Purim Is Chazal Telling Us The Future Of Judaism

If one looks at Megilas Esther they would see that there is no mention of G-D. Also, there are no recognizable miracles talked about in this story. In fact, the only point to this story is to show a series of events that lead to the Jewish people being saved by themselves. The story of Esther is one where, because of human actions, the Jews were saved. Esther intervened and because of her intervention that gave the Jews the strength to defend themselves from their enemies. However, had it not been for Achashveirosh throwing a party in his third year of kingship, had it not been for his getting drunk at that party and had it not been for his wife, Vashti, refusing to dance naked, Esther would have never been in a position to intervene.

It is amazing that the Megillah does not mention G-D at all. Even in the one verse where you would think Mordecahi is about to say how even if Esther does not intervene G-D will find a way to save the Jews, he avoids mentioning G-D (Megillas Esther 4:14):

יד  כִּי אִם-הַחֲרֵשׁ תַּחֲרִישִׁי, בָּעֵת הַזֹּאת--רֶוַח וְהַצָּלָה יַעֲמוֹד לַיְּהוּדִים מִמָּקוֹם אַחֵר, וְאַתְּ וּבֵית-אָבִיךְ תֹּאבֵדוּ; וּמִי יוֹדֵעַ--אִם-לְעֵת כָּזֹאת, הִגַּעַתְּ לַמַּלְכוּת.

14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy father's house will perish; and who knoweth whether thou art not come to royal estate for such a time as this?'

In a way this reminds me of the debate between evolution with G-D and evolution without G-D. There are two ways to look at evolution, either there is a G-D deciding the course of evolution or there is just randomness. No one can prove one way or the other, it is a matter of faith and belief, not evidence. The same holds true for the story of Purim, there could be a G-D guiding the Jewish people's future, or it could just be randomness.

It could have been completely random that Vashti was replaced with Esther and that put her in a position to save the Jews when she did or it could have been the hand of G-D. There were no open miracles to bring as evidence to prove G-D was involved.

It seems to me that the Purim story was incorporated into the Tanach so that we could have a guiding light for our future as a people. It used to be that Jews saw miracles, talked to prophets and did not have issues with faith or belief in G-D. However, once miracles and prophets disappeared, what would allow us to still connect to and believe in G-D? Only through the belief and understanding that G-D is present in natural events as well as the supernatural events could the Jewish religion survive. In the time of the temple people thought G-D was in the temple. That attitude is what led to the temple's ultimate destruction. "G-D is in the temple, but my idols are right here!"

It is for these reasons that I believe this idea of getting drunk on Purim comes about. As the Gemara in Megillah (7b) says:
 אמ ר  רב א
 מ יחי י ב  איניש לבםומי בפוריא עד  דלא ידע
 בין אר ו ר  המן לב ר ו ך  מר ד כ י  

Rava says, Men are obligated to drink (alcohol) to the point that they don't know the difference between cursing Haman and blessing Mordechai. 

We need to realize that G-D is behind the scenes protecting us, even when we do not take care of ourselves. That is the significance of getting drunk, it takes away our own will to protect ourselves and make sure our lives work out as planned. Therefore, Rava says that we should get drunk, in order to realize that G-D works behind the scenes, within nature, to make sure everything works out for us. (to see how G-D might work behind the scenes in this world see this post)

However, this idea of getting drunk to the point that one does not know what they are doing is proven to be bad in the Gemara (ibid):
 רבה ורבי זירא
 עב ד ו  סע ו ד ת  פורים בהדי הד ד י  איבםום
 קם רבה שחטיה לרבי זירא למחר בעי
 רחמי  ואחייה לשנה אמ ר  ליה ניתי מר  ונעביד
 סע ו ד ת  פורים בהדי  הד ד י  אמ ר  ליה לא בכ ל
 שע ת א  וש ע ת א  מתרחיש ניסא
Rabbah and R. Zera joined together in a Purim feast. They became mellow, and Rabbah arose and

cut R. Zera's throat. On the next day he prayed on his behalf and revived him. Next year he said,
Will your honour come and we will have the Purim feast together. He replied: A miracle does not
take place on every occasion. (Soncino translation)

This apparently shows that one should not get drunk to the point that one can not control themselves. The point is valid, that G-D is working behind the scenes, but the practical application is not safe and leaves out the second message found in the Megillah.

The second important point, which I think most people miss, is the importance of our own actions. True, G-D is watching over us, but the Megillah is a story that shows how Esther needed to act, if she didn't then what would have happened? The Jewish people still needed to fight off their enemies, if they didn't then what would have happened? Yes, G-D is working behind the scenes, but if we do not play our role in the grand scheme of things then we will be lost and someone else will take over our part.

The story of Purim and the holiday of Purim are Chazal's way of telling us that even though open miracles do not occur anymore that does not mean G-D is not watching. Every year we must be reminded that G-D's actions are hidden, but that doesn't mean they are not there. This is why, I think, the Megillah intentionally avoids mentioning G-D at all.

The future of Judaism, as we have seen, is G-D working behind the scenes. The Jewish people have survived for so long simply because G-D is working behind the scenes to protect us. How many times have "Purim" stories happened that we are not even aware of? How many times have people tried to destroy us, as a people, but their plans were foiled in, seemingly, natural ways?

We must celebrate Purim, but don't let these messages be left out of our Purim celebrations.

Rambam- What Does Megilas Esther Teach Us?

The Rambam tells us at the end of his halachos pertaining to Purim, "All of the books of the prophets and writings, when the Messiah comes, will become null and void except for Megilas Esther. Megilas Esther is just as important as the five books of Moshe and the Oral Torah since none of them will ever be null and void." The question here is, why does the Rambam say that the Megila is just as important as the five books of Moshe and the Oral Torah? What is the Rambam telling us about Megilas Esther?

To explain this ponderous statement in the Rambam we can bring the Gemorah in Nedarim (21B) that says, "If the Jews never sinned then there would only be the five books of Moshe and the book of Joshua because it tells us how to divide up the land of Israel." It seems like the rest of the books of the prophets and the writings come to teach us about repentance and that this message will no longer be necessary in the times of the Messiah. Still, this only tells us what the message of Megilas Esther is not, but what is the message?

The Maharal in his book on Purim (Or Chadash) tells us a unique idea behind the story of Purim. He says that the pasuk in the Megila of "The Jews undertook upon themselves" (kimu vikiblu) comes to teach us that the Jews reaccepted the Torah that they had originally received on Mt. Sinai. Therefore, the significance of Purim connects to the significance of the accepting of the Torah. It is as if the Jews began accepting the Torah and its commandments on Mt. Sinai and completed their acceptance during the story of Purim. This is why Megilas Esther will never be nullified just like the Torah, but the other books, the prophets and writings, will be. However, why would the Jews have to re-receive the Torah, what was wrong with how they accepted it at Mt. Sinai?

The Maharal answers this question up very nicely. He says that during the original acceptance of the Torah G-D forced the Jews to accept the Torah out of fear. This is because, the Maharal says, according to the Midrashing, that G-D was holding the mountain above them saying that if the Jews did not accept the Torah then He would drop the mountain on them. Therefore, the Jews did not make a complete acceptance of the Torah at Mt. Sinai since they only had an acceptance of fear. However, the only way to have a true acceptance of Torah is to receive it through fear and love. This is where Purim comes in, during Purim the Jews reaccepted the Torah through love of G-D.

This is why Rambam says that Megilas Esther will never be nullified, because it is part of the original acceptance of the Torah. Rambam believes the Oral Torah, along with the two parts of the written Torah, is the full acceptance of the Torah. These are the three aspects of the Torah that will always be eternal and this is why the written Torah, Oral Torah and Megilas Esther will forever be an important part of Judaism even after the Messiah comes, but the rest of the prophets and writings will be void. The other prophets and writings come to teach us about repentance and avoidance of sin, but when the Messiah comes these messages will no longer be applicable. However, the Torah and its ideas will forever be important to the Jewish people.         

Connecting Purim to Pesach

There is a very famous story that happened many years ago. It involves the Jews and the foreign land they lived in. The story contains a wicked oppressor and a great Jewish leader. It begins with the antagonist making a decree against the Jews and the protagonist coming and rescuing the Jewish people and freeing them from oppression. Also, the oppressor was smitten in ten ways and in the end he was killed.

Many might think that I am referring to Passover, but in truth I am talking about Purim. After the destruction of the first temple the Jews were sent into exile in Babylon (which later became part of the Persian Empire). Almost seventy years later they were oppressed by Haman, a very wicked man, who made a decree that every Jew should be killed. Mordechai, the leader and savior of the Jews, was able to save the Jews from destruction. In the end Haman was smitten in ten ways by having his ten sons hanged on the gallows along with himself.

