Table of Contents

Acknowledgments...... XIII

On Halves and Havdalahs by Rav Eytan Feiner...... 1

Hidden Beneath the Surface...... 13

A Lot of Lots...... 16

Center of Focus...... 20

Megillah: Not a History Book...... 24

We Were Dead...... 29

35 ...... עת לטעת — A Time to Plant

And Also Charvonah?...... 41

Changing the Scent of Sin...... 46

Connecting to Our True Inner Ratzon...... 52

No Upper Limits...... 57

Feast of Victory...... 62

XI XII Eternal

The Gift of Respect...... 69

Prepared Portions...... 74

And Hu Was Reversed...... 80 :ונהפוך הוא

Don’t Forget to Remember...... 86

Does a Talmid Chacham Need to Drink?...... 91

Where Is Purim in the ? ...... 95

Words of Peace and Truth...... 101

How to Get Rid of a Massive Headache...... 107

Getting Closer through ...... 112

Do We Rejoice over the Downfall of Our Enemies?...... 117

Hallelukah...... 123

Megillah Reading Is Bittul Torah?...... 127

Selective Memory...... 133

It’s All about Nitzchiyus...... 137

The Nest Is Yerushalayim...... 147

On Halves and Havdalahs

Introductory Essay by Eytan Feiner

“A short summary of every Jewish holiday: They tried to kill us. We won. Let’s eat.” So quipped a well-known Jewish personality — and it certainly seems like Purim was right at the forefront of his mind.1 Haman sought to annihilate the Jewish People, Hakadosh Baruch Hu then pulled a few Divine strings behind the scenes, and the turnabout was no less than spectacular: the wicked Amalekite was hanged, we killed many a foe, and we had one of our own placed second in com- mand over the entire kingdom. There was, of course, great reason to celebrate — and Jewish cele- brations mean far more than just the ubiquitous coffee and cake. We’re talking about festive culinary feasts, with plenty of wine and atypical Jewish intoxication this time around — coupled with some merry masquerading … and we get mitzvos for it all! Is this really the choice way to celebrate? Better yet, is this really the Jewish way to celebrate?2

1 See Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, Chut Shel Chessed, Megillas Esther, p. 79, on why the Purim seudah is often regarded as “ha’seudah,” as the seudah, with the hei ha’yediah. 2 In the midst of contrasting the true essence of a Yom Tov and the way a gentile perceives things, Reb Mendel Kaplan relates: “While I was in the wine business, an IRS agent once came to my house on Sukkos and I offered him some very good food. He told me, ‘You know,

1 2 Purim Eternal

Purim at the Pinnacle Lest we think that these Purim festivities pale in comparison to the sanctity of our holy , the lofty Day of Atonement, the Arizal — based on the Tikunei — reminds us that it is actually just the opposite.3 The culmination of the is referred to as Yom HaKippurim, the day that is merely like Purim (k’Purim), highlight- ing that it is Purim that sits atop the pedestal of Jewish festivals.4 We could divorce ourselves from physical pleasures and spend most of the day engrossed in fervent angelic prayer, and yet we are taught that all the abstention and hard work of a Yom Kippur is second-tier to the most joyous Purim.5 Are we missing something here?

The Yom Kippur/Purim Contrast Yom Kippur is crucial. One day a year, at the very least, we must lift ourselves out of our mundane surroundings, above the seductive plea- sures and enticements of the physical world. Without the annual Day of Atonement, a day focused on serious introspection, sincere repentance, and striving to more closely resemble G-d’s celestial court, we would likely suffocate spiritually from our complacent air of self-gratification. Yom Kippur serves as a much needed wake-up call to stir us to heed our true spiritual calling and crucial mission in life. It’s a powerful day, a sacred day, and one we must treasure always. But acharei kichlos ha’kol, we can’t take it with us. We simply cannot live on

