The theme of Purim and the Megillah is Hester Panim, the hiding of the Divine. God’s name does not appear in the Megillah. The miraculous salvation of the Jews doesn’t seems might like a coincidental chain of events that happen to come together in just the right way to produce the successful results. God is hidden in the normal course of nature. The word “Megillah” is derived from the Hebrew root meaning “reveal”. Why is the ultimate book of “hidden” called by the name “revealed”? The lesson here is that God is revealed within nature, but only to those...
Holidays
Taanit Esther – Festival?
This morning, Taanit Esther, they left out Tachanun and Avinu Malkeinu at the small Chassidic “Shtieble” where I occasionally daven. We usually skip these prayers on holidays, but today was a fast day? The character of Taanit Esther is unlike other fast days. Taanit Esther is actually part of Purim. On Purim we celebrate our physical existence by feeding our bodies. On Taanit Esther, we nourish our souls by fasting. Only when combined do Taanit Esther and Purim become a complete and total religious experience. This same idea also relates to Yom Kippur, which our sages compare to Purim...
Purim: Laws and Customs
Here’s a short summary of the mitzvot (and minhagim) of Purim: 1. Monday is the Fast of Esther 2. Mitzvah: Monday night and Tuesday, we hear the Megillah read 3. It’s customary, before the reading of the Megillah at night, to doante the “half shekel”. They’ll usually have actual silver coins in shul. You donate some money, and lift up the coins. The Ashkenazic custom is to use 3 “half shekels”. 4. Mitzvah: festive meal on Tuesday (including lots of alchohol!) 5. Mitzvah: Mishloach Manot – give 2 kinds of food to 1 person on Tuesday 6. Mitzvah: Matanot...
Parshat Zachor
On the Shabbat preceding Purim (tomorrow morning) we read a special portion of the Torah called “Parshat Zachor”, which speaks about the obligation to wipe out the memory of Amalek. It is a Torah commandment to hear this portion read in the synagogue every year. Our Sages teach that the numerical value of “Amalek” is equal to the word “Safek”, which means doubt. By being the first to attack to the Jewish nation after their exodus of Egypt, Amalek sowed doubt into their hearts, by showing that they were susceptible to the same trails and tribulations like any other...
Chanukah-Counting Money
In its discussion about the laws of Chanukah, the Talmud states that it is forbidden to use the light of the menorah to count one’s money, for doing so denigrates the importance of the mitzvah of the lights. This halacha teaches us a very deep lesson. Chanukah teaches us that miracles do happen. God is in control of our destinies, not us. Just the other night, sitting in front of the menorah, I started worrying about my own financial situation. How was I going to take control of my financial destiny? It’s all totally in my hands, right? Then...
Buy on Amazon
