A PURIM READER. Celebrating 5774/ YEARS of dedication to our students and the community.

Transcription

1 W A PURIM READER 5774/2014 Celebrating 50 YEARS of dedication to our students and the community. YESHIVA OF GREATER WASHINGTON

2 Celebrating 50 YEARS of dedication to our students and the community. Fifty years ago Rabbi Gedaliah Anemer, zt l, founded our yeshiva with a small handful of students. It was a time of pioneering, a time of enormous dedication. People took second mortgages on their homes to enable the yeshiva s existence. We look back with much gratitude to Hashem for all of the chesed He has bestowed upon us, and we dedicate ourselves anew with the spirit and determination of our founders to the cause of Jewish education Rabbi Anemer held so dear. As we look back on fifty years of service to the community, we hope that you will enjoy these articles from our archives. THE YESHIVA WISHES A Freilichen Purim TO ALL!

3 Of Books and Letters By Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky Rosh Yeshiva,Yeshiva Gedolah Originally published in 2006 The Megillah scroll has a complex Halachic arrangement, wherein it is described as both a sefer (a book) and an iggeres (a letter addressed to a person). The Megillah needs to be written on parchment and with ink like a sefer; on the other hand, there are no segmented Parshios, because it is referred to as an iggeres, and when we write letters to one another, we generally don t separate them into chapters. It also needs to be completely opened up and folded while being read, similar to an iggeres. The Ramban gives the following rubric for these two properties: (a) as regards the written words themselves, the rules of sefer apply; (b) as regards peripheral aspects of the Megillah format (i.e. spaces between the paragraphs) it shares both sets of laws; (c) as regards the act of reading, it is seen as iggeres. This dual nature of the writing and reading of the Megillah obviously reflects a duality in its essence. A book and a letter are both forms of communication. A book is not written to anyone in particular. It is therefore meant to describe as obviously as possible the events or ideas that are its subject matter. A letter is a personal communication specifically designed to bring about a response from the addressee. The content and tone of the letter are tailored to fit the needs and limitations of the recipient. A letter is more powerful in its impact than a book, but it does not withstand the test of time. It cannot be assumed to be universally applicable. A book does not have the impact that a letter has, but it is universal and timeless. The events that Klal Yisroel encountered during the biblical era were clearly part of a Divine grand and universal plan. The covenants with Abraham, the descent to Egypt, the redemption, the giving of the Torah and the coming to Eretz Yisroel, are events that transcend time or place. They are the timeless Truths of the Torah. Yet, there was a need to supplement this with personal mussar and tochacha. This was the role of the prophets. Prophets could not add or detract laws, but they delivered personal messages of rebuke or comfort to the nation of Israel. The Gemara (Nedarim 22b) says that if Israel had not sinned they would have received only the Five Books of Moshe and the book of Yehoshua (because it deals with CELEBRATING 50 YEARS 1

4 the conquest of the land of Israel). As regards the works of Prophets, only those works that would be needed at points in the future were included in the Prophetic Canon. One would expect that the last and final book in Tanach would certainly be very dated. It was an iggeres, a letter sent by Esther describing the situation that they had found themselves and the need to recognize personal gratitude to G-d who had saved them. But Esther went one step further. She asked the Rabbis to establish my work as part of the canon. The Rabbis resisted until they found an allusion in the Torah, that the battle of Amalek would be fought a forth time. This meant that the events in the Megillah had transcended a particular time and place and had become part of the eternal script of the Torah. It was now a sefer as well. Maimonides quotes a Talmud Yerushalmi that so powerfully makes this point. He states that all books of the Prophets will someday become void, but Esther will remain as eternal as the Torah! The Megillah has in it a unique confluence of two almost opposite elements. It is as personal as an iggeres. It talks to us about the Haman s of each and every generation and the existential threats that each generation in particular faces. We can identify with the comfortable assimilation of Jews in the royal Persian Palace; the inexplicable hatred of Haman for whom nothing short of total genocide will do; the mysterious events that led to a Jewess sitting in the royal palace; her hesitations; the almost instant turnaround of the events; and yet, the Megillah is a sefer, as timeless as the Torah itself. It reminds us of the overarching events of Klal Yisroel and Amalek, and the millennia that have gone by as Hashem waits for Amalek to raise its ugly head, and be demolished for good. This is the unique feature of the Megillas Esther, and the holiday of Purim containing the powerful impact of the immediate, and the great Truth of the eternity. 2 YESHIVA OF GREATER WASHINGTON

5 Parchment By Rabbi Usher Laifer Rebbe, Boys Division Originally published in 2003 The Yom Tov of Purim is unique in one aspect of its celebration, for there is a mitzvah to imbibe until one cannot clearly distinguish between the meaning of the phrases arur Haman and baruch Mordechai ( cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordechai ). Why is this an appropriate way to celebrate the miracle of Purim by diminishing our rational faculties and thereby allowing our physical being to dominate? To answer this we must begin with a Ma amar Chaza l ( a teaching of the Sages of the Talmud) found in Maseches Shabbos. Chaza l say that HaShem uprooted Har Sinai (Mt. Sinai) and held it above the vast assembled masses of the Jewish nation in order to force them to accept the Torah; if they would refuse, the mountain would bury them. The question is why was any force necessary? Hadn t Klal Yisrael already made their famous declaration of Na aseh V nishma (we will accept the Torah willingly, without even being informed of its content in advance)? The Midrash answers that Naaseh V nishma was an acceptance only of the actual written Torah, the Torah Sheb Ksav, but the Oral Law, the Torah Sheb aal Peh wasn t accepted willingly. (The Torah itself is quite brief and condensed. The Talmud, comprising the Mishnah and Gemara, is the elucidation and explanation of the Torah. Both were received by the Jewish people at Har Sinai, though the Talmud was not committed to writing until a much later date.) The Midrash explains that the Oral Law is very difficult to learn and requires great toil and exertion. Hence, the forced acceptance. Chaza l go on to say that much later in history, because of the love for HaShem created through the miracle of Purim, the Jewish nation accepted the Torah willingly, despite the hardship. According to the Midrash, then, what they accepted at the time of the Purim miracle was the Oral Law, for that was the only entity that originally had been forced upon them. What is the connection between Purim and Torah Shebaal Peh? We are told in Parshas Ki Sisa that upon Moshe s return from Har Sinai, his face glowed with karnei hod (rays of splendor). The Midrash tells us that the source of the karnei hod came from a small bit of residual ink in Moshe s quill that still remained after the completion of the writing of the Torah, which Moshe rubbed into his forehead, resulting in the karnei hod. This Midrash is perplexing. Why was there any residual ink in Moshe Rabbeinu s quill? Should there not have been exactly enough to complete the writing of the Torah? CELEBRATING 50 YEARS 3

