STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS
VAYIKRA/ZACHOR/PURIM 5779
“INDOMITABLE
SPIRIT”[1]
A fellow meets
his elderly neighbor Bernie, one afternoon, and they begin conversing. Bernie
starts telling his neighbor about a new class he and his wife were taking. “You
know, how we are getting older, and sometimes we tend to forget details,
events, and even names. So, we’re taking a class called memory by association.
If you can’t remember something, you remember something else associated with
what you are trying to remember and that helps jar your memory.”
The neighbor is
impressed. “My parents are getting older and I think they could benefit from
such a class. What’s the name of the instructor?”
Bernie thinks
for a second. “Well now is a perfect time for me to show you what I’ve learned.
What’s the name of that beautiful flower, it comes in different colors, and
people like to give red ones to someone they love?” The neighbor replies, “Do
you mean a rose?” Bernie nods and smiles, “Yes, that’s it!” Then Bernie screams
into the kitchen, “Hey Rose, what’s the name of the instructor of the
association class we’re taking?”
“Remember what
Amalek did to you on the way when you were leaving Egypt.”[2]
What is it about
Amalek and their attack that we are obligated to remember?
In addition, why is
Megillas Esther specifically named for Esther? Granted, she was a heroine in
the story, but couldn’t it have been called Megillas Mordechai or Megillas
Purim?
The gemara[3]
relates two opinions about Esther’s physical beauty. The first opinion is the
classically known view that she was very beautiful. The gemara then quotes a
second opinion that Esther had a pale complexion and wasn’t all that
attractive. Still, she had a certain charm and regal bearing to her that made
her exceedingly attractive to Achashveirosh.
Why does the gemara
relate the second opinion which seems degrading about Esther?
The Vilna Gaon
explained that originally Esther was indeed exceedingly beautiful and
attractive. However, being forced to remain in the harem of Achashveirosh had a
detrimental effect upon her. Esther was a person of depth and lived with higher
values and aspirations. The women in the palace on the other hand, spent their
days consumed in beautifying themselves, dousing themselves in oils, creams,
and lotions.[4]
Their conversations were all about their physical appearance and how they could
make themselves even more attractive. For Esther living among such
superficiality was mental torture. Being in such an environment for a prolonged
amount of time had a physical effect upon her and made her appear pale.
The gemara relates
that fact to demonstrate her depth and righteousness.
The gemara[5] notes
that Vashti’s humiliating end was a worthy punishment for her, because she
would force the Jewish girls to undress and work on Shabbos. That was why she
was summoned to appear before the king undressed on Shabbos.
Vashti didn’t
literally force the Jewish girls to undress. Vashti was the queen and celebrity
that every girl aspired to be like. She was beautiful, powerful, and royal.[6] She
was also an immodest woman who dressed provocatively to garner attention.[7] Being
that all the girls looked up to her, they also imitated her mode of dress.
Invariably this effected the Jewish girls as well. This is what the gemara
refers to as “stripping the Jewish girls”. By dressing inappropriately, she
served as a negative role model to violate the standards of modesty and
decency. [8]
Esther was the
antithesis of Vashti. Esther was sickened to her core by the immodesty that
Vashti personified.
Rabbi Gamliel
Rabinowitz shlita[9]
explains that when one devotes themselves selflessly to a cause, it is
remembered and referred to in their name. The Torah is referred to as “Toras
Moshe”[10]
because Moshe Rabbeinu devoted his heart and soul, and even his physical self,
to teaching and transmitting Torah to Klal Yisroel.[11]
At the beginning of
Mishlei, Shlomo Hamelech states: “Listen my son to the discipline of your
father, and do not forsake the Torah of your mother.”[12] Why
is the Torah referred to as the “Torah of your mother” when a woman isn’t even
obligated to learn Torah? The most important component in conveying Torah to
one’s children isn’t the actual wisdom of Torah, as much as it is the influence
of Torah. That influence is instilled into the home by the woman of the home
who inculcates the values and love of Torah into her family.[13]
During the
unfolding of the Purim story, there was no one who devoted themselves more
selflessly to the Jewish people and to their salvation than Esther. It was
Esther who lived in the palace away from her loved ones, had to put her life on
the line for her people, and remained married to the wicked Achashveirosh for
the rest of her life, even after the miracles of Purim occurred. Therefore, the
megillah is named after her.
Esther was also a
worthy role model for Jewish women, personifying modesty, selflessness,
devotion, and boundless love for her people. There was no one who offered
herself so completely on behalf of her people. That is the meaning behind the
words we sing,[14]
“Blessed is Esther on my behalf”.
