TOGETHERNESS

As we come closer to the Yom Tov of Pesach it is well to think of the many messages of inspiration that this Yom Tov imparts to us.  

    The Holiday of Passover is replete with interesting and intriguing ceremonies. First and foremost is the Seder. The significance of the Seder is multifaceted--it bespeaks of the oppression of the Jewish people and it relates in detailed form what it means to be an oppressed nation. 
   The Seder, also, enjoins everyone to participate in the eating of the matzot, marror, and charoset.  In this way every Jew not only speaks of slavery, but symbolically, feels the pangs of slavery and oppression. Thus, the Seder is not just past history, but rather the past recreated. 

   Indeed, Passover is a perennial reminder of ·our freedom, but I believe its modern message speaks eloquently about another matter.

 The word, ‘Geirim’, ‘Strangers^’, is repeated extensively in the Hagaddah and at the Seder. ”We were strangers in Egypt"--- it speaks of the past. And yet, this statement is very contemporary. In my observation of the Jews in America, I sense that we are indeed  strangers to each other and especially within our own families.   Everyone has become individuals and families have lost their unique role of togetherness. The “Jewish Family" needs more interaction and a  greater dialogue with one another.

     It is no mere accident, then, that Passover is celebrated, through the Seder, in which we are enjoined to come together as families. Passover means that we are not to be strangers to each other, that we are not “loners” but rather a part of a larger group, the “Jewish Family”. We are trying to unite once again in bonds of love and affection. 

    Passover is truly a home holiday. For only through the family and the home can we truly have a sense of belonging. 

  This is the message of Passover - a message which bespeaks ‘A Unity of Togetherness.’ 

 I pray that as we approach the holiday of Passover, and sit at our Seder tables together, we may be inspired that this bond of unity, togetherness and love shall be carried over into the rest of the year. 

  

 

 

I AM A JEW

   The story of Purim that will be read this Wednesday night in our synagogue has many intriguing ideas  and most important that it speaks to the modern Jew as well. As we review the  story permit me to focus on the role that Mordechai played in the saving and salvation of the Jewish People.

   Mordechai was approached by the evil Haman who wished to break his spirit by forcing Mordechai to bow down to him and in this way accept his idolatrous practices. As we know Mordechai refused and made a strong statement as to his Judaic belief in the One G-D. He did so with a simple but a truly profound statement  “I am a Jew,” which Rabbi Alshich explained meant that he was of distinguished lineage, one of the exiled officials of Judah. The other officials of the king’s court were incensed by his arrogance. Mordechai was in effect proclaiming himself superior to these mighty and influential barons, claiming he was a prince of G-d. They thereupon reported Mordechai’s comments to Haman.  Mordechai stood his ground and refused to bow down and be subservient to this despot. 

   Why was Mordechai so determined in his ways? The reason is indeed understandable because Mordechai was concerned that the Jewish people had reached the point of complete despair. The feast tendered by Achashvarosh, with which Megillas Esther opens, was according to rabbinic tradition an occasion when the sacred utensils of the Holy Temple were profaned. Achashvarosh wished to impart the unmistakable message that there was no hope of an imminent redemption of the Jews. One can only imagine how demoralized and forlorn our ancestors must have felt under those circumstances. This sense of despair, if left unchecked, could have resulted in wholesale forsaking of our traditions. The Jewish people were thus sorely in need of a strong demonstration of Jewish pride and self-respect. That was Mordechai’s rationale behind his statement to his colleagues: I am a proud member of the Chosen People,"I am a Jew".

       Our Rebbe, Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik tz’l notes: “Purim is a day of introspection and prayerful meditation. Megillas Esther is both a Book of Thanksgiving and a Book of Distress and Petition. The narrative relates two stories, of a people in a terrifying predicament and also of their great exhilaration at their sudden deliverance.”

    Perhaps, in this light, we can understand the comment of the Talmudic sage Rava, that the Jewish people קימו וקבלו, recommitted themselves to Torah observance after the Purim miracle. The Jewish people demonstrated a new-found sense of inner strength and self-worth that was manifest in a renewed commitment to Jewish identity. Along with the revelry, Purim affords us the opportunity to experience a renewed sense of devotion of our sacred traditions.

    May this Purim awaken in all of us  greater sense of loyalty and commitment to Judaism and may we begin  to emulate the exemplary ways of Mordechai and Esther and declare proudly  “I am a Jew”

  Wishing everyone and enjoyable and inspired Purim.

  

PURIM IS ON OUR MINDS

   As we begin the joyous month of אדר שני, I begin to think about the forthcoming holiday of Purim.

   Permit me to share with you a very interesting and thought provoking idea that our Rebbe, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik זצ״ל, reflected upon regarding the Holiday of Purim.

    Rabbi Soloveitchik outlined how the Megillah of Purim was, at first, not intended as part of the Biblical Canon. Initially, the story of Purim was transcribed by Mordechai, and shared far and wide with the Jewish community as an “Igeres”, a letter. 

    Esther wrote another letter, basically, a repetition of Mordechai’s initial request, seeking to establish these days of the 14th and 15th of Adar as Purim, for all times.

   “What did she ask for?” said Rabbi Soloveitchik. “Whatever she wanted had been fulfilled.  Her request for establishment of the holiday was granted.” Esther’s request, he explained, was that this “letter” be elevated to the level of the Holy Books.  Once that happened, the message of Megillat Esther — now one of the books of the Torah — became more powerful and eternal. 

    “An Igeres is a story — a true story,” said Rabbi Soloveitchik. “I don’t want to mitigate the importance of an Igeres. But once the recounted Purim story became an actual Book of the Bible, he continued, there’s a new dimension to the Megillah. The Megillah is, now, part of the Torah. Certain halachot must be derived from the Torah... its relevancy is for to today and for always.”

   Rabbi Soloveitchik shared his philosophy that “any book of the Torah must be a source of Torah knowledge, a source of halachot, of rules of conduct, a source of morality, a source on which one may draw from time to time, when he’s in doubt, in confusion. An Igeres is an historical document, not a source of knowledge.”  Biblical stories, stressed Rabbi Soloveitchik, are not merely stories. There are laws and directions in life to be learned from these narrative moments in the Torah. 

    As Rabbi Soloveitchik approached the conclusion of his lecture, he asked his listeners, “What Jewish law can we learn from the Purim story told in the Book of Esther?”

   There are multiple laws that can be derived, but Rabbi Soloveitchik was searching for the one that stood apart from the others. “The Central Halacha in Megillat Esther,” he answered, “is the duty of the individual to sacrifice his life, if the destiny and the future of the community is at stake.” And someone — in this case Mordechai — may also advise or coerce him/her to give his/her life if it will save the people.

       Rabbi Soloveitchik seems to suggest that Esther’s determination to have “Her” book, included in the Biblical Canon, went beyond a formal recognition of the salvation afforded the Jewish People. Her major intent may have been that her personal sacrifice — where she gave of her life, and could have in fact lost her life — would be conveyed to the generations as a proper approach for each Jew to take when they have the unique opportunity to act on behalf of their People. After all, the other halachot observed during the holiday, show Purim to be a celebration of Jewish connection, shared fate and shared fortune.

    May this Purim bring salvation to the Jewish people throughout the world and may we be Blessed with a lasting and permanent peace for the State of Israel.