I like your holidays. There’s a holiday for blintzes, a holiday for kreplach, and a holiday for latkes.’ That was his idea of a Yom Tov” (Reb Mendel and His Wisdom, p. 204). 3 Tikun 21, p. 57b.; Binayahu and Nitzutzei Zohar ibid.; See the approach of Rav Hoberman, Ze’ev Yitrof, Purim, vol. 2, chap. 12; Rav Karlenstein, Kuntrus B’inyanei Chodesh V’yimei Hapurim, maamar 7; Rav Dovid Cohen (Brooklyn), Sefer Esther HaMalkah, p. 75. In Likutei HaGra, the Gra highlights a different perspective on the Purim/Yom KiPurim connection — see Pachad Yitzchak on Purim, maamarim 8, 11, 21, and Rav Hutner, Kuntrus Reshimos, siman 23. 4 Michtav M’Eliyahu, vol. 2, pp. 123–25; Sifsei Chaim, Moadim, vol. 2, pp. 205–6; Rav Dovid Cohen (Chevron) Yimei HaPurim, p. 63, end of maamar 8; Rav Y.M. Charlap, Mei Marom, vol. 16, maamar 51. 5 Rabbi Ari Kahn, Emanations, p. 314. On Halves and Havdalahs 3 such a lofty plateau throughout the hustle and bustle of our daily life- styles — clutched in the grips of our careers, family life, and the pervasive physical needs we all share. Yom Kippur provides us with a taste of a far greater perception of the world around us; a sweet taste, yes, but an extremely difficult one to savor long term once we come back down from our angel-like state and are forced to face our humanity once again. Purim arrives as we encounter the opposite side of the Yom Kippur/ Purim coin. Go ahead: Have a drink. And another one. Enjoy the festive feast. In other words, be human and be a real part of this material world with the mundane delicacies it has to offer. But through it all, let the real you come out. On Purim, we must learn to tap into the immense joy of the miracles of the day, the exhilaration experienced by those years ago who witnessed G-d’s hidden hand securing for His people a remarkable reversal of fate. We look around in the world and find it dif- ficult, at times, to see the constant intervention of G-d on our behalf, to rid Mother Nature of her camouflage and manifest the Divine Presence that produced, and is presently directing, her wonderful performance: every act, every scene, every second of the day. On Purim, we take a very active part in worldly pleasures as we try, once again, to realize that the physical world around us — with all its apparent coincidences — is but a mere facade hiding myriad miracles.6 We become intoxicated primarily as a means of revealing the true hid- den self that lies beneath the protective veneers we’ve tried to erect. The real personality is unleashed as the alcohol sets in, all while the Purim masks and costumes shield our outer appearance, the part that can never really express our true selves. If, at the time of the Purim story, we became fully cognizant of Who is really behind the curtains of the world’s theater, then we owe it to ourselves this time of year to mir- ror the event and highlight the true essence dwelling within our outer beings. And this we can certainly take with us for the rest of the year.7

6 Reshimos Lev, Purim, p. 368 (siman 10). 7 I later saw that Rav Aharon Lopiansky also discusses this distinction between Yom Kippur and Purim in his Time Pieces, pp. 137–41. 4 Purim Eternal

The story of Purim began with a sumptuous spread, a celebration of Achashveirosh we wrongfully attended.8 As time progressed and we gradually mended our ways, our salvation was wrought with the help of Esther, who organized her own little feasts for Haman and the king to attend. It was there that the evil Haman met his downfall. And yet Esther herself never really got the chance to eat anything … That’s our job come Purim time. We’ll eat, yes — but we first lay the groundwork for building the proper intentions with an abstention from all food on the preceding day’s Taanis Esther. While Yom Kippur sees us preparing for the sacred fast with a unique to eat the day before (Berachos 8b), come Purim time — the other side of the Yom Kippur/Purim coin — we do the exact opposite: we fast to help foster the right attitude and intent before approaching the following day’s culinary festivities. A day of abundant food and drink, uniquely defined as a yom mishteh v’simchah,9 mandates that we first ready ourselves by holding our food intake in check to see things from the right Torah perspective.

The Omission of Havdalah There is yet another crucial difference between these two sacred days that we mustn’t overlook. On Yom Kippur, we are enjoined from involve- ment in the same creative acts we abstain from on the weekly Shabbos. When Chazal instructed us to observe an annual festival of Purim as commemoration of the miracles that occurred, they intentionally did not forbid the performance of creative labor (see Megillah 5b). In line with the above, the distinction is readily understandable.10 Yom Kippur offers an ambience of angelic behavior as we rise above the physical, while Purim speaks instead of active involvement as mortal humans in a mundane world. Don’t abstain from creative work; be, rather, an

8 See especially the commentary of the Chasam Sofer on the Megillah’s opening narrative. 9 Take note of the insight appearing in Rav Pomeranchek, Emek Berachah, p. 126 (quoting the Brisker Rav). See also the interesting points raised by Rav Dovid Povarsky (Ponovezh) in his collected shiurim on Pesachim (68b, p. 242 [63]). 10 Pachad Yitzchak, Purim, Kuntrus Reshimos, siman 23. On Halves and Havdalahs 5 integral part of an ongoing creative process in the delightful world G-d placed at our disposal. Being fully engaged in the physical and then el- evating ourselves to the higher realm of the spiritual is part and parcel of what a Purim is all about. But it’s a bit more profound than that. Quoting the Chochmei Ha’emes, Rav Yitzchak Hutner explains that all days accompanied by refraining from creative work conclude with a Havdalah service that highlights the difference between the holiness of that respective day with the regular workweek that follows.11 After a sacred Shabbos, Yom Kippur, etc., days we try to be “holy” by not involving ourselves in creative labor, we mark the contrast between, and the transition to, the non-holy days that ar- rive on their heels. At the conclusion of Purim, however, a day in which creative work in the physical world is permitted, there is no Havdalah, no “dividing service” to be performed. Why is that? This is because we try to have Purim stay with us forever. The “holiness” of a Purim is one that we can carry with us into the workweek, into our daily lifestyles as humans with careers, material needs, and yes, even the occasional large appetite. Purim enables us to perceive Hakadosh Baruch Hu while we are encircled by a facade of nature and a world of apparent coincidence — to extract the holy from the non-holy while recognizing Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s omnipresent Hand through it all. No surprise, then, that Chazal note that during Messianic times, when all other Jewish festivals will no longer be observed, Purim will still be around.12 There is no Havdalah after Purim and no separation from what it empowers us to achieve. As long as there is even a quasi-physical world, there will always be a Purim. TheImrei Emes also notes that there is no Havdalah recited after Purim.13 Once we fulfill the mitzvah of ad d’lo yada and have uprooted our daas,

11 Reshimos Lev, Purim, pp. 298–99 (siman 4); 374–75 (siman 25); p. 373 (siman 22); Sefer Hazikaron, “Zichronos,” p. 101. For yet another interpretation, see Reshimos Lev, p. 370 (siman 15) and p. 372 (siman 21). 12 Medrash Shochar Tov, Mishlei, 9; Yalkut Shimoni, Esther, 9:28; Yerushalmi, Megillah, 1:5; yotzros for Parashas Zachor; Rambam, Hilchos Megillah 2:18; Maharitz Chiyus, Megillah 10b. 13 Purim, p. 223 (in place of the year, “lo yadua ha’shanah” appears … ). 6 Purim Eternal explains the Gerrer , a proper act of “havdalah” is no longer fea- sible: “Im ein daas, havdalah mi’nayin?” (Yerushalmi, Berachos 5:3). Sans Havdalah, the kedushah of Purim will now linger on, and we could grab on tightly to the nitzotzos throughout the entire year. 14

A Peculiar Addition to the Havdalah Let’s now consider the following phenomenon: When we take a closer look at the actual Havdalah liturgy, we find that it is the sole occurrence in all our prayers in which we recite a verse from Megillas Esther: “For the Jews there was light, gladness, joy, and honor” (Esther 8:16).15 Why specifically couched in a context of our Havdalah service do we find the lone mention of a verse from the scroll read on Purim? Perhaps we might suggest the following: Regarding Purim, the “light, gladness, joy, and honor” — a verse essentially summing up the all- encompassing physical and spiritual exhilaration of the miracles16 — has remained with us throughout time, albeit in varying degrees. There was no Havdalah after Purim, no division after the holiday and its lessons that are to remain with us forever — as will Megillas Esther itself, the scroll from which the above verse is drawn.17 Upon departing from a holy Shabbos, Yom Kippur, and the like, days in which creative labor was forbidden, thus mandating a Havdalah service, we try our utmost to elevate those days, as well, to the unique status of a Purim. Yes, we must separate the holy from the non-holy, but oh, how we yearn to hold on to the sacred Shabbos, the hallowed day of Yom Kippur, just a little bit longer … Oh, how we wish we could take the lofty level of a Yom Kippur with us into the forthcoming days ahead … just like Purim …

