Sunday, February 17, 2013

CLD #820


This year Purim falls on Sunday and it is quite challenging to build up the momentum to enter Purim in the correct attitude. Therefore, this entire week theCLD members will do whatever we can to help motivate and ignite our hearts to welcome Purim 5773 the best way we can. Rav Shimshon David Pinkus’ sichot (discussions) on Purim is a great way to let us begin our Purim Extravaganza for this week.

Before we begin a small Devar Torah, let’s just break down some major points on Purim: A) Purim is the holiday that will always be celebrated, even after the days of Mashiah (this helps us realize it is important to actually learn what Purim is all about and put aside the 3rd grade story of Purim) B) Purim includes four major mitzvot: Mikrah Megillah (reading/listening to Megillat Ester), Matanot La’Evyonim (giving tzedaka to two poor people) 3) Mishloah Manot (greatening the love between each other by providing each other with delicacies and food and finally 4) Seudat Purim, enjoying a festive meal specifically with red wine, bread and meat (obviously everything with the finest kosher certificates). C) Purim is filled with mystical secrets of how Hashem runs the world.

Rav Pinkus ZT’L explains that Purim is all about searching G-d within nature and being happy just to be happy! Being in simha just to be in simha! He explains in one of his intriguing sichot on Purim that Purim is about understanding that G-d is the creator and marks the blueprint for each individual’s life. The enemy and arch-nemesis of Purim is Haman the Rasha (wicked). Haman is part of Amalek, or the enemy that attacked the Jewish nation after their exile from Mitzrayim.

Amalek (Haman’s great grandfather) is known for believing that everything is mikreh (a coincidence). This is the yetzer hara of Purim. The evil inclination wants us to run our lives thinking “everything is a coincidence. I mean, I believe in G-d but I DON’T BELIVE HE IS IN EVERY TINY DETAIL OF MY LIFE (G-d forbid).” This is what Purim is all about. In reality, my Rav (Rav Yaakov Darmoni shlit’a) used to say: In reality if someone breaks up the story of Purim into different events and just looks at the events individually it is pretty easy to avoid G-d’s interception of each situation. However, if a person takes all the events that make up the great story of Purim, they cannot turn their head from the fact that Hashem HAD TO BE IN CHARGE OF EVERYTHING.

Be’ezrat Hashem one of the things we should take from Rav Pinkus and Purim is the practicality that Hashem is in charge of every detail in our life, even at the point when we decide between Carton A of Milk and Carton B of milk in the bottom isle in the supermarket refrigerator. Hashem is running the show and we need to get accustomed to breathing this fact.

Shavua Tov & Purim Sameah!
Purim is in 6 days: are you ready?

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