I would like to share with you a thought on Purim that I think is maybe, perhaps at least a defining moment in the Megillah that we might sometimes miss. As you all know, Megillas Esther is a story of a number of incidents that took place each of which is natural but taken together cause an incredible event to take place and that is what we call the miracle of Purim within nature. Every piece of the Megillah is part of the puzzle. The question is the incident where Haman leads Mordechai through the streets of Shushan on the King's horse and in the King's robes and Haman is announcing as it says in 6:11 (כָּכָה יֵעָשֶׂה לָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר הַמֶּלֶךְ חָפֵץ בִּיקָרוֹ). How does that fit in to the puzzle of the Yeshua of Klal Yisrael? It would seem from the Megillah that that contributes nothing. After all, as soon as Haman finished leading Mordechai through the streets, Mordechai goes back to wearing sackcloth and fasting as the decree against the Jewish people is still in effect. The fasting that is taking place in Shushan is still taking place and the Mishteh Hayayin, that moment where the Ribbono Shel Olam saves Klal Yisrael has yet to occur. How does that fit into the story?
I recently saw a beautiful thought in the name of the Alter of Kelm one of the great Talmidim of Rav Yisrael Salanter and he explained beautifully as follows. He says think about the story of the Megillah. A decree was issued against the Jewish people. There is no doubt that Jews everywhere were in a uproar, they were tumuling. What is going on? They had questions for Hashem and they had questions for each other. The Gemara says that they criticized Mordechai and they said Mordechai did this. After all, didn't Mordechai do it? The rest of Klal Yisrael bowed to Haman and it wasn't just the Amei Ha'aretz (ignoramuses) who bowed to Haman. There were Jews who Paskened, Talmidai Chachamim that Paskened, that from Halacha it is permitted. Tosafos says that they bowed to Haman because Haman is a person and he was not an Avoda Zorah, he was a leader. He demanded that they bow before him. And so, they held that it was Muttar. One man didn't bow and that was Mordechai. Mordechai not only didn't bow but he didn't stand up when Haman passed. He wouldn't show him any type of notice. Klal Yisrael had big complaints against Mordechai. Mordechai was a Daas Yachid, an individual opinion L'halacha, and he is wrong. Klal Yisrael is following the other Poskim and they were very critical of Mordechai. They said Mordechai did this to us. Then they are fasting for three days. One morning they wake up in the morning and there is an uproar in the streets of Shushan. This was not something that they had anticipated. After all, there were no newspapers and no radio broadcasts, everything happened after midnight. After midnight when Achashveirosh could not sleep as it says in 6:1 (בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא, נָדְדָה שְׁנַת הַמֶּלֶךְ). This took place at midnight. Achashveirosh tells Haman 6:10 (מַהֵר קַח אֶת-הַלְּבוּשׁ וְאֶת-הַסּוּס כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ) do it quickly. There was no time to make announcements. There they are in the morning and there is an uproar in the street. What is going on? They look and they see, could it be, Haman is leading Mordechai on a horse dressed in the kings robes on the kings horse and he is announcing before him (כָּכָה יֵעָשֶׂה לָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר הַמֶּלֶךְ חָפֵץ בִּיקָרוֹ). The Jews looked at it and they were astounded. They didn't know what to make of it. The decree against the Jews were still in effect. The Yeshua was still to happen. That was the Yeshua in the world. The Yeshua that is revealed in the revealed world. In the hearts of the Jewish people they understood, and they said to themselves we don't get this we don't understand. The one thing we see is that Mordechai knows what he is doing. I don't know how this happened but something that Mordechai is doing is right if this could happen. And suddenly their objections to Mordechai, the blogging, the Lashon Hora, the complaints to Mordechai came to an end. The talk of politics came to an end. The people lined up behind Mordechai. Now the Jewish people were worthy of the Yeshua that was still to take place that evening. Something big happened, something tremendous happened and we end the Megilla with the words as the description of Mordechai Hayehudi as being 10:3 (וְגָדוֹל לַיְּהוּדִים, וְרָצוּי לְרֹב אֶחָיו). That is also a part of V'nahavoch Hu, it is also a change. It is a change that we don't always notice because we know Mordechai as the hero of the Megillah. We don't realize that until that point Mordechai was not a hero to most of the Jewish people. As a matter of fact, they had complaints to him. And so, that is an extraordinary moment a moment from which there is much to learn.
