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From The Rebbe's Tish: The Best Mishloach Manot |
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Written by Rav Shmuel Brazil
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 The gemarrah in Megillah 4a states that one is obligated to read the megillah at night and repete it during the day. However when it brings the pessukim to prove this fact, the day reading
precedes the night thereby indicating that the day reading is of greater significance. We will suggest answering this with an explanation of the Maharal in his introduction to the megillah who asks why did our Chachamim require reading the megillah one time at night and one during the day? He answers that two events happened during Purim. One that the Yidden who were in the darkness were now taken out, and secondly that Haman who was in the spot light of power was taken out and killed. The night time reading symbolizes the event where the Yidden were freed from the evil decree, while the day time reading symbolizes how Haman was removed from his high position of power.
We can now understand the importance of the day reading over the night. The night symbolizes our redemption while the day symbolizes the eradication of the chillul Hashem and the uprooting of evil. One reading is of a personal nature for it is all about me while the other is about G-d. When I am able to leave my own personal joy and rejoice over someone else’s redemption, then I have ascended to a greater quality and level of lishma.
The Yidden of Purim were able to attain such a high level as it states Tehllim [86,3] raoo kal afsai aretz ais yeshuas elokainu that the people at the end of the world saw the salvation of our G-d and on which the gemarah in Megillah says that this was fulfilled at the time of Purim. The focus was on the Yeshuas Elokainu the salavation of Hashem and not our salvation. How did this high level of selflessness come about?
Esther was asked to go to the king even though she was not summoned which would result in the penalty of death. She went anyway. She asked from Mordechai to fast for her and that she and all her entourage will do the same. The Tiferes Shlomo of Radamsk explains that we have the whole Am Yisroel in a tzarah gedolah because of the wicked decree of annihilation. Acts of selflessness is a tremendous merit at a time like this. It is therefore that Esther asked Mordechai and all the people of Shushan to fast for her and specifically not for themselves. They should remove all personal feelings of danger from within their hearts and focus on the tzarah of Eshter as she goes into the king’s presence without first being called. Likewise, Esther will put aside her personal danger and think only of the tzara of Klal Yisroel. This is what the passuk means that Me and my assistances will do the same – totally focusing on the other person’s pressing situation not our own.
Dovid Hamelech says in Tehillim [42,2] keayal ta’arog al afikay mayim kain nafshi sa’arog ailecha elokim – as the gazelle cries for water so too may my nefesh yearn for you Elokim. Someone came before the Tzanzer Rebbe and asked for a haskamah in his sefer. The Rebbe opened the manuscripts and came across the following explanation on this passuk. The author of the sefer asked the following question. An ayal is a male but the following verb ta’arog is female which belongs to an ayala. It should have used either all male or all female terminology? The answer is that our Chazal explain that an ayala has two special characteristics. One is that when there is a drought, all the animals approach her and request that she should daven on their behalf to bring down the rain. Another fact of the ayala is that she has very difficult time giving birth because her birth canal is very narrow. During birth she cries out to Hashem in excruciating pain to help her. Now what would happen in the following scenario if both episodes occur simultaneously. With this in mind Dovid Hamelech says she will forget about her own personal tzarah and daven selflessly for others. The ayala - female ignores her true identity and makes herself like a male keaayal as if she is not biologically possible of giving birth so now she can daven taarog for mayim - water to quench the thirst of others who are in agony. So too Dovid Hamelech asked Hashem that he should cry to Hashem in the same manner kain nafshi taarog ailecha and put aside his own tzaras and focus rather on the tzaar Hashem caused by His children being in galus and His kovod being desecrated.
Upon reading this interpretation the Tzanzer Rav excitingly exclaimed I will give you your haskama for this interpretation demonstrates your lofty character. If you were not holding on such a madreaga, you could not have come up with such an explanation.
The ayala demonstrates selflessness to the point where she even forgets her own tzaras and focuses rather on someone else’s. This was Esther Hamalka who also brought about the redemption of Yisreal is this manner. May I suggest that this is the reason why Esther is called ayelet hashachar [Tehillim 22,1 Yuma 29] from the term ayalah. For it was Esther who demonstrated during the yehsuas Purim this recommendable midah of the ayala – selflessness, and brought to all of Yisroel the impetus to reach her same lofty height.
It was because the geulah was brought in this fashion that enabled Yisroel to focus more on the geulah of Hashem rather than on their own personal redemption. Ais Yeshuas Elokainu happened during Purim.
Because of this incredible achdus and unity, they were able to accept the Torah once more as the passuk says Kiyemu vekiblu hayehudim. To accept the Torah there is the prerequisite of achdus as we found by Matan Torah the passuk says vayichan yisrael neged hahar – he camped and not they camped. This comes to teach us as the Chazal say like one person with one heart. On Purim they were able to attain such a requirement.
In the time of Purim there was instituted the mitzvah of mishloach manus eesh leraiahu sending food packages to one’s friend. Each year there is such a competition to come up with novel or shticky ideas. But if you analyze the passuk it says clearly that one must send himself to his friend eesh leraiaihu. Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld remarked even further that the gematria of eesh equals leraiaihu. The message is clear. The measure of the person - the eesh is only to the degree how much he is focused on leraiaihu - his friend. Instead of wrapping your fancy mishloach manos in a ribbon, wrap yourself in a ribbon and send yourself over to your friend with a new commitment to deepen your relationship and love for your fellow Yid. While you are already tying the ribbon, also wrap yourself around the Ribbon Haolam and focus on His tzar that we still remain in galus and the chillul that accompanies it. Ki leeshuasch keevenu kol hayom – for Your yeshuah Hashem we hope the entire day, ours is only secondary.
From Purim we learn that to bring the geulah we have to commit ourselves to doing acts of selfishness, feeling another’s tzarah and being besimcha in another’s simcha. By modeling ourselves after Esther and her mesiras nefesh we will be zoche to see the building of the third mikdash and greet Mashiach in our days!
Freilechen Purim
Gut Shabbos
Rav Brazil
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