Wednesday, March 4, 2015

We will Learn it and Fulfill it

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
וגם בדואר אלקטרוני    ניתן באתר   http://dyschreiber.blogspot.co.il

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