Sunday, February 28, 2021

DIN... Thoughts on the Megillah

I have been reading the questions and answers that people usually ask about Megilas Esther.

Why isn't Hashem's name mentioned in the entire Megillah?

 Besides the חמשת חומשי תורה there is no other Sefer in Tanach that has an obligation, a מצוה that it needs to be to be read ( the Haftorah has an other reason, and only part of Tanach is read).Why?

Why were the Rabbis reluctant to include the Megilla in the Tanach?
Why is the name of the tractate that deals with Purim called Mesactas Megilla and not Mesactas Purim? 
Why does the Rambam when he writes the halachos of Chanuka and Purim write .. Hilchos Megilla Ve'Chanuka, why doesn't he write Hilchos Purim Ve'Chanuka?

Why don't we say Hallel on Purim? 

Why do we celebrate Purim when there wasn't a definitive salvation?
After the "miracle" of Purim, the Jews were still subjects to a goy?

What did the Jews do so bad that they deserved to be entirely annihilated? After all they had great tzaddikim for leaders.. Mordechai, Ezra, Nechemia, the Anshai Knesses Hagdoileh?
Why did Hashem send a Haman to threaten the entire Jewish nation? What went wrong?

And now the question that no one asks....
Why isn't "Eretz Yisrael" mentioned in the entire Megillah...there isn't another Sefer in the entire Tanach that doesn't have "Eretz Yisrael" mentioned?

And this last question that no one asks, has, I believe the answer to all the above questions and more ..

The answer is that the Jews living in Persia and their leaders except for Ezra were very happy living in Chutz Le'aaretz...they weren't anxious to make Aliyah, they weren't interested in re-building the Bais Hamikdash..
They had excuses ... "Oh ... Jews in Eretz Yisrael are assimilated" "there isn't any Yeshivos or Kollilim in EY" "Jews living in Eretz Yisrael are Mechallei Shabbos" "Gedolei Yisrael are all in Chutz Le'aaretz" ... the "sholosh shvuois" etc..

So Hashem tried to give them a hint, to remind them that they don't belong in Persia... Hashem put an idea into the head of Achasveirosh to make a huge party, not just for one day but for months...maybe just maybe, someone will get the hint...
Hashem had Achashveirosh dress in the "Bigdie Kohen Gadol" at that party.... would someone now think about the Bais Ha'mikdash?
How about when Achashveiroish took out the Keilim from the Bais Ha'mikdash? Would someone look at this Keilim and rent their clothing and pack up and move to Eretz Yisrael?
Nope ... they continued to party..

It seems that these Jews in Persia had no connection with the people living in Israel or the Bais Hamikdash that was already in middle of being built, but were very involved in the Persian Court and culture ,

How is it that the Jews in Persia whose very lives were in danger didn't see Eretz Yisrael as a viable solution?

And the bigger question... after having survived Haman by a thread, and having a friendly government installed in Persia, no one except Ezra saw fit to think about what just happened and make Aliyah?

But Esther did see ... yes she was one of seven women prophetesses and she saw... the rabbis didn't see and refused to see that's why they were reluctant to include the Megillah in the Tanach ....
Esther had to convince them ...
They questioned the Megillah's purpose....
They reasoned "there isn't any halachos in the Megillah, Hashem name  isn't mentioned ...
and they asked Esther "what is the purpose of this story?" 
"There were many times when the Jewish people were in danger and were saved and yet we never required the entire Jewish nation to read the story...."
And they added the following...
This episode of an evil person wanting to kill all the Jews of the entire world never happened and will never happen again ...
the edict 
להשמיד להרוג ולאבד את כל היהודים מנער ועד זקן טף ונשים ביום אחד 
will never happen again, it was a one time deal and so there is no lesson from this story ..." "we don't need the Megillah"
yes there was an Esav, a Lavan, a Paro, Emaliek that attempted to destroy the Jewish people but an edict like this to kill everyone, will never happen again, they reasoned.

But Esther was a prophet and saw that in the future they will be a Hitler ym"s, there will come a time when Jews will just like in the Megillah look for Hashem but won't look deep enough to find Him.Hashem will be hidden...
They won't find Hashem and they won't see that Eretz Yisrael is an option.....
Even in the worst of times, Eretz Yisrael will not be seen as an option... "Zionists live there" Zionists are mechallel shabbos""the frum are hated" 
and so she didn't ask for Hallel to be recited as even after this unbelievable threat, everyone returned to routine ...happy to live under Achashveiroish in Chutz Le'aaretz.

The rabbis finally gave in and understood Esther's message....and made it a requirement that the story be read by everyone ... and left it the way she wrote it ... with all its mysteries...

See the verse that Esther put into the Megillah at the very end .... 
וישם המלך אחשורוש מס על הארץ ואיי הים
"King Achasveirosh levied a tax on the land dwellers and the ocean islanders"

Did Achashveirush need money? He made a party that lasted 180 days and an additional party seven days for the people of Shushan ...and when Haman offered him 10,000 pieces of gold, Achashveirush told Haman to keep it ..he refused the gift ...he didn't need the money 

Esther put that into the Megillah on the very last verses so that it make an impact on the reader ... she is saying ...that even after the threat of being totally annihilated, everything returned to routine, even the additional needless tax didn't move them to think about moving..and that's why the Gemmarrah dealing with Purim is called Mesactas Meggilla so that we should read the Megillah and read between the lines .. to read what's not written, hidden  but implied......

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1 comment:

yidlmitnfidl said...

Beautiful perush.
Thank you!