14 See also the brief remarks of the Avnei Nezer, Neos Hadeshe, Purim, p. 291, teshuvah 28. 15 The custom to recite this verse along with several others at the outset of the Havdalah is first mentioned in Machzor Vitri, p. 116. See also Maharil, p. 30; Darkei Moshe on the Tur (OC”H, #296); Rema’s gloss on , 296:1. See also the interesting comments of the Levush (ibid.) 16 Megillah 16b. 17 Rambam, Hilchos Megillah 2:18 — based on the Yerushalmi, Megillah 1:5. See the comments of the Meiri on Makkos 23b; Pachad Yitzchak, Purim, maamar 5. On Halves and Havdalahs 7

Specifically in the context of Havdalah, therefore, do we make men- tion of the gladness and joy of Purim. What a unique reminder that our Shabbos and Yom Kippur should ideally follow in the footsteps of Purim, that we didn’t have to be mavdil from them either, didn’t have to divorce ourselves from their immense sanctity. And thus, we cite the highlights of the Purim salvation as we borrow a verse from the lone scroll that we’ll merit having around forever. Though we must practi- cally be mavdil, we demonstrate that, b’etzem, we don’t wish to do so on a theoretical level. We thus also recite the Havdalah over wine, that which gradually diminishes our daas, removing our ability to be mavdil.18 When all is said and done, however, it is still only the Purim festival, which we can take with us always, that empowers us to see and connect with Hakadosh Baruch Hu even through the hazy commotion of our everyday lives in a corporal world. In light of our understanding, perhaps another peculiarity might also be resolved. While women have the not to drink from the cup of wine used for Havdalah, they still join in at but one point in the Havdalah service: when all present recite aloud the aforementioned verse from Megillas Esther. Why has the custom developed that even women say the pasuk? Let’s turn our attention briefly to Rashi on Parashas Chayei Sarah (24:67). Rashi cites the (Bereishis Rabbah 60:16) that as long as Sarah Imeinu was alive, a candle burned from one Shabbos eve to the next, the dough was blessed, and a cloud (the Divine Presence) hovered constantly over the tent.19 In a letter published in the introduction to Rav Teichtel’s Shu”t Mishneh Sachir (O”CH, vol. 1), Rav Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld writes that the candle always burning symbolized the

18 See especially the terminology appearing in Parashas Shemini, 10:9–10. 19 Interesting to note is why Rashi omitted the fourth feature cited by the midrash, and why he also decided to change the order in which they were listed. The Zohar (vol. 1, 133a), in fact, only makes mention of the idea of the candle — see the comments of the Shlah Hakadosh, Torah She’bichsav, Parashas Chayei Sarah, 2, in the footnote. See also the Maharal’s comments in Gur Aryeh; see also Chizkuni; Rav E.M. Bloch, Peninei Daas; Ozhrover Rebbe, Be’er Moshe, pp. 536–37. 8 Purim Eternal kedushah of Shabbos that perpetually remained within Sarah. Even during the mundane week, Sarah radiated the very same sanctity characteristic of the holy Shabbos — there was no real Havdalah.20 That is why, Rav Zonnenfeld adds, women have the custom to refrain from partaking of the wine from the Havdalah cup; they, too, wish to demon- strate that, just as in Sarah’s case, the holiness of Shabbos never really leaves them.21 According to this explanation for women’s abstention from the Havdalah wine, we can now shed some light on why women join in specifically for the recitation of “La’yehudim haysa orah … ” This pasuk highlighting the Purim miracle is representative of a festival that was not made a Yom Tov with an issur melachah, in order to avoid a maaseh Havdalah; the Sages wanted this festival around forever, its unique kedushah taken in

