Posts
Laws of Purim
Section 1. For Haman wished to destroy and to kill, etc., all the Jews, and he wished to annul the hispa'arus [the glorification and splendor] of Hashem, Who glorifies Himself together with His people Israel. And therefore he wished to prevail in the month of Adar, in which Moshe Rabbainu, peace be upon him, passed away — for Moshe had been the one who revealed that hispa'arus, and by means of this he merited bringing the Torah into the world. For this is itself the bechinas [aspect] of the hispa'arus with which the Holy One, blessed be He, glorifies Himself together with His people Israel, through the Torah that Israel observes. And therefore through the Torah there was the revelation of the ritzonos [the Divine will-forces] of the Creation, as it is written: "Beraishis" [Genesis 1:1] — [meaning:] for the sake of the Torah, which is called raishis [beginning / first], and for the sake of Israel, who are also called raishis. For "Oraisa u'Kudsha Brich Hu kulah chad" — [Aramaic:] "The Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are all one" [Zohar III:73a] — for His hispa'arus, blessed be He, is [expressed] together with Israel through the Torah, as stated above. And therefore the Torah is called Tiferes [Beauty / Glory], as is cited [in the sources]. And from there [the level of Tiferes] came the general acceptance of the Torah — by virtue of the fact that [Moshe] was able to reveal the hispa'arus within each and every one of Israel, even the lowliest among the lowly. As is cited in the ma'amar "Ki Saitzai" [Likutay Moharan II, §82]: that Moshe would connect himself to the lowliest person in Israel and would find G‑dliness within him — for he was the most humble of all people. And through this he paved a prepared path in the month of Elul and brought the Torah into the world at that time — see there. And therefore Moshe merited "klil tiferes" — a crown of glory — as it is written: "Moshe rejoices in the gift of his portion; a crown of glory upon his head did You place, when he stood before You, etc." [Shabbos Shacharis liturgy]. For through the standing at Mount Sinai, by which he merited the receiving of the Torah — which is the bechinas hispa'arus, as stated — he therefore merited a crown of glory, since everything was accomplished through him, as stated. And therefore [Haman] wished to prevail specifically in the month in which Moshe died, as stated. And therefore the main force of his power was through the pegam ha'achilah [blemish of eating] — in that Israel derived pleasure from the feast of that wicked one [Achashverosh] — all of which had been according to his [Haman's] counsel, in order to cause them to stumble through forbidden food. For through the pegam ha'achilah, the da'as [mindful awareness] becomes blemished and disordered — and through this the tzaddik who reveals the hispa'arus becomes concealed, [as is explained there]. And from there comes the nurturing of Haman and the Sitra Achra [the Other Side], whose sustenance is from the blemish of the altar [pegam hamizbaich] — the pegam ha'achilah — through which the disordering of the da'as is strengthened, and from that it draws its sustenance. And therefore Haman made himself into an object of idol-worship — for the sustenance of idol-worship [avodah zarah] comes from there, from the bechina of the pegam hamizbaich, as stated, [as is explained there]. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said — that Haman is hinted at in the Torah in the verse: "Ha'min ha'aytz asher tziviticha l'vilti achol mimenu achalta — Is it from the tree about which I commanded you not to eat that you have eaten?" [Genesis 3:11]. For the primary source of his sustenance is from the pegam ha'achilah, through which the da'as becomes blemished — which is the bechina of the blemish of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. For through the pegam ha'achilah, the light of the tzaddik who reveals the hispa'arus is covered over, and the bechinas hispa'arus becomes blemished, G‑d forbid — and from that comes the sustenance of idol-worship, from the falling of hispa'arus, [as Rabbainu wrote elsewhere]. And therefore [Haman] made himself an object of idol-worship, as stated. And therefore one must rectify the pegam hamizbaich in order to merit eating with kashrus — for then, specifically through eating, the da'as is elevated and perfected, and this is achieved through tzedakah [charity], [as is explained there]. And this is the bechinas matanos la'evyonim [gifts to the poor] which we give on Purim — for through this, love and peace are increased, through which the calm and pure air [aveer hanach vihazach] is created, through which the words of Mordechai come to be written in their books, in the bechinas: "and it was found written that Mordechai had reported" [Esther 2:23], [as is explained there].
