“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Tetzvaeh
10 Adar I 5782/February 11, 2022
Week of Purim Katan
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לרפואה שלימה נטע יצחק בן רחל
JOY ON DEMAND
These
days you can order almost anything and have it delivered to your door, in a
relatively short amount of time.
Unfortunately,
emotions don’t work that way. A person can’t just snap his fingers and feel differently.
If anyone could, and knew how to teach that to others, he would become rich
very quickly.
What
then is the meaning behind the beloved words of the Gemara that when Adar enters,
we increase joy? What is the source and objective of the added joy?
Zev
meets his friend Ari after not seeing him in some time. After catching up a
bit, Zev tells Ari that he is on his way to an upscale wedding, and he invites
Ari to come with him so they could continue schmoozing. Ari is hesitant because
he doesn’t know anyone there. But Zevi convinces him that it will be a wedding
worth attending.
Indeed,
the wedding was an affair to remember. The decor, food, band, and energetic
dancing were simply incredible. As they are leaving Zevi asks Ari if he’s happy
that he came. Ari replies that although it was a beautiful event, he would
rather have not come. He explains that aside from the fact that he wasn’t
invited to the wedding, aside for Zevi, he didn’t know anyone else who was
there. Although everything was magnificent, he felt out of place all night
long. When one knows he doesn’t belong he can’t truly enjoy being there.
Throughout
the year, many people feel they don’t measure up and, therefore, don’t deserve
to be counted among certain other Jews. They feel like they’re not holy enough
to sit in the succah, don’t deserve to be redeemed from their personal exiles,
and their acceptance of the Torah leaves something to be desired.
On Purim
however, no Jew can feel that he/she doesn’t belong or doesn’t have a right to
celebrate.
I’ll
prove it:
Imagine
Haman (Hitler) is walking down a dark alleyway and sees a Jewish teenager
hanging out there engaging in negative behaviors. Haman immediately draws his
sword to kill the young Jew. The Jew looks at Haman and says, “I think you’ve
got the wrong guy. You see Haman, I’m not a very good Jew. I don’t daven or
learn much and I haven’t put on tefillin in months. But I have some friends who
learn a lot of Torah and daven with a lot of concentration. Those are the guys
you really want!”
What
would Haman reply?
Undoubtedly,
he would laugh and say that he doesn’t have the wrong person at all. “If you’re
a Jew, then you are vermin of the earth and are to blame for all the world’s
problems, and, therefore, must be destroyed.”
Purim celebrates
v’nahapoch hu, the uncanny turnabout of events. When Haman’s decree was
overturned, whoever was slated to be killed by the decree, had the right to
celebrate. If we would’ve been killed solely because we are Jews, then we have
the right to celebrate solely because we are Jews!
Haman
taught us that there is something unique about every Jew simply because we are
privileged to be part of the eternal people. Haman viewed every one of us as
vile and evil. But we understand that our uniqueness makes us special.
When
Adar enters and the holiday of Purim appears on the horizon, we feel a sense of
joy because we recognize that this holiday and celebration is personal. No
matter what negative things we have done or how derelict we have been in our
observance, Purim speaks to us on a personal level.
True, we
cannot be happy on demand. But if we contemplate and reflect upon the essence
of the holiday, it’s impossible that we won’t be uplifted. Thus does the Gemara
state that when Adar enters - enters into our hearts and minds - we feel a
surge of joy.
Shabbat
Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum