Description: Purim 07
Sichos Rav Shimshon Pincus
Purim 07
Let’s finally get back to the questions we started with. Why is it that Purim seems to be the goal, the highest point on the ladder of all the Moadim of the year? Why is it that the simchah on Purim is so different than the simchah we are obligated in by all the Moadim? Why on Purim do we need to drink to the point of ‘ad delo yadah,’ where we lose rational thought in our extreme simchah?
Our goal in Avodas Hashem is to achieve full reliance on Hashem. Bitachon, in its purest form, where we truly rely on Hakadosh Baruch Hu and don’t try to control anything ourselves. When we fly on an airplane we rely totally on the pilot. We are helpless! We don’t try to help steer or land, we don’t think there’s anything we can do. We just sit back and try to sleep! That’s what bitachon is. If we were to take a similar approach in real life, when we are faced with a difficult financial situation, and we managed to pull through one year somehow. But we have no clue how we will manage the next year. If we sit back and let Hashem do His work – we would sleep the way we do on an airplane! The same way Hashem made it happen the first time, He is fully capable the second. But we convince ourselves that we have to pitch in. We think that our input is necessary. Real bitachon is when we hand over the reins to Hashem, (and whatever hishtadlos we do is just so that it doesn’t appear as if we are relying on a nais.)
This is how Purim is the tachlis, the pinnacle of the year. On Pesach we learn emunah, on Shavuos it’s a time to learn Torah, on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur it’s time for teshuvah, and Sukkos is for devaikus in Hashem, and Chanukah is for miracles. After all these lessons, after we have achieved a level of understanding in our relationship of Hashem, appreciation for what it is, and connection to Hashem, can we reach the level of Bitachon that Purim teaches us.
The word ‘Purim’ means ‘pur’, which is a lottery. What is the nature of a lottery, a gorel? Whoever takes the ticket out of the bucket has no idea which number will come up. He is assuming its pure luck and random chance. In this way, it’s the direct hand of Hashem, without any other force mixed in. When Haman made his lottery, he understood that there’s no natural way for him to destroy the Jews. He was looking for divine acceptance of his decree – that’s why he made a lottery. The divine power he was looking for was the power of the constellations, the mazalos. That supernatural force, which ultimately is random as well, was what he was looking to harness. In truth, in heaven they did accept his decree and that’s why he drew the month of Adar. In order to flip the result of the lottery to our favor, ‘pur Haman nehepach l’purainu,’ we needed excessive Rachmei Shamayim, mercy from Hashem, to change our lot in Heaven, so that we came out a new nation – a people reborn.
On Purim it’s a time to realize that nothing is set in stone, nothing is fixed. Whatever the situation is, it can be reversed to something amazing, in an instant. On Purim we realize we have come to the end of the road, exhausted all our efforts, and stopped trying to start, so that Hashem can start. We drink ‘ad delo yada’, to render ourselves helpless and totally in the hands of Hashem.
This applies to all aspects of our lives, both spiritual and physical. In our ruchniyos we also hit dead ends. We are ready to give up our dreams of finishing and knowing Shas, we are ready to throw in the towel on davening like we mean it, we have lost hope of refining a certain character trait and so on. We think – it’s only up to me, and if I don’t or can’t do anything – it’s not going to happen. We have made a decree against ourselves – sealed our own fate. No! On Purim Hashem takes full control if we allow Him – and everything changes, even when we don’t have the merit according to our actions – Hashem can change our situation and change ourselves – give us the help we need, and turn us around in an instant.
Sichos Rav Shimshon Pincus
Purim 07
Let’s finally get back to the questions we started with. Why is it that Purim seems to be the goal, the highest point on the ladder of all the Moadim of the year? Why is it that the simchah on Purim is so different than the simchah we are obligated in by all the Moadim? Why on Purim do we need to drink to the point of ‘ad delo yadah,’ where we lose rational thought in our extreme simchah?
Our goal in Avodas Hashem is to achieve full reliance on Hashem. Bitachon, in its purest form, where we truly rely on Hakadosh Baruch Hu and don’t try to control anything ourselves. When we fly on an airplane we rely totally on the pilot. We are helpless! We don’t try to help steer or land, we don’t think there’s anything we can do. We just sit back and try to sleep! That’s what bitachon is. If we were to take a similar approach in real life, when we are faced with a difficult financial situation, and we managed to pull through one year somehow. But we have no clue how we will manage the next year. If we sit back and let Hashem do His work – we would sleep the way we do on an airplane! The same way Hashem made it happen the first time, He is fully capable the second. But we convince ourselves that we have to pitch in. We think that our input is necessary. Real bitachon is when we hand over the reins to Hashem, (and whatever hishtadlos we do is just so that it doesn’t appear as if we are relying on a nais.)
This is how Purim is the tachlis, the pinnacle of the year. On Pesach we learn emunah, on Shavuos it’s a time to learn Torah, on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur it’s time for teshuvah, and Sukkos is for devaikus in Hashem, and Chanukah is for miracles. After all these lessons, after we have achieved a level of understanding in our relationship of Hashem, appreciation for what it is, and connection to Hashem, can we reach the level of Bitachon that Purim teaches us.
The word ‘Purim’ means ‘pur’, which is a lottery. What is the nature of a lottery, a gorel? Whoever takes the ticket out of the bucket has no idea which number will come up. He is assuming its pure luck and random chance. In this way, it’s the direct hand of Hashem, without any other force mixed in. When Haman made his lottery, he understood that there’s no natural way for him to destroy the Jews. He was looking for divine acceptance of his decree – that’s why he made a lottery. The divine power he was looking for was the power of the constellations, the mazalos. That supernatural force, which ultimately is random as well, was what he was looking to harness. In truth, in heaven they did accept his decree and that’s why he drew the month of Adar. In order to flip the result of the lottery to our favor, ‘pur Haman nehepach l’purainu,’ we needed excessive Rachmei Shamayim, mercy from Hashem, to change our lot in Heaven, so that we came out a new nation – a people reborn.
On Purim it’s a time to realize that nothing is set in stone, nothing is fixed. Whatever the situation is, it can be reversed to something amazing, in an instant. On Purim we realize we have come to the end of the road, exhausted all our efforts, and stopped trying to start, so that Hashem can start. We drink ‘ad delo yada’, to render ourselves helpless and totally in the hands of Hashem.
This applies to all aspects of our lives, both spiritual and physical. In our ruchniyos we also hit dead ends. We are ready to give up our dreams of finishing and knowing Shas, we are ready to throw in the towel on davening like we mean it, we have lost hope of refining a certain character trait and so on. We think – it’s only up to me, and if I don’t or can’t do anything – it’s not going to happen. We have made a decree against ourselves – sealed our own fate. No! On Purim Hashem takes full control if we allow Him – and everything changes, even when we don’t have the merit according to our actions – Hashem can change our situation and change ourselves – give us the help we need, and turn us around in an instant.