20 See the similar comments of the Avnei Neizer in his Neos Hadesheh, Chayei Sarah, #2, and see his son’s remarks in Shem MiShmuel, p. 209. In addition, see Maskil L’Dovid (on Rashi), Parashas Yisro, 20:8. See also Daas Chasam Sofer, vol. 3, p. 249. 21 For other reasons to explain the custom, see Magen Avraham (O”CH, 296:4) quoting the Shlah Hakadosh (Shabbos 139a) — and see Rav Chaim Naeh’s Kitzos Hashulchan, 96:12, regarding the looking at fingernails; Yalkut Meforshim (back of Shulchan Aruch) quoting Likutei Chaver ben Chaim; Bigdei Yesha (296:4); Rav Dovid Rackman, Shu”t Kiryas Chana Dovid, vol. 2, teshu- vah 37; Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, Shu”t Har Tzvi, O”CH, vol. 1, end of teshuvah 154 — regarding the dispute there between Rav Frank and Rav Issur Zalman Meltzer; see also Halichos Beisa, 15:4, Shu”t Igros Moshe, OC”H, vol. 4, teshuvah 101 [1]); Rav Simcha Bunim Cohen, The Radiance of Shabbos, Cheilek Ha’biurim, siman 8. See also the opinion of the Shibulei Haleket (siman 74), who posits that no one except the mevareich partakes of the Havdalah wine, and see the understanding of the Beis Meir. The Mateh Moshe (siman 509) and others argue. See also the Eliyah Rabbah and the Kaf HaChaim. See especially the custom of the Terumas Hadeshen recorded by his talmid in Leket Yosher, p. 57, and the custom of the Chazon Ish cited in the beginning of Imrei Yosher (Minhagei Ha’Chazon Ish); see also the remarks of the Aruch Hashulchan (296:5) and the M”B (296:6). (See also Shu”t Maharshdam, EVE”H, teshuvah 155, and Shu”t Divrei Yisroel, vol. 1, teshuvah 87.) We are so makpid on the minhag of women refraining from drinking from the kos shel havdalah that, regarding Motzaei Shabbos during the “Nine Days,” Rav Elyashiv posits that it is certainly better for the mavdil to drink the wine rather than giving it to a girl — even if she is the only one there under the age of bar/ bas mitzvah (Halichos V’hanhagos, p. 11). There are certain cases, however, when women may drink from the kos shel havdalah: see Shu”t Shevet HaLevi, vol. 4, siman 54, teshuvah 7; Shu”t Chemdas Tzvi, vol. 3, siman 11; Shu”t Siach Yitzchak, siman 172; and Shu”t Vayitzbar Yosef, siman 58, teshuvah 3. In his Emes l’Yaakov on Tur ViShu”A (OC”H, 296:8, fn. 325), Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky writes that the minhag only includes wine and grape juice; a woman may drink from the cup of Havdalah when beer is used. On Halves and Havdalahs 9 tow throughout the yemei chol and the rest of the year. In emulation of Sarah Imeinu, Jewish women wish to illustrate that they, too, cleave to kedushas Shabbos all week long and thus want no part in the wine of Havdalah. But mention of this verse from Megillas Esther is different. There was no Havdalah after Purim, either, so women can and will cus- tomarily recite the pasuk with pleasure along with everyone else.

