“RABBI’S MUSINGS (&
AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas
Vayakhel-Pekudei
Parshas Parah/ Mevorchim
Chodesh Nissan
22 Adar 5778/March 9,
2018
During
shachris and mincha most weekdays, following shemoneh esrei, davening continues
with the recitation of tachanun. Perhaps the most under-appreciated section of
davening, tachanun is an intense supplication. We begin the prayer by resting
our head on our arm (if in the presence of a Sefer Torah), then sit upright,
and conclude by standing. It is as if we are declaring that we have done all we
can in our efforts to pray, and have nothing left except place ourselves in the
Hands of G-d and await His salvation.
During any
day deemed a holiday, or when a joyous event takes place in the shul such as a
b’ris, or if there is a chosson present during davening, in deference to the
more festive atmosphere, tachanun is omitted. During those occasions, there are
almost joyous shouts from the congregation to the chazzan calling out “kaddish!”
or “yisgadal!” as soon as he concludes his repetition of shemoneh esrei,
reminding him that tachanun is to be skipped that day.
There are specific
dates enumerated in Shulchan Aruch when tachanun is universally omitted. There
are a few additional occasions which are mentioned by other major halachic
authorities - such as the Aruch Hashulchan - when certain congregations also
omit tachanun.
Chassidim
however, have quite a few more days when they customarily omit tachanun. Two of
those times are the sixteenth and seventeenth of Adar. Shulchan Aruch states
that we do not recite tachanun on the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar - Purim
& Shushan Purim. But it seems strange to also omit tachanun during the
following two days?
One of my
rabbeim explained to me the rationale for their custom: The Gemara in Megilla
discusses which days, aside from Purim, it is permitted for certain communities
to read Megillas Esther. The Gemara proposes “perhaps it can also be read on
the sixteenth and seventeenth of Adar?” The Gemara refutes that proposal based
on a pasuk in the megillah.
In Talmudic
lexicon a “hava amina” (not to be confused with ‘hava nageela’
which is played during many American baseball games…) is a logical suggestion presented
in the gemara, which is then debated. If it withstands all challenges and is
accepted as fact, it becomes the “maskana” the final conclusion. Often a
talmudic discussion will contain numerous hava aminas, before arriving at a
maskana.
My rebbe
explained that the chassidim reason “fahr a hava amina ohych nisht zuggen tachanun”.
The mere fact that there is a hava amina proposed in the gemara to omit
tachanun on the sixteenth and seventeenth of Adar, is sufficient reason to
consider the day a minor holiday.
Although when
I first heard the explanation, I thought it was rather humorous, there is a
great insight contained in their custom.
In the
beloved Purim song, Shoshanas Yaakov, we sing “cursed is Haman who tried to
destroy me”. Haman was unable to execute his nefarious plan, and yet he remains
a perpetual villain because of his hava amina. His wife Zeresh too is cursed
because she was the enabler of his failed hava amina.
When analyzing
Mordechai’s approach we wonder what his hava amina was. He was aware that the
verdict was signed and sealed in the celestial courts. Yet he went beyond
normal hope and effected an incredible wave of teshuva and unparalleled
celebration.
Purim is
therefore, a holiday that symbolizes the power of a hava amina - for good and
for bad!
A hava
amina, even if farfetched, demonstrates some level of connection. The fact that
there still is a hava amina about reading the Megillah on the sixteenth and
seventeenth of Adar demonstrates that it is still within the throes of Purim. After
all, there is no hava amina that one can read the megilla in the middle of
August.
In life,
one can only accomplish things when there first is a hava amina. If one has no
confidence in his own abilities, he won’t have a hava amina about being
successful, and he’ll never get there. All accomplishments begin with a hava
amina. Google, Facebook, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and some of the other most
lucrative businesses today started in garages, as humble hava aminas.
I remember
once reading about a black slave in the 1800s that was asked whether he hoped
for freedom. He replied that he didn’t even know what that meant. He simply
didn’t even posses the ability to have a hava amina for better times.
One of the
greatest deficiencies of exile is the inability to overcome its confines and
restrictiveness. Mesillas Yesharim notes that during the Egyptian servitude, Pharaoh
successfully ensured that his hapless slaves were so overworked and utterly
drained that they had no hope of revolution. By ensuring that the Jews had no
hava aminas, Pharaoh ensured that they would never revolt. It took the Power of
G-d to destroy the will of Pharaoh and to infuse within the nation the hope and
striving for greatness.
Every major
revolution in history - including the French, Russian, American, and Israel in
1948 - was precipitated by individuals who dreamed, and were able to make those
dreams a reality, despite the dangers and challenges of doing so. It was the
“hava aminas” of those dreamers that brought about the eventual change.
Everything
starts with a hava amina; without a hava amina there can never be a maskana.
We have to
have hava aminas about the great people we can become and the great things we
can accomplish. Then we have to have the tenacity to strive for the maskana!
Shabbat
Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum