use our time for Misvot, then we accelerate the building, whereas if we transgress G-d’s laws, we sabotage the process. Hence, the fact that the Temple has not been rebuilt testifies to our failure in building it, and demonstrates that we are not doing what we are supposed to do in order to bring it back.

And thus when we mourn for the Mikdash, we are not commemorating a tragedy that took place millennia ago. Rather, we lament a tragedy that is happening in the present – the ongoing destruction caused by our unworthiness. Indeed, the Sages teach us that G-d endowed the human being with a natural capacity to forget and recover from a painful loss after a year, which is why mourning practices for a deceased parent, Heaven forbid, last only one year. Yaakob Abinu was incapable of finding consolation after Yosef’s disappearance only because Yosef was still alive; if Yosef had actually died, Yaakob would have felt consoled after a year. And yet, we continue to mourn for the Mikdash. This itself signifies that we mourn for something that is happening in the present, and not for an event of the ancient past.

This concept explains the Gemara’s remark, "Whoever mourns for Jerusalem merits to see its celebration." The Ritba (Rabbi Yom Tob Ben Abraham of Seville, Spain, 1250-1330) noted that the Gemara employs the present tense – "Zocheh Ve’ro’eh Be’simhatah" ("merits to see its celebration"). Rather than saying that a person who mourns will, in the future, experience the joy of a rebuilt Jerusalem, the Gemara says that he experiences it in the present. The Rabbis explained that our mourning for Jerusalem is itself cause for joy. If we can still cry and mourn for the Bet Ha’mikdash, it must mean that it is still somehow in existence. If it was taken away from us completely, we would be incapable of mourning; we would have forgotten about it and already feel consoled. It is only because the Mikdash exists in the heavens, awaiting completion, that we continue to grieve, bemoaning the fact that we continue to be unworthy of its restoration.

It emerges, then, that when we mourn the destruction of the Mikdash, we mourn an event that is happening right now, in the present, and not an event that transpired many centuries ago.

In a certain sense, this is true of all the holidays on the Jewish calendar. Holidays were not instituted for every miracle experienced by our ancestors. Several extraordinary miracles were performed in the time of Yehoshua – such as the sun standing in place, and stones falling from the heavens to kill Beneh Yisrael’s enemies – and yet no holidays were established to commemorate them. The reason is that holidays were established only for miracles that occur each and every year. When we celebrate a holiday, it is more than a mere commemoration of a past event. The spiritual forces that brought about the original miracle return at that time on the calendar, and we observe the holiday to tap into those forces and reap the spiritual benefits they offer us.

This is especially true of Purim. On Purim, the forces that triggered the miracle in Shushan return, and thus we are celebrating present events as much as we celebrate past events. Rav Baruch of Medzbodz (1753-1811) commented that this is the meaning of the Halacha established in the Gemara that one who reads the Megila "Le’mafre’a" (literally, "backwards") does not fulfill the Misva. Rav Baruch explained that one does fully satisfy the requirements of Purim if he celebrates "Le’mafre’a," perceiving it as simply a time to look back and celebrate past events. We celebrate what is happening in the present, the spiritual forces that return each year on Purim.

Similarly, the Gemara in Masechet Besa says that one who wants to preserve his wealth should plant an "Eder" tree, which the Gemara explains is a tree that lasts "Dareh Dareh" – for generations. The word "Eder" is related to the word "Adar," which also lasts "Dareh Dareh." The special power and force of Adar is something which is experienced each and every year, not just in the year of the miracle in Shushan. Indeed, G-d proclaims after Beneh Yisrael’s first battle with Amalek that this war is waged "Mi’dor Dor" – in every generation. Year after year, we receive new power to wage this battle against our foes.

This is the meaning of the comparison drawn in the Gemara between the mourning of Ab and the celebration of Adar. We celebrate during Adar just as we mourn in Ab. Just as in Ab we mourn the events of the present – our ongoing failure to bring down the Mikash – similarly, in Adar we celebrate what is happening in the present, the renewed power we are given to defeat the "Haman’s" who rise against us.

This concept also explains the otherwise perplexing comment in the Gemara that on Purim one must drink to the point where he cannot distinguish "Ben Arur Haman L’Baruch Mordechai" (literally, "between ‘Cursed is Haman’ and ‘Blessed is Mordechai’"). This might refer to the prayer we recite on Purim when we declare, "Arur Haman Asher Bikesh Le’abedi, Baruch Mordechai Ha’yehudi" – "Cursed is Haman who sought to annihilate me; blessed is Mordechai the Jew." The words that are found between the phrase "Arur Haman" and "Baruch Mordechai" in this passage are "Asher Bikesh Le’abedi." The Gemara requires us to drink to the point where we cannot identify the precise significance of these three words. The first letters of these three words are "Alef," "Bet," "Lamed," which spell the word "Abel" – "mourner" – alluding to our mourning for the Bet Ha’mikdash. However, these three letters also allude to the words "Echol Be’simha Lahmecha" ("Joyfully eat your bread") – referring to the Purim festivities. On Purim, we are to perceive the mourning of Ab and the celebration of Adar as one and the same. Both are based on present events, rather than commemorating events of the past.

Significantly, Rashi, in his commentary on the Gemara, explains the Halacha of "Mi’shenichnas Adar Marbim Be’simha" – that we increase our joy when Adar begins – as based on the fact that the onset of Adar begins the period of Purim and Pesah. We rejoice during Adar not only because of Purim, but also because of Pesah. This is because Pesah, too, does not merely celebrate the past events of the Exodus, but rather celebrates the renewed spiritual power that we receive. Pesah, the time when we achieved freedom from Egypt, is the time when we are given special capabilities to break ourselves free from any "bondage" that we experience, such as addictions, bad habits, weaknesses, negative character traits, and so on. The celebration of Pesah is also focused upon present-day events as much as on past events, and thus it, too, is mentioned in the context of the joy of Adar.

In order to truly experience the spiritual power of Purim, though, we need to prepare ahead of time for the holiday. Many people mistakenly think that holiday preparations involve mainly the purchase of new clothes and foods, and the time leftover can be used for learning and study about the holiday. The precise opposite is true – the primary preparations we need to make in anticipation of a holiday is our study about what the holiday is all about. And thus in the days and weeks leading up to Purim, it behooves us all to make time to learn about this special day. This is why the Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles of Cracow, 1525-1572) writes in Shulhan Aruch that one who forgot to recite Al Ha’nissim in its proper place in Birkat Ha’mazon recites a special "HaRahaman" in the "HaRahaman" section of Birkat Ha’mazon. Some Rabbis wondered why in such a case a person can "transform" Al Ha’nissim, which gives praise and thanksgiving to G-d for the miracle, into a prayer. When said in the form of a "Ha’Rahaman" prayer, Al Ha’nissim is switched from a paragraph of phrase into a request asking that G-d should perform miracles for us. Why should this prayer be changed in a case of one who forgot to recite it in its proper place? The answer is that one who forgot to recite Al Ha’nissim in Birkat Ha’mazon must have failed to adequately prepare for Purim. If he had been preparing properly, it is inconceivable that he would have forgotten to include Al Ha’nissim. He must therefore turn to G-d and pray that he should be able to feel the miracles of the day that are happening in the present, and experience the special spiritual quality of Purim.

Purim day is a very precious, 24-hour opportunity to achieve spiritual greatness. We must take advantage of this opportunity by ensuring to properly prepare for its celebration, and to use the day as a time of prayer, song, Torah learning, and genuine rejoicing, and with G-d’s help, we will be privileged to experience the special power of Purim and to see miracles like those performed during the time of Mordechai and Ester.

 


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