Section 2. And this is the bechina of the reading of the Megilah — which is the bechina of the written document that was effected by Mordechai, that was inscribed and engraved in their books, through which the miracle came about. For through this, converts [gairim] were made, in the bechinas: "and many of the peoples of the land converted to Judaism" [Esther 8:17] — through which the pegam hamizbaich was repaired, through which the da'as was perfected, through which the light of the tzaddik who reveals the hispa'arus of Israel was uncovered. And through all this came the downfall of Haman, whose sustenance was from the pegam hamizbaich, as stated. [See there well.] And therefore the essential rectification of the Megilah was instituted and arranged so that it be written in their books. And as is cited: that for this reason no [Divine] Name appears explicitly anywhere in the Megilah, because of the need that it be written in their books. For the entire essential the bechina of the Megilah is the bechina of the writing that was engraved and inscribed in their books by Mordechai — through which came the miracle of the downfall of Haman, as stated. And this is what is written: "And all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordechai — are they not written in the book of chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?" [Esther 10:2]. This we do not find in other places — for the way of Scripture normally is only to write that the remaining matters are recorded in the books of the kings of Israel and of Yehudah. However, here, Scripture specifies that all the acts of his power and might of the miracle, and the greatness of Mordechai, are recorded primarily in their books — for there one sees the greatness of Mordechai and the force of the miracle he performed: that he was able to produce such a writing within their books, through which he extracted the good that had been so deeply buried among them, as was the case at that time. And through this he wrought such a great miracle, as stated. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: that at the hour when Haman came to Mordechai to mount him on the horse, etc., he found him occupied with the laws of the kometz [handful] of the meal-offering, etc., and [Mordechai] said to him: "Atai kometz mincha didchu u'vatil asaras alpim kikar kesef" — "Your handful of meal-offering has come and nullified the ten thousand kikar of silver" [Megillah 16a]. Kometz mincha — specifically — namely, the bechina of the sacrificial offerings, which are the wholeness [shleimus] of the altar — and through this came the downfall of Haman, as stated. And this is the bechinas mishloach manos ish l're'aihu [sending portions, one man to his fellow] — all of it in order to increase peace, through which the calm aveer [atmosphere] is created, and all the tzedakah of matanos la'evyonim is all for this same purpose, as stated. And therefore it is a great mitzvah to eat on Purim and to greatly increase the se'udah [feast], for the essential perfection and rectification of the da'as, and the subjugation of the foolishness from which Haman draws his sustenance, as stated, is through eating when it is with kashrus, as stated — [as is explained there, see there] — and this is achieved through tzedakah and the reading of the Megilah, as stated. And therefore it is the custom to hold the main feast near the evening — after the rectifications of Purim have been performed, through which the da'as is perfected, as stated — for then the eating is permitted, and it is a great mitzvah to greatly increase the feast. For then, eating is the essential perfection of the da'as, as stated. And therefore one fasts before Purim — the Fast of Esther [Ta'anis Esther] — for fasting is a rectification of the craving for eating, [as Rabbainu wrote elsewhere], and it is itself the bechinas tzedakah, [as Rabbainu wrote elsewhere] — the bechinas "agra d'ta'anisa tzidkesa" — "the reward of fasting is [the act of] charity" [Berachos 6b] — through which the pegam ha'achilah is repaired, as stated. And this is [the reason] why some are accustomed to give matanos la'evyonim on the day of the Fast of Esther — for tzedakah and fasting are one single bechinas, and both must be done beforehand, for through them the essential miracle [comes about], as stated. For the essential rectification of the pegam ha'achilah is tzedakah, [as explained in the aforementioned ma'amar].
📜 Translator's Summary — Purim Halacha 2
- Central Theme: Based on Likutay Moharan I:17, this halacha traces how Haman's power flows from the pegam ha'achilah (blemish of eating) — specifically, Israel's partaking of Achashverosh's forbidden feast. This blemish corrupts da'as, which conceals the tzaddik who reveals G‑d's hispa'arus (glory).
- Moshe & Tiferes: Moshe embodies the revelation of hispa'arus — hence Haman targeted the month of his passing. The Torah itself is called Tiferes. The ritzonos (Divine will-forces) of Creation were revealed through the Torah.
- Haman = the Tree: Our Sages link Haman's name to the verse "Ha'min ha'aytz" — "from the tree" — pointing to the primordial sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge as the root of his power.
- The Rectification Chain: Tzedakah → repairs the pegam ha'achilah → restores da'as → reveals the tzaddik's light → defeats Haman. This is the mystical backbone of matanos la'evyonim.
- The Megilah's Unique Feature: G‑d's Name is absent from the Megilah precisely so that it could be "written in their books" — the miracle was embedded within the secular historical record, showing Mordechai's power to extract holiness from the deepest concealment.
- The Four Mitzvos of Purim: Megilah reading, feast, mishloach manos, and matanos la'evyonim — each one targets a specific dimension of the rectification of eating, peace, and da'as.
- Fast of Esther: Fasting = tzedakah (an internal form of charity — giving up one's sustenance). Hence some give matanos la'evyonim on that very day.
No comments:
Post a Comment