KabbalaOnline.org Purim 5783 Holiday Mailing
KabbalaOnline.org Purim 5783 Holiday Mailing
B”SD
ASCENT 2 HaAri Street, POB 296, SAFEDIsrael
ph-077-360-1100, fax-+972-4-692-1942, http://www. ascentofsafed.com
Holiday
Mailing List issue #277 — PURIM 5783
Subscriptions: http://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=Subscrib
; Feedback:
editor@ascentofsafed.com
1. “Lots and Gallows”
2. “Drinking on Purim
3. Electronic Megillah Readings
4. “Esther’s Secret of Success”
5. “Is G-d Missing?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. “Lots and Gallows”
“Thus these days were named Purim based on the word pur.”
The fundamental miracle of Purim was the lottery. Although a lottery is above
the system of Worlds where darkness matches light, nevertheless even in respect
to the lottery itself, Jewish souls were chosen.
Haman’s evil scheme was frustrated. “They hung Haman and
his sons on the gallows.” And they were hanged on the very “gallows that he had
prepared for Mordechai.” That is, Haman was hanged in the
realm of Infinity, which is above the system of
Worlds! (Lubavitcher Rebbe]
One secret of the success of the Jewish people is “Love your
fellow[Jew] as yourself.” Whenever Jews sitting together swallow a sip of hard
liquor, immediately “when wine enters, secrets emerge,” so the love between
them is strengthened. This is the secret of the drinking on Purim. Haman
accused us of being “a separated, scattered people,” without unity. Each
year we disprove him as we gather and solidify our unity. Great is the drinking
of Purim, for it draws our hearts close to each other! [Rebbe of Vorka]
3. Electronic Megillah (from Ascent Quarterly #41) Readings
We cannot fulfill our obligation to hear the reading of the Scroll
of Esther (or any other mitzvah that requires hearing words) by hearing it
over a loud-speaker, radio, television or telephone. These devices all change
the human voice to an electric current or electro-magnetic waves, transmit it,
and then reconstruct it back into voice. As far as Jewish Law is concerned, the
Megillah must be heard read by a human voice, while in these processes, the
human voice has been essentially changed and therefore is being heard only
indirectly.
According to current scientific understanding, the voice of a
person is heard through mechanical vibrations formed in the air, which may also
seem indirect. The energy of the sound waves travels through the air, vibrating
the particles until the vibration reaches the ear. But air is a tangible
substance according to Jewish Law; particles of matter are actually vibrating.
The movement of electromagnetic waves or electric current, however, doesn’t
involve anything tangible.
If, however, the listener uses a device that mechanically
amplifies the sound without transforming it into something else first, he does
fulfill his obligation.
It is acceptable, however, to respond Amen to a blessing
heard over a live broadcast (even though no mitzvah is fulfilled through
this hearing). In this case it is not hearing a voice that is primary, but
responding Amen at the moment the blessing is concluded. We know this
from the synagogue in Alexandria described in the Talmud that was so big,
signal flags had to be waved for people in the rear sections to know when to
say Amen.
But why would anyone want to hear Megillat Esther over the
radio? Go for a live reading. It is a big mitzvah. Also, the atmosphere can be
quite inspiring, as well as exciting and entertaining. Doing so will also make
it easier to fulfill the many other pleasurable mitzvahs of the day – Happy
Purim!
Rabbi Yosef Gackon writes, concerning Esther’s three-day fast,
that Esther [in fasting for exactly three days] had the following kabbalistic
intention. Namely, that three days and nights contain seventy-two hours,
and “B’chen” [“thus”, in 4:16] equals seventy-two numerically [in
letter-gematria], corresponding to the [exalted 72-letter] Name of G-d hinted
in the three verses [that begin], “Vayisa”, “Vayavo”, “Vayet” [Exodus
14:19, 20, 21, each of which contain seventy-two letters precisely]. It
was with the power of this Name that G-d split the [Red] sea and had the
Israelites cross over, and He guided them in His protection and they had no
fear [of the enemy].
From that Name, [the flow of] the Divine life-force comes to
Esther’s supernal [corresponding] sefira; for Esther [as our Sages say]
was greenish in complexion [green is a color associated with the sefira Chesed,
Divine kindness, as the life-flow descends through the upper worlds].
Esther, with the power of these seventy-two hours, approached
[G-d], King of the world, in her prayers; for she was sure of His help [that He
would answer her and save the Jews]. Then, in this [lowly physical]
world, she approached King Ahasuerus.
[Translated and annotated by Carmel Kehati
5. “Is
G-d Missing?”
(by Yrachmiel Tilles from Ascent Quarterly #41)
As a Tsfat writer, I was once asked by a secular Israeli
publication to contribute an article about Kabbalah, Chassidut, meditation,
etc.– all those special elements of Judaism which are identified with Tsfat. I
did so. The feedback was that the mysticism and ‘spirituality’ in it was
excellent, but “there is too much mention of ‘G-d’.”
I could crack a few good jokes here, but I’ll refrain.
Instead, in the spirit of the season, I’ll simply say, if that comment reflects
your feelings too, dear reader, do I have the book for you!
It chronicles a series of events and circumstances that would
seem to have been conspicuously effected by divine intervention, but the name
‘G-d’ is never mentioned. And yet, it is one of the twenty-four books of the
Holy Scripture! Did you figure it out yet?
That’s right. The Scroll of Esther, read publicly evening and
morning on the festival of Purim
[this year: Monday night - Tuesday, March 6-7 (Jerusalem: March
7-8).]
Many reasons have been offered to explain this anomaly. Among
them: perhaps Esther was concerned that her book would not be accepted as Holy
Scripture. Or that when the Persians translated it for their official annals,
they would substitute the name of one of their deities.
But it goes deeper. A main motif of the Megillah is disguise,
things not being what they seem to be. Even the name “Esther” in Hebrew
connotes hiddenness and invokes the theme of G-d’s concealment from us: “Anochi
hastir astir panai - I shall surely hide My face.” [Deut. 31:18].
This is certainly appropriate, as one of the striking things
about the incredible succession of events is how easily (for a biblical book)
they could be rationalized as a series of natural coincidences. Indeed, with
the exception of Esther and Mordechai, it took years until people gained enough
perspective to realize the extraordinary extent of G-d’s involvement.
So, just because you don’t see Him or recognize Him or think of
Him, it doesn’t mean He is not there. That is why in this case I didn’t mind
re-writing the article. The bottom line is: even if G-d is not in the text, He
can never be removed from the picture!
GOOD YOM TOV! — The ASCENT staff
|
Click on
Subscribe to receive any of our free newsletters in your email. |
“I Love You, Ascent!”
is the new online Facebook community for Ascent’s friends and alumni.
It’s free, join us today:
bit.ly/loveascent - interact, have fun, or just hangout! See you
there :)
|
|
|
|
|
Donate here for US tax benefits Donate here for UK tax benefits Donate here for Israel tax benefits |
|
KabbalaOnline.org is a project
of Ascent of Safed |
|
Comments
Post a Comment