“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Pekudei
5 Adar II 5784/ March 15, 2024
PUNCTUATED SALVATION
Is it
possible that our English teacher was right (or correct)? Could it be that
punctuation really does make a difference in life and, in fact, could save
lives?
Many are
familiar with the difference between “Let’s eat Grandma” and “Let’s eat,
Grandma.” The first is a grotesque form of cannibalism while the second depicts
a lovely outing. So, it seems commas indeed save lives.
What if I told you that the Jewish people were in fact
saved by one comma? What if I told you that the whole Purim salvation was based
on one comma? And, no, it’s not because I’m in a state of ad d’lo yada.
The Megillah relates that King Achashveirosh allowed
Haman to dispatch letters to all his provinces allowing the nations “to
destroy, to kill and to wipe out all the Jews” (Esther 3:13). Further in the
Megillah, however, after Haman was killed, Achashveirosh told Mordechai and
Esther to “write concerning the Jews whatever is favorable in your eyes…”
(ibid. 8:8). Mordechai and Esther were enjoined to draft second letters to send
to the provinces, permitting the Jews to defend themselves.
How were
Mordechai and Esther able to overwrite the first edict issued by Achashveirosh
if the law was that a decree could not be rescinded?
A
yeshiva bochur on his way to his best friend’s wedding realizes that, as usual,
he is running late. His best friend’s chuppah is about to begin and he still must
find parking in that notoriously difficult parking area. He says a silent
prayer and pulls onto the block of the hall. To his utter delight, a spot is
available right in front of the wedding hall.
He quickly
pulls in, grabs his hat, and, while simultaneously making his tie, rushes
towards the front entrance. As he is opening the front door, he notices in the
corner of his eye that a cop standing next to his car issuing him a parking
ticket. He turns around and runs back. “Officer, why are you giving me a ticket?”
The cop hardly looks up. “Son, are you blind? Didn’t you see the sign right
there that says, ‘No Parking’?”
The bochur laughs
and shakes his head. “Officer, let me explain. At first, I made the same
mistake as you did. When I first pulled up and saw this perfect spot, I thought
to myself there’s absolutely no way that I can park right here. But then I noticed
the sign here that says, ‘No!’ don’t think you can’t park her. Rather, ‘Parking!’
The sign was actually informing me that I can park here. But you obviously
misread the sign too, Officer.”
What a
difference a comma can make!
Here are some other examples of potential tragedies
that could be averted with the insertion of a comma or two:
·
Jacob
likes cooking his family and his dog.
·
Throw my
wife out the window the keys.
·
Throw my
husband in the oven a slice of pizza.
(Yes, I am aware that the last two
sentences are not grammatically correct anyway.)
In a similar
vein, the Vilna Gaon explains that Mordechai and Esther did not change the
wording of the previous edict, “to destroy, to kill and to wipe out all the
Jews.” Instead, they merely inserted a comma, so that it now read, “to destroy,
to kill and to wipe out all, the Jews.” That one little comma completely
changed the meaning of the decree. Instead of the Jews being the targeted
subjects of the murderous decree, the Jews were now going to be the
promulgators of it.
The
Shalmei Todah further explains that this is what Achashveirosh meant when he
told Mordechai and Esther, “write concerning haYehudim, the Jews
whatever is favorable in your eyes.” They were to write what they found
favorable about the word Yehudim – the Jews mentioned in the original
decree. They did exactly that by adding that fateful comma.
It is not
coincidental that punctuation plays another vital role during this time of
year. In Parshas Zachor, read immediately prior to Purim, we recall what Amalek
did to the Jewish people. We restate our mission to “wipe out the memory of
Amalek from under the heaven” (Devarim 25:19). As prescribed by halacha, due to
the question of how to pronounce the Hebrew word for memory – Zecher –
in the Torah, we read the word in two ways. The word is pronounced with both a tzeirei
and segol to cover all possibilities.
It is most
apropos that the question of one nekudah arises regarding the mitzvah of
eradicating Amalek. It is one nekudah, one dot, that differentiates the
pronunciation between these two words. But that is exactly what Amalek wishes
to destroy. One small dot, symbolizing that one inner spark, the pintele
yid, the pristine Jew, within every Jewish soul. That one nekudah is what
Amalek wishes to extinguish.
Inky Johnson was a top prospect during
a successful college career on the path to stardom in the NFL. In his junior year of
college, he was projected as a top thirty draft pick. On September 9th,
2006, he sustained a life threatening, career-ending injury that paralyzed his
right arm and hand. Since then, Inky has dedicated his life to
motivational speaking and encouragement to always pursue greater goals and
never allow the setbacks of life to impede.
The
following is one of Inky’s messages:
“A comma means there is a pause. The
sentence isn’t over, but there is a need for a space before going on. A period
on the other hand, tells you that the sentence is over.
“Many times in life, we place a period
where G-d intends for us to place a comma.
“When I had my career ending injury
and was told that I was paralyzed on one side and would never play football
again, many people placed a period on my life. They said that I had worked
toward that dream from when I was 8 years old, and now it was shattered, so
there was nothing else for me.
“But I knew that it was a comma and
there was more to come. I knew G-d would not have put me through all that if
there wasn’t something bigger for me in the future. I didn’t know what it was
then, but I knew that the ordeal was a comma and not a period!”
At the time of the Purim story, the
Jewish people feared that their situation was going to be a period, bringing
about the frightening end of their story. In truth, however, the Purim story
became a glorious comma, in the long history of the eternal people. But it was
not just another ordinary comma. Purim reminds us that no matter what
challenges, frustrations, anguish and setbacks we suffer, collectively or individually,
they are commas, and not periods.
During our present time of pain and
challenge for Klal Yisroel, Purim reminds us that Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran
will be a comma in the history of our people.
Just as back then, there will be no permanent
parking for the Jewish people. We will proceed and we will prevail.
“To make known that all those who hope
in You will not be ashamed and all who trust in You will never be humiliated.”
Shabbat Shalom
& Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani
and Chani Staum
stamtorah@gmail.com