Back to the Garden of Eden For a final Yom Kippur/Purim interconnection, let’s rewind for a moment to the Torah’s beginning. Adam and Chava are placed in the Garden of Eden, surrounded by unparalleled beauty. They are seemingly given but one command, not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. As the Radak22 and Rabbeinu Bechaye23 point out,24 however, there was, in fact, yet an additional command, an even earlier one: “From all the trees in the gar- den you shall eat” (Bereishis 2:16). Not just granting permission,25 but an explicit command, rather, to enjoy the magnificent delicacies placed before them.26 This mitzvah is, according to the Meshech Chochmah, the source for the intriguing statement of the Yerushalmi (Kiddushin 4:12): “In the future we will all have to answer to G-d for all that our eyes saw [in His world, with all it has to offer] and did not partake of.”27 Had Adam and Chava obeyed this first positive command, continues the Meshech Chochmah, they would have been shielded from the temp- tations of the Satan and would never have succumbed to sin. Concerning refraining from the Tree of Knowledge, it is well-known that Adam and Chava failed to heed the command. But they also failed to regard the positive instruction of eating from all other trees as

22 Peirushei HaRadak al HaTorah; fn. 38, ibid. 23 Bereishis 2:16; see also the terminology of the Peirush HaRosh on Bereishis 3:6 (quoting Rav Shimshon). 24 See also the Rama MiPano’s Asarah Maamaros, Maamar Chikur Din, 2:6. 25 Rav Saadia Gaon, Bereishis 2:16; Ibn Ezra, ibid.; Chizkuni, ibid. 26 See also Rav A. Schor’s Halekach Vi’halivuv on Birkas Hamazon, p. 79, quoting the Pi Hamidaber Haggadah shel Pesach. 27 See Magen Avraham, OC”H, 225:14, and the Taz, 226:2 (and the Tashbeitz that he quotes), and see the Munkatcher Rebbe’s Divrei Torah, 2:61. 10 Purim Eternal an actual mitzvah, and did not journey into the garden to eat l’sheim Shamayim. Perhaps we can now suggest that G-d’s precious gift to us of the double-sided coin of Yom Kippur and Purim provides us with the opportunity to atone for those two grave errors. On Yom Kippur, we learn how to refrain from food and drink, in addition to abstinence from other worldly delights. There is a time and a place for everything, we learn and try our best to apply, and certain things are indeed off limits. We elevate ourselves to become like spiritual Adam and Chava in Gan Eden, and attempt to rectify their weighty wrongdoing of dis­ obeying G-d’s command. Simply put, it’s a time for transcending the physical world around us. And for correcting our violation of the first lo saaseh, the first negative commandment issued to man. Yom Kippur is thus a day wherein we hold ourselves back, a day of yirah and a time all about teshuvah m’yirah, repentance emanating from a sincere fear of G-d. In Parashas Yisro (20:8), the Ramban writes that all positive mitzvos are rooted in ahavas Hashem, while all negative ones are rooted in yiras Hashem.28 As the Days of Awe — days of much fear and trepidation — culminate in the Day of Atonement, we are charged with mending our past mistakes and address primarily the area of our fear of Heaven, focusing on our relationship with G-d through the prism of yiras Hashem, while emphasizing His mitzvos lo saaseh. We then flip to the other side of the coin to find the festival of Purim, a day providing us with an opportunity to atone for transgressing G-d’s positive command to partake of all the other magnificent trees. On Purim, we are credited with mitzvos for eating a lavish meal and for

28 See Tikunei Zohar, tikun 22; Ramban, Yisro, 20:8; Gra, Aderes Eliyahu on V’zos Haberachah (ofen sheini), 33:5; Chiddushei Chasam Sofer, Bava Kamma 9b (and Shu”t Chasam Sofer, vol. 8, Koveitz Teshuvos, teshuvah 60, “kasav sham … ”. (See also Rav Elchonon, Koveitz Haaros on Yevamos, siman 36, os 2.) In explanation of the Ramban, see also Meshech Chochmah, V’zos HaBerachah (34:12), and Pachad Yitzchak on Pesach, maamar 54, os 2, and on Shabbos, maamar 2, os 2, and on Sukkos, maamar 21, os 6. See also the sources cited in Chavel’s footnotes in the Mossad HaRav Kook edition of the Ramban. See also the brief comments appearing in the journal Kol HaTorah, Nissan 5767, vol. 63, Insights on Maseches Yevamos, 7a, pp. 20–21. Maharsha, Chiddushei Aggados, Makkos 24a; Maayan HaChochmah, Tehillim 111; Kedushas Levi, Aggados, Sidduro shel Shabbos.; Sefer HaTanya, Chap. 4.