What is Purim Really? – Ki Tisa
וַיִּתֵּן אֶל מֹשֶׁה כְּכַלֹּתוֹ לְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ בְּהַר סִינַי שְׁנֵי לֻחֹת הָעֵדֻת לֻחֹת אֶבֶן כְּתֻבִים בְּאֶצְבַּע אֱ-לֹקִים. (שמות לא, יח)
In this week's parsha we read of Moshe descending from Har Sinai forty days after Matan Torah with the luchot, only to find that Am Yisrael had sinned with the egel.
As previously stated in numerous shiurim, there is a principle brought by the Tur, the Shlah HaKadosh, etc. that if a festival occurs in any week, it is hinted to in the parsha preceding it. The hint in this week's parsha to Purim is very obvious. The beginning of the parsha speaks about the שֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה that is used to anoint all the components of the Mishkan and the Kohanim. The passuk describes the ingredients - וְאַתָּה קַח לְךָ בְּשָׂמִים רֹאשׁ מָר דְּרוֹר חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת וְקִנְּמָן בֶּשֶׂם מַחֲצִיתוֹ חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתָיִם וּקְנֵה בֹשֶׂם חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתָיִם (שמות ל, כג). The Gemara (חולין קלט, ע"ב) asks "What is the source for the name Mordechai in the Torah?" מָרְדֳּכַי מִן הַתּוֹרָה מִנַּיִן דִּכְתִיב "מָר דְּרוֹר" וּמְתַרְגְּמִינַן מַיְרָא דַּכְיָא, the name Mordechai is derived from the word מֹר, one of the ingredients both of the שֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה and also the Ketoret (which is described a few psukkim later).
In this week's shiur I would like to explore a very interesting pattern in Jewish history, which repeats itself over and over again. It is especially pertinent to Purim, as it reveals the true essence of Purim, this year in particular.
Let us begin with a question – "When was Matan Torah?"
Now we will see what caliber of talmid chacham you are.
Many talmidei chachamim will answer "It is actually a machloket in the Gemara (Shabbat 86b and Yoma 4b). According to the Chachamim it was on 6th Sivan and according to R' Yossi, it was on the 7th of Sivan".
That's a pretty good answer, but it is the wrong answer. A bigger talmid chacham will (like any good Jew) answer the question with another question – "Which Matan Torah?"
What do you mean "Which Matan Torah?" were there more than one Matan Torah?
And the answer is "Yes, there are actually six Matan Torah's!" Let us examine them one by one and we will see an interesting pattern emerge.
The first Matan Torah in history was in Gan Eden.
The 2nd chapter in Breishit describes how HKB"H placed two trees in Gan Eden ...וְעֵץ הַחַיִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע (בראשית ב, ט). The עֵץ הַחַיִּים is the Torah. HKB"H wanted to give the Torah to Adam HaRishon, so He commanded Adam to eat from - מִכֹּל עֵץ הַגָּן אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל (שם טז). Sefer Meir Panim (פרק טו, עמ' קסב) proves that the word כֹּל is referring to the עֵץ הַחַיִּים, the Torah.
A few psukkim later it says וַיִּקַּח ה' אֱ-לֹקִים אֶת הָאָדָם וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן עֵדֶן לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ (שם טו). A few weeks ago, in parshat Mishpatim 2025, we explained that the words לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ are equivalent to נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע. The stage was set for the first Matan Torah, which was to take place on Shabbat.
However, as we all know, something went wrong. The נָחָשׁ appeared and interfered with the impending Matan Torah. As a result, HKB"H postponed this Matan Torah and meanwhile stationed guardian angels to prevent access to the עֵץ הַחַיִּים.
The second Matan Torah was supposed to take place in the generation of Noach (בראשית רבה פרשה לד יא).
For this reason, HKB"H heaped abundance and prosperity on this generation. He gave them a perfect climate. When they sowed seeds, it yielded crops for 40 years! Nobody ever became ill, they possessed superhuman strength and they all lived to over 800 years of age. This was the very same situation that Am Yisrael exiting Egypt were in before Matan Torah. HKB"H gave them Clouds of Glory, to provide a perfect climate environment and protection from the elements. HKB"H gave them unlimited free food (Mann) and water (Well of Miriam) that cured all their physical ailments and gave them superhuman strength.