These similarities bring about a very interesting correlation between Passover and Purim and reveals to us the similarities between Mordechai and Moshe as well as the similarities between Haman and Pharoh. The renewal of the dedication to the Torah by the Jews during Purim was so great that it is referred to as kimu vikiblu (establishing and keeping) and is compared to the receiving of the Torah (Esther 9:27). So the question here remains that if it is supposed to be just like Passover and the only difference is that one was for the First coming into Israel and one was for the second coming, since Jews returned to Israel after Purim, what happened? Why was the second coming so much weaker than the first coming and why did Mordechai, the savior of Purim, not lead it? By Passover the entire congregation of Israel came to the land without hesitation, but by Purim there was much hesitation and only 43,000 people came at first. Also, if Mordechai is compared to Moshe why was he not the one to lead the Jewish people in, why was Ezra hasofer the one to lead the Jews into Eretz Yisroel?

Here we can delve into the differences between Passover and Purim. The biggest difference is that very few people went back with Ezra to Israel after Purim as apposed to when everyone left Egypt with Moshe. This seems to be caused through the fact that in Egypt Hashem let the Jewish people see his great miracles openly whereas the Jews of Persia only realized how Hashem guided the events secretly. In Egypt, Hashem had these cataclysmic wonders destroy the Egyptians, but in Persia Hashem made everything occur naturally and through the Jewish people defending themselves. They fought against non-Jews that attacked them and killed 75,000 of them as it is stated in Megilas Esther (Chapter 9), but that was a hidden miracle.

Based on this we can point out the difference in thinking by the redemption in Egypt and in Persia. In Egypt, the Jews were so overcome by all of the plagues and wonders that they automatically accepted Hashem and there was no way to deny Him or ignore what He said. However, by Persia the Jews realized the wonders and miracles Hashem did, but He performed them in such a way that people could be less wowed by them. People thanked Hashem, but returning to Israel was still not important enough to forgo the comfort of the Persian Jews current living situation. Especially when we see what happened to the Jews in the books of Ezra and Nechemia. There were constant raids on the Jews trying to rebuild Jerusalem and many people died. There was no security and one would be putting blind faith in Hashem. This blind faith was attainable for everyone in Egypt, but the slightest bit of doubt would turn anyone away in Persia since Hashem only performed hidden miracles and there was no guarantee of redemption, in most people’s minds. This lack of faith is what caused the Second temple to be much weaker in spiritual holiness than the first temple.

The next difference is the leaders of the two holidays, Moshe and Mordechai. Both were undoubtedly great men and had much fear of heaven, but there was a difference. This can be seen in the listing of names of prominent people in Ezra and Nechemiah by the different houses that came to Israel. Among these names of prominent people, Mordechai is mentioned. There is, however, one discrepancy in these two different books. In Ezra, Mordechai is mentioned 5,^th whereas in Nechemiah, he is mentioned 6^th. So the question here is why exactly was he mentioned later in the book that takes place at a later time period? What caused him to be given less honor and be mentioned later?

My Rebbe, Rav Parnes, wanted to say the following. If we look at Mordechai in the book of Esther we see that at the end of the story he became the viceroy of Persia. Now, a Jewish scholar is given his position based on his knowledge and expertise in Halacha. The head of the court should be the most knowledgeable and, usually, the person given the most respect is the one who knows the most and is the wisest. So, what my Rebbe wanted to say was that maybe it could be that Mordechai got too involved in politics and never really went back to learning like he did before the Purim story. Yes, public affairs are important, but once they are finished with and everything is set straight the scholar needs to go back to his usual studies, otherwise he will become less of an expert and not be as knowledgeable. This could have been what happened to Mordechai. He might have gotten too caught up with being the viceroy and did not return to his learning and thereby he became less of an expert. It is because of this he may have been demoted in status compared to others. However, this is the opposite of Moshe who was able to juggle the role of being a leader and learn as much as he needed to in order to remain the ultimate authority. Nevertheless, both were great men and magnificent leaders.

These two differences could be the cause for why Mordechai was not the one to lead the Jews into Israel and why the people of Egypt all came to Israel instead of just a fraction. This is not a good excuse though, just an area for future generations to work on. We, for example, need to look at Purim and at Passover and be able to say that just like Pesach was from G-D so too was Purim.