In the prayer Uva
L’tzion we state: “As for Me, this is My covenant with them, says G-d: My spirit that is upon you, and My words that I have placed
in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your
children, nor from the mouth of your children’s children, says G-d, from now
for eternity.” To convey Torah values and Torah living to our children, we
must invest in them the ‘spirit’ of such values. It’s not enough to fulfill the
Torah and mitzvos, we must live them and convey the spirit of the law. That
spirit is chiefly created by the woman of the home through her love, devotion,
and emotional warmth.
It is that spirit
that Amalek sought, and seeks, to destroy. Amalek is the consummate scoffer who
mocks, minimizes, and degrades all that is sacred. When we emerged from the
splitting of the sea, we were emotionally fired-up and felt deeply connected with
G-d. Amalek’s attack may have been a military failure, but their desire to destroy
our spiritual momentum and break through our aura of invincibility was a
booming success.
All the miracles
and the entire Sinai experience was to foster that spirit within us. In one
fell swoop Amalek let the air out of the tires, causing spiritual and
psychological damage that can never be fully repaired.
A tenth-grade boy
who had always done well in school and had been the pride of his family,
suddenly had a terrible slide. In a short time, he became involved in negative
and risky behaviors and kept pushing the envelope.
One evening the
boy’s father took him on a long walk for a crucial heart-to-heart conversation.
During that talk the boy admitted that a few bad friends had been having a
terrible influence upon him. They prevailed upon him to experiment with
different things, claiming that it was no big deal, and everyone was doing it. They
introduced him to places and things he knew were wrong for him to be involved
in but he couldn’t face up to the peer pressure.
The father looked
his son in the eye and said, “Son, your life is in your hands. No one can stop
you from these behaviors or from these friends, except for yourself. Just
remember your dreams and what you want to become. Think about the path you’re
on now and where it may likely end up. Recapture your dreams before it’s too
late!”
Thankfully, the son
hearkened to his father’s message and extricated himself from those friendships
and got himself back on track.
Then, when the boy
began eleventh grade, and then again at the beginning of his senior year, when
he began college, and then again when he moved into his own apartment, the
father gently told his son, “Remember what happened during your sophomore year.
There will be others who will try to do the same, and if you forget the lesson
you learned then, you may quickly find yourself back in the same predicament,
and perhaps even worse.”
Remember what
Amalek did to you! Remember what they robbed you of – your pride, and your indomitable
and unyielding spirit and faith in G-d. Remember how they tried to deflate your
inner fire and passion, to make you feel like we weren’t special and unique.
Remember - because
if you forget, Amalek has many disciples and permutations and will attack
again!
Purim is a
celebration of reigniting of that inner fire!
Chumash Vayikra is
the book of the Torah that relates the laws of offering korbanos to Hashem.
Today, in exile, our heart is our sanctuary, and we offer our very souls to
G-d.[15]
On Purim we offer
our very selves to G-d through joy and fiery passion. That is the greatest
revenge against Amalek and that is the ultimate way to remember what they
perpetrated against us.
Beyond the
wonderful laughter and gaiety of the day, one is remiss if he doesn’t feel
intense pride and intense joy in being part of the chosen, eternal people.
“Remember, what
Amalek did to you.”
“My spirit that is
upon you shall not depart for eternity”
Rabbi Dani Staum,
LMSW
Rebbe/Guidance
Counselor – Heichal HaTorah
Principal – Ohr
Naftoli- New Windsor
[1] The
following is the lecture I delivered at Kehillat New Hempstead, Parshas Vayikra/Zachor
5776
[2] Devorim 25:17
[3]
Megilla 15a
[4] One would
think that the women vying to be queen would spend their days learning about
royal etiquette and expectations. But the megillah relates that their sole
preoccupation was on their physical looks. That was the criteria that
Achashveirosh would base his decision on. That speaks volumes about what kind
of a person he was.
[5] Megilla 12b
[6] She was the
featured picture of every magazine in “Shushanawood”
[7] The gemara
relates that Vashti was only too happy to appear naked before the drunken men,
until she realized that she was suddenly besieged with unsightly marks all over
her body.
[8] I heard this
from my rebbe, Rabbi Mordechai Finkelman. I was not able to ask Rabbi Finkelman
who he said this over from.
[9] Tiv HaPurim
[10] Malachi 3:22 “Remember
the Torah of Moshe My servant”
[11] Mechilta
d’Rabbi Yishmael 15:1
[12] Mishlei 1:8
[13] Ibn Ezra "כי האשה חכמה מורה דרך הישרה לבנה"
[14] In ‘Shoshanas
Yaakov’
[15] Rabbi Elazar
Azkari in Sefer Hachassidim expressed this idea very movingly: "בתוך לבי משכן אבנה לזיוו,
קרבן תקריב לו נפשי היחידה" – In my heart I will build a sanctuary to His splendor; I will
offer to Him the depths of my soul” .Rav
Yitzchak Hutner zt’l wrote a well-known variation based on these words which
was composed into a very moving song called ‘Bilvavi’
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