Instead of expressing gratitude to HKB"H for this abundance, Noach's generation responded וַיֹּאמְרוּ לָאֵ-ל סוּר מִמֶּנּוּ וְדַעַת דְּרָכֶיךָ לֹא חָפָצְנוּ (איוב כא, יד), they rejected HKB"H and became a depraved society worthy only of destruction.
The third Matan Torah was when Am Yisrael left Egypt, 2448 years after Gan Eden. Again, HKB"H set the stage for the great event, by giving Am Yisrael Mann to eat and water from the Well of Miriam to drink, to raise them to the level of Adam HaRishon before the sin.
As the momentous day drew nearer (6th or 7th of Sivan – it is a machloket in the Gemara Shabbat 86b, above, but the consensus is that it took place on Shabbat), once again the נָחָשׁ appeared, in the form of its gilgul – Amalek. We have a hint to this from the passuk וַיְזַנֵּב בְּךָ כָּל הַנֶּחֱשָׁלִים אַחַרֶיךָ (דברים כה, יח) which, in gematria, is the same as בְּרִיאַת עוֹלָם אָדָם וְחַוָּה. Just as before, the נָחָשׁ targeted the weak (Chava), here too Amalek targeted the tribe of Dan at the rear of the camp.
Am Yisrael won that battle, but Amalek managed to inflict damage. The resulting Matan Torah was not as perfect as it was intended to be. Yes, Am Yisrael declared נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע, but in order to get them to accept the Torah, HKB"H had to "dangle the mountain over their heads" and threaten them, כָּפָה עֲלֵיהֶם הַר כְּגִיגִית (שבת פח, ע"א). If Am Yisrael perfectly accepted the Torah with נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע, why was it necessary to threaten them? The Gemara (and the Midrash Tanchuma, Noach 3, 4) say that Am Yisrael willingly accepted receiving the written Torah, the תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב, but HKB"H had to threaten them to also accept the oral Torah, the תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה. In the end Am Yisrael accepted both, but the latter was not accepted willingly. An aftermath of this was the sin with the egel.
The fourth Matan Torah took place at Mei Meriva.
As Am Yisrael were poised to enter Eretz Yisrael, after wandering for forty years in the Midbar, HKB"H planned a "reenactment" of Matan Torah. If this was to be a reenactment, then it is safe to assume that it was also to take place on Shabbat, like Har Sinai (although I have not yet found a source for this). Moshe was supposed to speak to the rock and there would be a great kiddush Hashem and the water (a symbol for the Torah) would flow from the rock. Am Yisrael would renew their acceptance of the Torah wholeheartedly, enter Eretz Yisrael with Moshe Rabbeinu and the era of Mashiach would commence.
As before, the נָחָשׁ appeared, this time in the form of לֵיצָנֵי הַדּוֹר, scoffers who laughed at Moshe (במדבר רבה שם, ילקוט שמעוני רמז תשסג), saying that he knew which rock to strike because he was a shepherd of Yitro's sheep and was acquainted with the different rock formations, those that harbored water and those that did not.
As a result, instead of speaking to the rock as HKB"H commanded, Moshe struck the rock. In the end the water gushed forth, but the damage had been done once again by the נָחָשׁ, Moshe was punished and did not enter Eretz Yisrael and the era of Mashiach was delayed.
Fast forward 740 years (some say later), to the story of Purim. In this year another momentous occasion was planned – the fifth Matan Torah.
As with the previous instances of Matan Torah, the miracle of Purim first began on - Shabbat. The Gemara (Megila 12b) says that Vashti was executed because of Shabbat, because she tormented her Jewish female servants on Shabbat, by forcing them to walk around with no clothes and do work on Shabbat. Removing Vashti from the picture was the first miracle in the long series of miracles of Purim.