I recently saw a beautiful thought in the name of the Alter of Kelm one of the great Talmidim of Rav Yisrael Salanter and he explained beautifully as follows. He says think about the story of the Megillah. A decree was issued against the Jewish people. There is no doubt that Jews everywhere were in a uproar, they were tumuling. What is going on? They had questions for Hashem and they had questions for each other. The Gemara says that they criticized Mordechai and they said Mordechai did this. After all, didn't Mordechai do it? The rest of Klal Yisrael bowed to Haman and it wasn't just the Amei Ha'aretz (ignoramuses) who bowed to Haman. There were Jews who Paskened, Talmidai Chachamim that Paskened, that from Halacha it is permitted. Tosafos says that they bowed to Haman because Haman is a person and he was not an Avoda Zorah, he was a leader. He demanded that they bow before him. And so, they held that it was Muttar. One man didn't bow and that was Mordechai. Mordechai not only didn't bow but he didn't stand up when Haman passed. He wouldn't show him any type of notice. Klal Yisrael had big complaints against Mordechai. Mordechai was a Daas Yachid, an individual opinion L'halacha, and he is wrong. Klal Yisrael is following the other Poskim and they were very critical of Mordechai. They said Mordechai did this to us. Then they are fasting for three days. One morning they wake up in the morning and there is an uproar in the streets of Shushan. This was not something that they had anticipated. After all, there were no newspapers and no radio broadcasts, everything happened after midnight. After midnight when Achashveirosh could not sleep as it says in 6:1 (בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא, נָדְדָה שְׁנַת הַמֶּלֶךְ). This took place at midnight. Achashveirosh tells Haman 6:10 (מַהֵר קַח אֶת-הַלְּבוּשׁ וְאֶת-הַסּוּס כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ) do it quickly. There was no time to make announcements. There they are in the morning and there is an uproar in the street. What is going on? They look and they see, could it be, Haman is leading Mordechai on a horse dressed in the kings robes on the kings horse and he is announcing before him (כָּכָה יֵעָשֶׂה לָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר הַמֶּלֶךְ חָפֵץ בִּיקָרוֹ). The Jews looked at it and they were astounded. They didn't know what to make of it. The decree against the Jews were still in effect. The Yeshua was still to happen. That was the Yeshua in the world. The Yeshua that is revealed in the revealed world. In the hearts of the Jewish people they understood, and they said to themselves we don't get this we don't understand. The one thing we see is that Mordechai knows what he is doing. I don't know how this happened but something that Mordechai is doing is right if this could happen. And suddenly their objections to Mordechai, the blogging, the Lashon Hora, the complaints to Mordechai came to an end. The talk of politics came to an end. The people lined up behind Mordechai. Now the Jewish people were worthy of the Yeshua that was still to take place that evening. Something big happened, something tremendous happened and we end the Megilla with the words as the description of Mordechai Hayehudi as being 10:3 (וְגָדוֹל לַיְּהוּדִים, וְרָצוּי לְרֹב אֶחָיו). That is also a part of V'nahavoch Hu, it is also a change. It is a change that we don't always notice because we know Mordechai as the hero of the Megillah. We don't realize that until that point Mordechai was not a hero to most of the Jewish people. As a matter of fact, they had complaints to him. And so, that is an extraordinary moment a moment from which there is much to learn.
-- א"ה וכעין זה בשם הגר"א לגבי המן שנשברה רוחו
http://navitapes1.blogspot.com/2012/03/missing-puzzle-piece-purim-5772.html
http://navitapes1.blogspot.com/2012/03/missing-puzzle-piece-purim-5772.html
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