6 Another Midrash states that when Moshe brought the Luchos (the tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written) down from Har Sinai, he looked at the Luchos and saw the letters flying off; the Luchos thus became heavy and fell from his hands, and broke. Why were the letters flying off the Luchos, and why did the Luchos become heavy? If anything, losing letters should cause it to become lighter! There is yet another Midrash that states that when G-d told Moshe Rabbeinu to write the Torah, Moshe asked if he should write both portions of the Torah, the Written Law and the Oral Law. G-d answered, No, because after the sin of the Golden Calf the Jewish people are fated to go into exile amongst the nations of the world, and if all the Torah is written, it will be taken and distorted by the nations of the world. Therefore, G-d s pronouncement was that only the Torah itself should be written, but the Talmud shall be orally transmitted from father to son, generation to generation; and that since the Oral Law is not tangible it therefore cannot be wrestled away by the nations of the world. The Oral Law, uniquely belonging to the Jewish people, would preserve Jewish identity. The Bais HaLevi remarks that before the sin of the Golden Calf, there was no need for the Talmud to be orally transmitted since the Jewish people would never have been exiled, and thus there was no threat that the Torah would be taken by other nations. This is why the first Luchos incorporated both the Written and the Oral Law. All of Torah was written on the first Luchos that were given to the Jewish people before the sin of the Golden Calf. It was only after the sin that HaShem decreed that the Oral Law would not be included on the Luchos. We can now understand the Midrash that Moshe Rabeinu looked at the Luchos and saw the letters flying off. The Midrash is referring to the letters of the Mishnah and Talmud which originally had been written on the first Luchos, all of which were destined to be the Oral Law. Now, after the sin, and the resultant decree of exile, these letters were by G-d s decree transformed into the Oral tradition, and thus flew off the Luchos. This is the reason the Luchos became heavy, to teach us that the Written Law cannot exist without the Oral Law. For who will explain to all subsequent generations how to make Tzitzis, how to write Tefillin, what fruit is meant to be used on Sukkos? It is only through the Oral Law that we have any inkling about how to do these mitzvos. The Luchos became heavy and broke because it is impossible to have Torah ShebeKsav without Torah Sheb aal peh. The result of having the Talmud transmitted orally, although brought about by a sin, was in truth, a special gift for the Jewish people. Until then the whole Torah was written on the Luchos and the Jewish people were the guardians of the Torah, analogous to the Aron Kodesh which houses the Sefer Torah. However, the Torah and the Jewish people were two separate entities. The Jewish people were, in a manner of speaking, a receptacle for the Torah. After G-d s decree that the Mishnah now 4 YESHIVA OF GREATER WASHINGTON

7 become the Oral Law, by learning the Torah the Jewish people became the klaf, the parchment upon which the words of the Oral Law would reside, as the pasuk says kasveim al luach libecha write them on your heart. This allowed the Jewish people and the Torah to become one entity and enabled their physical beings, in a sense, to become one with the actual Torah itself. Yisrael v Oraisa Chad Hu! K lal Yisrael and the Torah are one! Each person according to his diligence and dedication to Torah becomes ever more holy, and the Torah becomes ever more a part of his being. Now we can understand why there was residual ink in Moshe Rabbeinu s quill. His original intent was to write the entire Torah both the written and oral law - because he assumed even the Oral Law should be written, as it had been on the first Luchos. When G-d told Moshe Rabeinu to transmit the Mishnah orally, Moshe then himself became the parchment and thus received the rays of splendor, since his physical being became one with the Torah itself. (Thus the Midrash metaphorically states that Moshe put the ink on his forehead an allusion to the change of direction following the sin of the Golden Calf.) The miracle of Purim occurred after the destruction of the First Temple, which was the first time the Jewish people went into exile. They began to assimilate with the nations, culminating in their participation in the notorious feast of Achashveros. This was a sin which brought about G-d s decree to annihilate the entire Jewish nation. The Jewish people repented, and were miraculously saved through Queen Esther s intervention. It was then that the Jewish people appreciated the value of the Oral Law being unique, their own, in distinction to the written law which was available to the other nations as well. They realized that to stay separate from other nations and to preserve their Jewish identity they would need the Oral Law; hence, the renewed and very willing - acceptance of the Oral Law on Purim. K yimu v kiblu hayehudim! Now we can understand why on Purim we celebrate with our physical being more than on any other Yom Tov. It is because on Purim we accepted the Oral Law willingly. The Oral Law is the vehicle which allows the physical being to become a part of Torah itself, by being the parchment upon which the words of the Oral Law are written. Therefore, we celebrate with our physical selves to the point of ad d lo yada, to the point where the physical is elevated to kedusha, to holiness, since Purim is the holiday of the Oral Law. We can now understand why Haman was not content with abolishing Torah and Judaism. Why did he insist on physical annihilation of the Jewish people? Based on the premise which we have established, on Purim the Jewish people accepted the Oral Law and their physical beings became Torah. Haman, realizing this, thought it would not suffice to abolish Torah and Judaism, for the Jewish being itself is an object of Torah, something that the wicked Haman must seek to destroy! V nahafoch Hu! CELEBRATING 50 YEARS 5