This Matan Torah was an event almost on the same scale of the Matan Torah at Har Sinai, because in this Matan Torah, Am Yisrael were to finally accept both parts of the Torah willingly, including the תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה. The Gemara (Shabbat 88a) says אָמַר רָבָא אעפ"כ הַדּוֹר קַבְּלוּהָ בִּימֵי אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ דִּכְתִיב (אֶסְתֵּר ט, כז) "קִיְּמוּ וְקִבְּלוּ הַיְּהוּדִים", קִיְּמוּ מַה שֶּׁקִּבְּלוּ כְּבָר.
At the end of the story of Purim the entire Am Yisrael had an epiphany. With the same total unity that they experienced at Har Sinai, וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר, Am Yisrael willingly accepted the תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה, including all the גְּזֵרוֹת חֲכָמִים, the new halachot that Mordechai and Esther instituted, the same halachot of Purim we know so well – megilah, seudah, matanot la'evyonim and mishloach manot.
Like all the episodes of Matan Torah that preceded it, this too had to have interference from the נָחָשׁ, this time in the form of Haman, a descendant of Amalek, the same Amalek that tried to hamper the Matan Torah at Har Sinai. As with the prior episodes, this interference also inflicted damage.
Although on Purim Am Yisrael completed the circle of Har Sinai's Matan Torah by accepting the תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה with the same fervor of נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע, this did not instigate a mass return from Bavel to Eretz Yisrael - the vast majority of Babylonian Jews remained in Bavel. Once again, we had an opportunity to herald the era of Mashiach and we missed it.
The sixth and final Matan Torah does not have a known date. It will occur sometime in the future, when Mashiach arrives.
The Gemara is "peppered" in numerous places with the abbreviation "תיקו", which stands for תִּשְׁבִּי יְתָרֵץ קֻשְׁיוֹת וּבְעָיוֹת. Many machlokot in the Gemara are unresolved and will only be resolved in the time of Mashiach.
In the time of Mashiach we will receive the Torah once again, but on a much higher level than ever before - תּוֹרָה שֶׁאָדָם לָמֵד בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה הֶבֶל הִיא לִפְנֵי תּוֹרָתוֹ שֶׁל מָשִׁיחַ (קהלת רבה יא, א, ח). The Gemara (Sanhedrin 91b) compares the Torah we have received until now, to the Torah in the time of Mashiach as the light of the moon compared to the light of the sun.
As with all occurrences of Matan Torah, as we have seen, so too will the final, 6th Matan Torah be preceded by an Amalek/ נָחָשׁ episode. However, unlike the prior Matan Torah episodes, this final one will in no way be diminished by the נָחָשׁ/Amalek episode, because in the time of the Mashiach, Amalek will be finally wiped out, as will the yetzer hara, the נָחָשׁ.
Someone who experiences an Amalek/ נָחָשׁ episode as we have, beginning fourteen months ago in תשפ"ד, will undoubtedly be traumatized, as we have been. If, however, you examine it in its historical context, as above, you come to the realization that every Amalek/ נָחָשׁ episode in our history has been a precursor to a great event of national magnitude. Undoubtedly the most recent one will too b"H. Just like back in the time of Moshe, Amalek targeted the weakest amongst us (not the physically weak, but the spiritually weak), so too does it continue in the same way today. No words better describe our current situation with Hamas ימש"ו than the passuk describing Amalek's attack in Refidim וַיְזַנֵּב בְּךָ כָּל הַנֶּחֱשָׁלִים אַחַרֶיךָ וְאַתָּה עָיֵף וְיָגֵעַ וְלֹא יָרֵא אֱ-לֹקִים (דברים כה, יח).
We no longer have the powers of prophecy in Am Yisrael and nobody knows exactly when the Geulah will arrive, on which date. However, if we open our eyes to what is going on around us, both the micro and the macro, it is impossible to deny that historic events are taking place on a biblical scale. Global history is being rewritten in our time and we are participants in its writing. This is an enormous privilege and also an enormous responsibility.
Similarly, if you look for hints in the psukkim and the connection to current events, the "heat signature" is unmistakable. It is like a seismograph that records tectonic movements. If the graph is calm, flatline, then little is happening, but if the graph is jumping wildly, you know something is afoot. If you find a solitary hint or two, that is like the flatline graph, but if you find a multitude of hints, at the very least it should make us wake up.
As you all know, I am fond of gematriyot, not chas vechalila to use gematriyot to "foresee the future" or to pasken halacha, these are not appropriate uses of this methodology. However, to awaken Am Yisrael, to sound the alarm that something is happening and to spur everyone on to be mitkarev and do tshuva, I believe that is an acceptable practice. In that spirit, here are a few interesting gematriyot.
The gematria of וַיְזַנֵּב בְּךָ כָּל הַנֶּחֱשָׁלִים אַחַרֶיךָ (829) is the same as the gematria of –
הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ ה' אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה
גְּאוּלָּה תשפ"ד
מִלְחֲמוֹת קֵץ הַיָּמִין
נִצָּחוֹן יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעַזָּה
וְזוֹכֵר חַסְדֵי אָבוֹת וּמֵבִיא גוֹאֵל
הוּא יִגְאַל אוֹתָנוּ בְּקָרוֹב
דָּוִיד מֶלֶךְ יִשְֹרָאֵל חַי וְקַיָּם
מוֹשִׁעִים בְּהַר צִיּוֹן
מָרְדֳּכַי הַיְּהוּדִי מִשְׁנֶה לַמֶּלֶךְ
The gematria of הַנָּחָשׁ הִשִּׂיאַנִי (739) is the same as the gematria of –
הַנָּשִׂיא בַּיְידֶּן בְּקַץ הַיָּמִים
מִלְחֶמֶת הָעוֹלָם גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג
רְעִידַת הָאֲדָמָה
This is what a seismograph jumping wildly looks like.
We should take all of this as encouragement, a ray of light in troubled times. We are all experiencing these troubled times, be it on the level of chas vechalila having lost a loved one, having a loved one still hostage in Gaza, struggling with parnasa, health … and myriad other troubles that may plague us. We must not become despondent and give up hope. All the indications point to extremely good things happening very soon.
On Ta'anit Esther we need to pour our hearts out to HKB"H, in the immortal words of Queen Esther as she approached the throne room of Achashveirosh, risking her life - לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד. אֵ-לִי אֵ-לִי לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי... (תהילים כב). Let us beseech HKB"H to free all our hostages alive and healthy, to heal all the wounded in body and mind.
On Purim day we need to rejoice and celebrate the miraculous turn of events that took place centuries ago and a mere few months ago, in Lebanon, in Syria, in the American elections, etc. We need to adhere to the words of Queen Esther לֵךְ כְּנוֹס אֶת כָּל הַיְּהוּדִים. The episode of Purim was a קִטְרוּג for selling of Yosef and lashon hara (see last week's shiur) that caused a rift in Am Yisrael, a rift that must be repaired by gathering all of Am Yisrael together, restoring unity amongst us.
Let our mishloach manot be sent this year, not only to our close friends and neighbors, but also to our (supposed) adversaries, those who hold a diametrically opposite opinion to us, to express that despite our differences, beneath it all we are still brothers and sisters.
Purim is a festival of mirth. Let us make a special effort this year to refrain from mocking our fellow Jews, even those we intensely dislike, even if it is in a humorous, satirical way, and rather direct our mockery to our real enemies from without.
This year Shushan Purim is on Shabbat mamash. The stars are aligned this year with all the prior Matan Torah's. Regardless of whether or not we live in a "walled city", let us all be extra makpid with our Shabbat observance this Shabbat, more than normal, devoting more time to tefilot and studying Torah.
But most of all, let us "weaponize" the simcha and optimism of Adar and Purim and carry it forth to the rest of the year that lies ahead of us, as it says אַחֲרֵי הַפְּעֻלּוֹת נִמְשָׁכִים הַלְּבָבוֹת (ספר החינוך מצווה טז). We have good statistical reason to be optimistic (see above) and "armed" with such a mindset, only good things are on the horizon, b"H.
Purim Sameach and Shabbat Shalom
