The message of Purim is
conceptually similar to the message of Shavuos. Shavuos is the anniversary of
the giving of the Ten Commandments. When the children of Israel accepted the
Ten Commandments they said, “we will do it and we will listen to it (נעשה ונשמע). By this they meant that they would live
according to the precepts of the five books of Moses and study them as well.
In the megillah, after
the Jews are victorious over Amalek, Mordechai institutes a number of mitzvahs;
to read story of Esther, give trick or treats to your friends, give gifts to
the poor, and eat a festive meal with wine. Concerning these it is written that
the Jews “fulfilled them and accepted them (קימו וקבלו).
The Gemara explains that when the Jews accepted these mitzvahs they were also
accepting the entire Torah.
It’s possible to say
that in the days of Moshe Israel did not quite know what quite what they were
getting into. However in the days of Mordechai they knew what they were doing.
In addition the Talmud tells a story that during the revelation on Mount Sinai
Israel was forced to accept the Torah but during Purim they accepted it willingly,
as it says:
At the time of Kabalas HaTorah, Bnei
Yisroel stood at the foot of the mountain. Rav Avdimi Bar Chama Bar Chasa says
this teaches that Hashem held the mountain over the Jewish people and said to
them: “If you accept the Torah, good. If not, this shall be your burial place”.
Rav Acha Bar Yaakov says we see from here that the acceptance of the Torah was
coerced. Rava says it was reaccepted (willingly) in the days of Achashverosh,
as it is written Kimu V’kiblu (Shabbos 88a).
One can ask what does
giving gifts and celebrating with friends and the poor have to do with such
things as do not steal, keep Shabbos, honor your parents. The answer is that
when Jews celebrate a victory over Amalek by having a festive meal with each
other and giving each other gifts, they are expressing love of Israel. If a
person really does love his countryman, he will also see that he shouldn’t
steal from him, be a workaholic, and recognize that all good comes from our
Father who is in heaven. In addition these ideas are right not only for the
Jews but for all people, and we should encourage their acceptance. This is what
it means to be a kingdom of priests and that is one of the things that the
Torah is about.
לע"נ הדוד אליהו בן יואל לייב ז"ל
נלב"ע ו ניסן תשמ"א
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