8 To Fear or Not to Fear By R Nisonel Landesman Alumnus, Yeshiva of Greater Washington Originally published in 2003 The Midrash (Esther Rabba 7:13) depicts the following scene that took place soon after Mordechai learned of the evil plans that Haman was devising for the Jewish people. Mordechai saw some young students on their way home from cheder, and he runs over to ask them what they had learned that day. Each one had learned a different pasuk that day. Mordechai turns to the first child and asks him which pasuk he had learned. He replied Al tira mipachad pisom oomishoas reshaim ki savo - Do not fear sudden terror, or the holocaust of the wicked when it comes (Mishlei 3:25). Mordechai then turned to the second child, and asked him what pasuk he had learned. The child replied Utsu eitsa vesufar dabru davar velo yakum - Plan a conspiracy and it will be annulled; speak your piece and it shall not stand, for God is with us. (Isaiah 8:10). Mordechai finally turned to the third child, and asked him what pasuk he had learned, to which he replied, V ad zikna ani hu, v ad seva ani esbol, ani assissi veani essa veani esbol veamalet - Even till your seniority, I remain unchanged; and even till your ripe old age, I shall endure. I created you and I shall bear you; I shall endure and rescue. (Ibid. 46:4). Upon hearing these three pesukim, Mordechai laughed and rejoiced, for he now knew that the Jewish people would be saved from Haman s decree. However, the Midrash leaves unanswered what was unique about these pesukim, and why were they cause for Mordechai to rejoice. The Vilna Gaon, in his sefer Kol Eliyahu, offers the following explanation as the source for Mordechai s joy. These three pesukim represented to Mordechai the three instances where Amalek attacked the Jewish people, and their eventual redemption from those ordeals. The first time that Amalek came to attack and destroy the Jews took place in Rephidim, where the pasuk (Shemos 17:8) describes the coming of Amalek. This same attack is depicted in Devarim (25; 18) as Asher karcha baderech, meaning the attack came suddenly, without any prior warning. Mordechai connected the first child s pasuk with this encounter for the child said Do not fear sudden terror. This pasuk exhorts us to be unafraid even from a surprise attack. The second pasuk makes reference to an attack which will come when others will conspire or scheme against the Jews - Plan a conspiracy and it will be annulled. Indeed, the second time Amalek attacked the Jews it was not a surprise attack. Instead, the Amalekim cooked up a scheme and disguised themselves as Canaanim. Rashi (Bamidbar 21:1) explains the design of this plan as follows: Amalek was well aware that Hashem was capable of protecting His people, and thus they needed a 6 YESHIVA OF GREATER WASHINGTON

