“RABBI’S MUSINGS (&
AMUSINGS)”
Shushan Purim
Erev Shabbos Kodesh
Parshas Tzav
15 Adar II 5779/March 22,
2019
Everyone wants to know the secret to wisdom. I can’t share it
with you, because then it wouldn’t be a secret any more. (To be fair, that
statement isn’t necessarily true. Everyone wants to know the secret to wealth.
Only some people want to know the secret to wisdom...)
Our sages tell us that a wise person is one who contemplates the ramifications of his actions. He doesn’t just look at the here and now, but he thinks through the long-term effects of his decisions before proceeding.
Our sages tell us that a wise person is one who contemplates the ramifications of his actions. He doesn’t just look at the here and now, but he thinks through the long-term effects of his decisions before proceeding.
I think about this often during my morning commute to Teaneck.
Although from Monsey to Teaneck, the most direct route is with the Garden State
Parkway to Route 17 to Route 4, during the morning there is often building
residual traffic from the George Washington Bridge on Route 4 that would cost a
few extra minutes. Therefore, most mornings I come with the Palisades Parkway.
Doing so means driving past Teaneck all the way to the George Washington
Bridge, before getting onto Route 4 and traveling west for a few miles.
Just before the GWB, the road splits. For a few feet the
lanes run parallel, but then the lane to the right lead to the tolls, after
which the road leads directly onto the bridge. To the left the road continues
back into New Jersey.
It’s striking that the sudden split in the road leads to two
different worlds. One leads into Manhattan - skyline, congestion, city traffic,
and all, while the other leads back into rural New Jersey.
Throughout sefer Mishlei, Shlomo Hamelech contrasts the fool with the wise man. According to the wisest of men, the fool doesn’t refer to one with limited intellectual capacities, but rather one who doesn’t think through the consequences of his actions. The fool lives in the moment, driven by the now, and doesn’t contemplate the long-term ramifications of his actions. A wise person on the other hand, weighs his options and proceeds with caution, making a calculated decision that he feels is his best recourse in the moment and for the foreseeable future.
Throughout sefer Mishlei, Shlomo Hamelech contrasts the fool with the wise man. According to the wisest of men, the fool doesn’t refer to one with limited intellectual capacities, but rather one who doesn’t think through the consequences of his actions. The fool lives in the moment, driven by the now, and doesn’t contemplate the long-term ramifications of his actions. A wise person on the other hand, weighs his options and proceeds with caution, making a calculated decision that he feels is his best recourse in the moment and for the foreseeable future.
The Purim story contains the story of a fool and a wise man.
The fool is Achashveirosh, a man driven by lust, temper, paranoia, and ego. In
a fit of rage, he executes his wife, and at a later point his highest-ranking
minister. He agrees to genocide of a nation of loyal tax payers because of deep
enmity. Then he makes an about-face and humiliates his prime minister, forcing
him to lead his archenemy on a massive parade through the streets of the
capital. His only credential for queen is exterior beauty that he ascertains
through an intimate relationship. Knowing that he usurped the throne by killing
his adversaries, he lives in fear that the same will happen to him.
Achashveirosh’s decisions are dictated by his whims and emotional temperature
at any given time. He lives for now, without considering how it will affect
tomorrow.
Mordechai is the polar opposite of Achashveirosh. His every
decision is made with forethought and equanimity, even in the face of crisis.
When all the citizens of Shushan are invited to a royal feast, he sees through
the veneer, and warns the Jews that this is a sinister event. Although it seems
that the party is a celebration of the consolidation of the king’s monarchy, Mordechai
recognizes that in truth it’s a celebration of the fact that the rebuilding of
the Bais HaMikdash has been halted and the Jews would languish in exile.
When Esther is taken to the palace, he exhorts her not to
reveal her identity. He isn’t exactly sure why, but he senses that secrecy is
necessary for what will occur later on.
When the evil decree was dispatched, and the nation could have been reduced to panic and terror, Mordechai remains a voice of reason and equanimity. He is able to rally the nation to mass repentance until the decree was annulled.
When the evil decree was dispatched, and the nation could have been reduced to panic and terror, Mordechai remains a voice of reason and equanimity. He is able to rally the nation to mass repentance until the decree was annulled.
Our greatest mishaps happen in moments of weakness when we
get lost in the moment, and don’t think about later on. How many arguments and
fights result from someone jumping to conclusions or allowing even justified
frustration to consume him?
Conversely, our greatest moments come when we retain our
composure during the most difficult and trying moments.
Purim celebrates the victory of self-control over the lack of
self-control, a holiday of wisdom triumphing over folly, of emotional strength
over emotional weakness.
Often two paths may set out along the same route and run
parallel to each other at the beginning. The wise man looks ahead to see where
the road will lead and has the self-control to maintain his direction along
that path until he successfully arrives at his destination of choice. Even when
the path he chooses is the road less traveled he is undeterred and undaunted!
“And Mordechai will not kneel and will not bow!”
Freilichen Purim & Purim sameiach
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum