Community Magazine March 2003

10 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE T oday, much of Israel is quite anxious over the impending war with Iraq and the mood among the people is tense. Perhaps the most controversial and distressing aspect of the looming conflict is the possible use of chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons. Israel's response should be clear; the lessons of Purim teach us that in such situations, the only option is to pre- empt with our own unconventional weapons. Purim has two unique characteristics that we do not find any- where else. No other holiday transforms the entire month in which it falls into a time of joy. Even Pesah and Shavuot, which com- memorate freedom from 400 years of bondage and Hashem's granting of the Torah, respectively, do not have this attribute. Why does Purim turn the whole month of Adar to happiness? The sec- ond question we must ask is: why was the holiday named Purim? The names of every other holiday express the central reason and nature of the festival; for example, Passover, because Hashem passed over the Jewish homes while carrying out the final plague, Shavuot connotes the seven weeks that we count from Passover, Succot signifies the booths in which we sit for seven days, and so on. On Purim, the miracle was that the Jews were saved from being annihilated, yet it is named after the "pur" referring to the method Haman used to decide on which day to kill the Jews. Why is such a minor part of the story, a peripheral detail, used as the singular name of the holiday? Both Haman and king Ahashverosh were G-d fearing fiends. When Haman told Ahashverosh of his plan to kill the Jews, Ahashverosh's only reservation was that the mighty G-d of Israel would prevent them from succeeding. Haman assured the king "yeshno am echad" which can be interpreted "the nation has gone to sleep [from the mitzvot]". Only with the confidence that Hashem would not come to their aid were Ahashverosh and Haman convinced that they could destroy the Jews. But even after securing the king's permission, Haman did not set out against the Jews immediately. He went through the delib- erate process of choosing a specific day in which to carry out his plot. Why? Wasn't he worried that something may happen within that time which could interfere with his plan? Haman was extremely patient and his fear of the G-d of Israel ran deep. Believing that timing was critical to the success of his objective, he attempted to use a technique employed by another scourge of the Jews, Bilaam the wicked. The Gemara says that Bilaam was a true prophet. It is written that he had knowledge of Hashem (Yodea Daat Elyon). The Gemara explains that each day there is a short moment when Hashem is angry and only Bilaam knew the exact instant of this brief fury. Bilaam used that knowledge, waiting for the precise moment when he knew Hashem would be angry, to curse the Jews. However, his ploy failed. On those days, Hashem did not get angry, as it says "Ma ekov lo kava Kel, ma ezom lo zaam Kel" "How can I curse if Hashem didn't curse, how can I get angry if Hashem didn't get angry". Although Ahashverosh approved Haman's plan during the month of Nissan, Haman knew this to be the month of redemption for the Jews. So he endeavored to identify the Jewish nation's "unluckiest" month so he could carry out his plan during that time. Adar stood out as the most inauspicious for Israel. It had no fes- tivals or holidays and was the month in which Moses passed away. He then selected what he believed to be the unluckiest day, seven days after the passing of Moses. Indeed Haman's diabolical plan may have worked, however when Mordechai and Esther heard the decree, they unleashed Israel's unconventional weapons. Declaring a fast for three days - even though it coincided with Pesah (he reasoned "If Israel is no more why do we need Pesah?"), Mordechai rallied the Jews to atone for their sins, pray to Hashem and return to Torah. Sure enough, the Jews reversed the decree, and on the 13th of Adar (Taanit Esther) the Jews decisively defeated their enemies, and switched the "sad and unlucky" month of Adar to joyful and fortu- nate. This is why the entire month of Adar is a happy time and why the name of the holiday is connected to Haman's method of selecting the day. Clearly the greater message of this chronicle is the realization that Israel is the sole proprietor of the only true unconventional weapons in existence. Not chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, but the exceedingly more potent Torah and mitzvoth. The only vulnerability of the Jewish people is distance from the Torah. The new advent of the Palestinians, a cruel group that can- not even be considered a nation because they lack any measure of civility - targeting women and children, is a result of Israel's diver- gence from the mitzvot. Already synagogues and yeshivot are fill- ing with people who have awakened to the threats around us. If the Jewish nation continues on the path of reawakening to Torah and mitzvot, the threats around us will surely disappear. Preempting With Unconventional Weapons E D I T O R I A L B Y : H A C H A M D A V I D Y O S E F S H L I T A s ” xc CM