9 plan in which to somehow bypass Hashem. They hoped that by dressing up as Canaanim, the Jews would pray to be protected from the Canaanim, when in fact they were being attacked by the Amalekim. In this way they would successfully bypass Hashem. Unfortunately for them, they failed to completely cover their tracks. While the Jews were fooled by the dress of their present enemy, their speech identified them as Amalekim. Thus, the Jews were faced by an uncertain enemy, Canaanim who spoke like Amalekim. Therefore the Jews decided not to mention any specific nation in their prayers, but rather prayed that whichever nation it was that faced them, the Jews should be victorious. This plan of the Amalekim is what the pasuk quoted by the second child was alluding to. Ootsu eitsa Plan a conspiracy referring to the Amaleki s ruse of changing their dress to that of the Canaanim. Dabru davar velo yakum They will speak, but will fail their speech, though, was that of the Amalekim, thus disclosing their identity, and foiling another Amaleki attempt at destroying the Jews. Hence, Mordechai realized that the second child s pasuk directly referred to that ordeal. Finally, the third appearance of Amalek came in the form of the infamous Haman. Haman was faced with an uphill battle. Attempting to destroy the Jews was not a novel idea; it had been tried before, and met with negative results. Some of those occurrences were still fresh in the minds of Haman s future co-conspirators. Thus Haman was in need of some kind of plan in which to convince these people that it was indeed a worthwhile venture. What could Haman say which would convince them? Haman arrived at the following plan. He would tell his cohorts that the God of the Jews was aging (See Esther Rabba 7:13), and thereby unable to fight on their behalf as He had in the past. Haman reasoned that the God which drowned the Egyptians, could easily have defeated Nevuchadnetzar, and not allow him to destroy the Bais Hamikdash. Convinced that there was nothing to worry about, Haman s plan was now ready to be put into action. When Mordechai heard the verse that the third child recited, he realized it was in reference to Haman s plan. Vead ziknah ani hu, vead seva ani esbol ani asisi veani esbol ani asisi veani essa veani esbol veamalet. Consequently, as this pasuk says, Hashem will redeem the Jews even when he is old. Mordechai, thus understood that even though Haman is poised to attack the Jews, in the end the Jews will be victorious. Now we could understand clearly the elation of Mordechai upon hearing these pesukim. He realized that despite the gloomy predicament, Hashem was still with them, and would redeem them once again. Many of us are familiar with the aforementioned pesukim, as they follow the Aleinu prayer in many of our prayer books. The custom to recite these pesukim dates back many hundreds of years, and is first mentioned in a sefer called Zichron Tsion. Based on the Vilna Gaon s explanation, we may infer that these pesukim help to strengthen our bitachon, that even in the most difficult times for our people, we can always count on the unique, merciful protection that Hashem provides for His beloved children. And, indeed, the Zichron Tsion himself exhorts us to recite these verses in that they are an amazing segulah to save us from many terrible decrees. May we merit Hashem s protection in these troubled times against all of the plots and plotters who seek to destroy the Jewish people. CELEBRATING 50 YEARS 7

10 BOYS CAMPUS 1216 Arcola Avenue Silver Spring, MD GIRLS CAMPUS 2010 Linden Lane Silver Spring, MD W Mordechai asked the children what had they learned that day? They answered with pesukim of comfort and salvation. HELP OUR CHILDREN CONTINUE TO BE THE LIGHT OF FUTURE SALVATION! Donate. Volunteer. Visit us. Get involved! Donate online at The Yeshiva of Greater Washington works with each student to bring out his or her very best. To us, success is a graduate who is an exceptional citizen of the Jewish Community - whose priority and guidepost in all his or her endeavors is Torah. Graduates of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington contribute, lead, and inspire! The Yeshiva serves as a center of Torah study in the Greater Washington area through its many public shiurim, distinguished lecturers and our Beis Medrash/Judaic library which is open to the public at all times. Volunteer Opportunities Call Donna Goldman: , ext. 1552

11 YGW WOMEN S ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION AND THE KOLLEL ZICHRON AMRAM of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington 50 YGW s"xc PREPARING FOR PESACH A REVIEW OF THE HALACHOS Rabbi Eli Reingold Monday, March Adar II 8:30 pm Yeshiva of Greater Washington Boys Campus, 1216 Arcola Avenue, Silver Spring, MD shiur for women only FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT RABBI REINGOLD AT CELEBRATING 50 YEARS 9

12 Join the Yeshiva on Purim Morning! ONE HOUR OF UNINTERRUPTED LEARNING March 16, :00 11:00 am Sign up sheets on the Boys School bulletin board Program at YGW Boys School, 1216 Arcola Avenue Special Incentives ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Father and Son with prizes and pizza! MIDDLE SCHOOL First 20 boys who sign up and join the Purim shiur will receive a $15 gift card to Max s! HIGH SCHOOL AND ABOVE (OPEN TO ALL ADULTS) First 50 who sign up will receive a minimum stipend of $20! Generous donors have sponsored this program as a z chus for shidduchim for members of our community, and others in need. Questions? Contact Rabbi Reingold at or ereingold@yeshiva.edu W A special community program YESHIVA sponsored OF by the GREATER Yeshiva of Greater WASHINGTON Washington Change your Purim! Charge your Purim!