Rabbi's Blog

This Dvar Torah should be a zchus for Yocheved Bas Yitta for a Refuah Sheleima

Every seven out of nineteen years an additional month is added to the lunar calendar; a second Adar is added for the Jewish calendar. This past week was Purim Kattan which falls exactly thirty days before Purim in Adar II in which we celebrate Purim. The Rabbis instituted special preparation for major holidays in order to create the opportunity for all Jews to ask and learn about each of the upcoming holidays that contained specific, detailed Mitzos and special observances. “Shloshim Yom Kodem HaChag Shoalin V’Dorshin B’Hilchos HaChag”, “Thirty days prior to a festival we ask and investigate the laws of the holiday”.

Although Purim is only a minor holiday with relatively few Mitzvos and easy preparation, I would like to introduce a new concept of a thirty-day training in preparation for Purim. In no way am I suggesting that anyone go out and drink every night. This is a meaningful way to ascend to a level of our own greatest height as we approach the day of Purim itself. Purim, a holiday celebrated by encouraging the physical through observance of the particular Mitzvos of the day,  is contrasted to Yom Kippur, a day we are on a spiritual high through depriving ourselves of physical pleasure. For forty days, beginning with the month of Elul through the Ten Days of Repentance, we learn and practice repentance  culminating with the Kol Nidre service of Yom Kippur. Since Purim is known in Rabbinic literature as a day like Yom Kippur, we need to have a program that will lead up to the pinnacle day of Purim.

All Jews has their ups and downs, better and worse, stronger and weaker time periods in their Avodas Hashem, their service to God. I know for myself that there are times I learn better or am able to be more focused on growing as a person in my relationship to Hashem, and there are other times find myself in a rut. It is difficult to maintain that ‘top of the ladder’ position. Typically, we come down a bit and hopefully are able to climb higher than before. It is recommended that we view our spiritual well-being in the form of a heart monitor, seeing the jagged lines going up and down. Rare is the time when the line keeps on going straight up, and it is deathly frightening to see it go straight down. Instead, it goes up and down, as does our spiritual heart monitor. At one point or another each and every one of us accepted and committed to a certain lifestyle of keeping and observing a specific number of Mitzvos and customs.. We were M’Kabel (accepted) a certain level that unfortunately today we may not be living up to. One of the major points of the Purim story which is often overlooked and rarely emphasized was the Jews’ re-commitment to the Torah. In Megillas Esther 9:27 it states: ”Keeyimoo V’Kibloo”  - the Gemara derives Mah She’Kibloo Kvar.  “They fulfilled and accepted” that which they had already accepted, referring to the Torah given at Har Sinai. We have all accepted upon ourselves at one point in our lives - some earlier and others later - to commit to davening, to doing chessed, to watching what we eat, to being more aware of how we act towards each other, to curbing our lashon hora, and the list goes on. I am not here to dictate what people in the community should do, but I do want each and every person to take upon himself the highest level that they were once on and re-accept that level for the next thirty days culminating on the holy day of Purim.

Although the story of the Torah being given was a few weeks ago in Parshas Yisro, we nevertheless see this concept of taking it upon ourselves in this week’s reading as well. In Parshas Ki Sisa we read how Moshe descended from Har Sinai only to witness the Jews worshipping the golden calf. Moshe, in total disgust, took the Luchos and smashed them to the floor almost sending the message that the Jews had rejected that which they accepted earlier. In Shmos 34:1 the Torah states: “Vayomer Hashem El Moshe, P’Sal L’Cha Shnei Luchos Avanim KaRishonim, V’Chasavti Al HaLuchos Es HaDevarim Asher Hayu Al HaLuchos HaRishonim Asher Shibarta”. “God said to Moshe: ‘Carve out two tablets for yourself, just like the first ones. I will write on those tablets the same words that were on the first tablets that you broke’. The Gemara Pesachim 87b states that right before Moshe threw down the Luchos, the Holy letters flew away. Now Hashem tells Moshe those exact letters will be placed upon the second Luchos. The Chid”a – Rav Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulai (1724-1806) in his sefer Chomas Ancha volume 1 page 198 explains the following. It makes sense that Hashem told Moshe ‘and you shall write them ON the Luchos’ and not IN the Luchos, meaning Moshe is  to write and place the letters exactly where they were situated on the first tablets. Those exact, actual letters that flew off immediately prior to the Luchos being smashed were now placed again on the second tablets, overlaying it as a double layer of letters. These letters were  reinforced on the second Tablets.

We have historical precedence that commitments are sometimes broken. Moshe smashed the Tablets which were the ultimate bond and agreement between the Jewish people and Hashem. The tablets ended up broken and unfulfilled. In spite of that, Hashem commands Moshe to re-group, to  get those letters which represent the bond and re-affirm the bond on the new Tablets. God didn’t ask for anything more or less than what was originally there, only that which we announced: Naaseh V’Nishmah - we will do and we will listen.

The Ksav Sofer Reb Avraham Binyomin Sofer writes that the Mitzvos of Mishloach Manos, the sending of food gifts to our friends and neighbors on Purim, is the acceptance of ‘brotherly love’. The Jewish people re-accepted the love that had been lost. The Jews were accused by Haman when he approached Achashveirosh to wipe out a people who are spread out and bickering between each other. This was an indication of a lack of unity, a lack of  love for one another. But what saved the Jewish people was to re-accept the love we had at Har Sinai in order to defeat Haman: Keeymoo V’Kibloo, what they originally had at Har Sinai when we camped as one.

We are launching the Keeyimoo V’Kibloo Project this week, and I am asking every person at his or her own level, every family, to sign up and have a united communal re-acceptance at the highest intensity we’ve ever previously attained. There is no grading system, only  a simple inner self-introspection of where we are in our Jewish life. We will also work on our ‘brotherly love’ and come close to one another as we once were at better times of friendship so that we can once again experience that which we experienced in the past.

Ah Gut Shabbos 

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky