Purim – New beginnings: A blog about spirituality, chaplaincy and renewal

Post 200 – Bridging Purim to Pesach

Continuing with the theme from my most recent post based on Rebbe Nachman’s thought, Purim 2, the relationship of Purim to Pesach, I want to offer a connection between the two days that will build a bridge between our celebrations today and the upcoming preparation and celebration of Passover in a month. I have been reflecting all day on the contrast between Purim and Pesach in how we see Gd’s role in our lives.

One of the interesting things about Megillat Esther is that Gd is missing from the text. This is the only biblical work in which Gd doesn’t make an appearance. The historian in me particular finds this fascinating as there are other versions and parts to Esther in which Gd is again to be found (see the article The Other Side of Esther for one perspective on this historical approach). The rabbi and spiritual coach in me finds Gd’s absence to be in line with the traditional suggestion of how we are to read Esther as a story in which Gd is hidden but always behind the scenes, a lesson about how not “seeing” Gd’s hand doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

Contrast this to Passover, in which Gd becomes the main character of the Seder night. The Haggadah is a rabbinic compilation of Gd’s story of rescuing the children of Israel from slavery. Moses is not mentioned except in one offhandedly quoted verse towards the latter half of the main, story section of the Haggadah. Gd is as revealed to us as we could possibly imagine, with the theme of the night being that Passover night is the Leil Shimurim, the night of protection. This is the night when nothing can harm us. Spiritually, this is the night we come to recognize that all that does occur has Gd’s involvement.

As such, if we think about how the two days of Purim and Pesach relate, it is in the dual way we experience spirituality and the Divine in our lives. Many times we have periods in our lives when things will happen that seem to be chance, out of sync, leading us along a journey we cannot figure out. We have no roadmap, no clear sense of what is going on. It is in those times when we struggle to maintain faith that things are moving along a path for a purpose. We can’t see the bigger picture. That is, we can’t see it until we can step back and reveal to ourselves how a variety of choices and events lead us to this moment. It is in that discovery when we can see Gd behind the scenes, we can experience that faith we have been struggling to feel. Purim is the hidden, the chaos, the sense of the random. Pesach is that moment when things become crystal clear, when we see what led us to where we are.

As we wrap up our celebration of Purim and begin the month long arduous journey to the celebration of the Israelites emergence from slavery to freedom, Passover, may we make this is a time of working towards revealing the seemingly hidden in our lives.

Are you struggling with your spiritual growth? Faith? Feeling lost in the midst of the journey of life? Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Rebbe Nachman’s Advice # 15 – Purim 2 – the relationship of Purim to Pesach

Tonight we celebrate Purim. We celebrate this day with four rituals:

Reading Megillat Esther at night and during the day
Mishloah Manot – sending gifts of food to friends
Matanot L’Evyonim – giving food/money to those less fortunate to be able to celebrate Purim
Seudat Purim – A special celebratory meal on the day

These four mitzvot speak to the joy of survival, remembering through reading, celebrating with food, connecting to others and caring for others. Interestingly, there is a fifth mitzvah of Purim, though not directly related to Purim. The Shulchan Aruch states:

שואלים בהלכות פסח קודם לפסח שלשים יום

We learn the halakhot of Pesach for 30 days before Pesach.
429:1

Since Purim is 30 days before Pesach, we would therefore need to start the study of laws of Pesach on Purim. There are various connections between the two holidays, from the idea that the crucial moments of Megillat Esther took place around Passover, to the common theme of the two days of going from persecution to freedom. Perhaps we can argue that by studying about Pesach on Purim, we bring those two days together.

Another way to look at this is the following from Rebbe Nachman:

פּוּרִים הוּא הֲכָנָה לְפֶסַח. עַל־יְדֵי מִצְווֹת שֶׁל פּוּרִים זוֹכִין לִהְיוֹת נִשְׁמָרִין מֵחָמֵץ בְּפֶסַח: (לק”ת סי’ ע”ד)

Purim is a preparation for Pesach. Through the mitzvah of Purim we are protected from chametz on Pesach (Likutey Moharan II, 74)

The mitzvot of Purim that Rebbe Nachman is referring to are the four primary commands of the day. Through the remembering, celebrating with food, connecting to others and caring for others. we are showing that we are not selfish, filled with “leaven” a symbol of arrogance. There is a trope in mystical thought that part of our mission before Passover is to remove our spiritual chametz, our arrogance. Through celebrating with others and making sure others can celebrate, we begin the process of removing the husk of seeing the world just through our eyes. We put ourselves in relationship with others, which requires a certain basic humility. And we show this by beginning our reflections about Pesach on Purim, literally bridging the two days together.

On this Purim, may we experience the joy of the day and may this celebration be the opening steps to a deep and meaningful Passover preparation season.

Rebbe Nachman’s Advice # 14 – Purim – Joyfulness overcomes the harshness of life

In about 24 hours, we will be celebrating Purim. Purim is a joyous holiday, celebrating the events described in Megillat Esther. For Rebbe Nachman, the joy we put into celebrating this holiday goes much further than merely lifting our spirits. It has a deeper meaning, as we see in his words below:

א. עַל־יְדֵי שִׂמְחַת פּוּרִים בְּהַמְחָאַת כַּף וְרִקּוּדִין, עַל־יְדֵי זֶה מַמְשִׁיכִין בְּחִינַת קַבָּלַת הַתּוֹרָה בְּנִגְלֶה וְנִסְתָּר, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת הֶאָרָה הַנִּפְלָאָה שֶׁל מָרְדְּכַי וְאֶסְתֵּר, וְזוֹכִין לְקַיֵּם מִצְוַת סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר כָּרָאוּי, וּמַכְנִיעִין קְלִפּוֹת הָמָן עֲמָלֵק יִמַּח שְׁמָם. וְנִתְבַּטֵּל הַגַּאֲוָה וְהָעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְהַכְּפִירוֹת, וְנִמְשָׁךְ אֱמוּנָה גְּדוֹלָה וְחָכְמָה דִּקְדֻשָּׁה וְחַיִּים וַאֲרִיכוּת יָמִים, וּמַמְתִּיקִין כָּל הַדִּינִים וְנִתְבַּטְּלִין כָּל הַגְּזֵרוֹת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל: (לק”א סי’ י’ אות ח’ ט’)

Our joy and clapping and dancing on Purim make us worthy of receiving the Torah in its two aspects, revealed and hidden. For the great revelation that came about through Mordechai and Esther was “receiving the Torah.” Through this we are able to fulfill the mitzva of counting the Omer in the proper way. The kelipah of Haman the Amalekite (may his name be blotted out) is crushed. The force of pride, idolatry and atheism is broken. Great faith, holy wisdom and true life and length of days are brought into the world. The severity of God’s harsh judgements is sweetened, and all the harsh decrees against Israel are revoked (10:8).

From my perspective, to understand Rebbe Nachman’s words, we must first look back on a passage from the Talmud in tractate Shabbat (88a) which claims the holiday of Purim as a second opportunity for the Jewish nation to accept upon itself the fulfillment of the Torah, this time out of free will.

״וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ בְּתַחְתִּית הָהָר״, אָמַר רַב אַבְדִּימִי בַּר חָמָא בַּר חַסָּא: מְלַמֵּד שֶׁכָּפָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת הָהָר כְּגִיגִית, וְאָמַר לָהֶם: אִם אַתֶּם מְקַבְּלִים הַתּוֹרָה מוּטָב, וְאִם לָאו — שָׁם תְּהֵא קְבוּרַתְכֶם. אָמַר רַב אַחָא בַּר יַעֲקֹב: מִכָּאן מוֹדָעָא רַבָּה לְאוֹרָיְיתָא. אָמַר רָבָא: אַף עַל פִּי כֵן הֲדוּר קַבְּלוּהָ בִּימֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, דִּכְתִיב: ״קִיְּמוּ וְקִבְּלוּ הַיְּהוּדִים״ — קִיְּימוּ מַה שֶּׁקִּיבְּלוּ כְּבָר

The Gemara cites additional homiletic interpretations on the topic of the revelation at Sinai. The Torah says, “And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lowermost part of the mount” (Exodus 19:17). Rabbi Avdimi bar Ḥama bar Ḥasa said: the Jewish people actually stood beneath the mountain, and the verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, overturned the mountain above the Jews like a tub, and said to them: If you accept the Torah, excellent, and if not, there will be your burial. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: From here there is a substantial caveat to the obligation to fulfill the Torah. The Jewish people can claim that they were coerced into accepting the Torah, and it is therefore not binding. Rava said: Even so, they again accepted it willingly in the time of Ahasuerus, as it is written: “The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them” (Esther 9:27), and he taught: The Jews ordained what they had already taken upon themselves through coercion at Sinai.

Rebbe Nachman suggests one element of celebrating with joy on Purim is to reenact our recommitment to Torah out of our desire and effort, not out of a fear of negative consequences if we didn’t. This is exemplified in the mitzvah of counting the Omer, which is the counting to the celebration of the revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai, the moment of the revealed Torah. Yet we know we cannot live with the revealed alone, with just the surface. We must work to see and accept the hidden. This is a core component of Purim, in that Gd is hidden (not mentioned in the biblical version of the story) and yet we come to reaffirm our acceptance of Torah and Gd.

When we rejoice, we break the hold of darkness that so often plagues us collectively and individually. We sweeten the harshness and find we see the world with our positive sight instead of our negative sight. When we rejoice, we reveal what is often hidden, which is the happiness, contentment and joy of our lives. The darkness easily overtakes the light and so we need to put in the effort to turn that around.

In working with people on their spiritual challenges and fostering spiritual growth, part of my role is to help bring out that which is hidden, making it into something revealed. Once we reveal the hidden, the depth of what we want, we can then begin to plan and implement the changes we want to make in our lives.

May this Purim be a time of bringing forth the hidden in our lives, bringing positive feelings to the surface and breaking the hold of the darkness which is hindering our true growth.

Purim 2022/5782 – Incomplete Joy/Complete Joy

Tonight begins the holiday of Purim, which focuses on the story told in Megillat Esther, set in Persia approximately 2500 years ago. Purim is a festive, fun, topsy turvy day, celebrating Jewish survival from the midst of an evil, genocidal decree. The victory and survival bring about a tremendous sense of relief and joy. This is best described in Esther 8:16:

לַיְּהוּדִ֕ים הָֽיְתָ֥ה אוֹרָ֖ה וְשִׂמְחָ֑ה וְשָׂשֹׂ֖ן וִיקָֽר׃

The Jews enjoyed light and gladness, happiness and honor.

Yet, if we take the story as a whole, something is missing. The book of Esther ends with the Jews in the same place as they were at the beginning, remaining under King Ahasuerus’s rule in Persia instead of returning to Israel and rebuilding the Second Temple. In fact, the story ends with the anti-climatic moment of the Ahasuerus placing a tax upon all who live in his land, showing how surviving a genocidal decree doesn’t mean being free from the whims of weak leadership and potential oppression. How can we celebrate while also sitting with this sense of incompleteness?

I would like to suggest that celebration is warranted, even if the story seems incomplete. In the moment of triumph, we can feel a tremendous burden lifted off our shoulders, leading to a sense of exhilaration or a sense of relief. I contend most of us can find many experiences in our lives where this sense of relief in the moment might even lead us to a temporary happiness.

For the Jews of Shushan, surviving Haman’s decree provided this sense of relief. As such, they celebrated their newly found “new lease on life.” Their celebration was one of communal care and support, guaranteeing all could celebrate through the giving of Mishloah Manot (gifts to friends) and Matanot L’Evyonim (gifts to the poor). Subsequently, this celebration was established as a yearly practice, as being able to celebrate Purim was proof of continued survival, and the importance to taking the time to reflect on the moment.

At the same time, 2500 years later, with the fortune of hindsight, we are led to question what were the long term gains of this survival. They continued to be under foreign rule. Eventually, the lightness, the relief goes away, and the reality of life returns, with all its trials and tribulations. Yet, by establishing Purim, we are acknowledging the value in celebrating even a good that might not be complete, recognizing that it is right to celebrate momentary victories even when they remain incomplete.

This is a fundamental life lesson. While keeping the end goal in front of us is important to our journeys, if we don’t take stock in the middle, enjoying the pieces of the story each of us is writing, then we miss opportunities to reinvigorate and reinvest ourselves in our growth. May this Purim be a reminder of the importance of taking the time to celebrate the steps along the path the goals we have set for ourselves.

Updated from the piece I originally wrote here:

Find the joy in the steps along the path to change. Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com