The Mitzvos HaYom of Purim Illustrate How Beloved We Are
Torah and Mitzvos Shine the Light of Hashem into Our Hearts
The holy Chasam Sofer says (Toras Moshe, Purim) that the primary lesson we must take away from the Megillah is that the Ribbono shel Olam loves us so much, He fashions the salvation even as Klal Yisrael is in the midst of committing aveiros! We see this in the first chapter of the Megillah, where, as the Yidden were partaking in the seudah of Achashveirosh—with all the terrible proceedings that went on there, as Chazal teach us—events were being put into place for a later yeshuah. Achashveirosh had his wife killed, all so the yeshuah would later come through Esther HaMalkah.
In truth, the entire Megillah is filled with hidden miraculous events. Every aspect of the narrative is essentially a disguised miracle that led to the ultimate yeshuah. But the greatest lesson of Purim is the miracle that the Ribbono shel Olam performed while Klal Yisrael was committing terrible aveiros! This illustrates the tremendous yesod that Hashem’s love for His People is eternal, in every situation. In fact, the Gemara (Kiddushin 36a) tells us that even when Klal Yisrael can be considered בנים משחיתים, rotten children, they’re stilled referred to as בנים לה' אלוקיכם.
Appreciating how much Hashem loves us doesn’t minimize the severity of aveiros, chas v’shalom. To the contrary; every aveirah brings indescribable anguish to the Shechinah HaKedoshah, and the blemish and the damage are horrible. But the Ribbono shel Olam wants us to know that, as strong as the aveirah is in distancing us from Hashem, His love is even stronger. Knowing this arouses such a feeling of mutual love—כמים פנים אל פנים—that a person will want never to sin again, never to cause pain, as it were, to the Ribbono shel Olam Who loves him so much. Thus, the conclusion of the Megillah—קיימו וקבלו, accepting the Torah anew, this time out of love—was the result of understanding and appreciating this eternal love. When the Yidden realized the extent of His love, they resolved also to serve Hashem out of love... לפנים משורת הדין... in all situations.
The Ohr of the Yom Tov Comes Through Its Unique Mitzvos
The holy Berdichever teaches us (Kedushas Levi, Purim) that the unique mitzvos of every Yom Tov are the vessels to capture the ohr of the Yom Tov, thus allowing it to enter our hearts. When a Yid eats matzah on the night of Pesach and drinks the four kosos, these actions permeate his heart with an aura of cheirus in a very deep way. And the same applies to the aura of every Yom Tov, through its unique mitzvos.
On Purim, we have four special mitzvos: קריאת המגילה, משתה ושמחה, מתנות לאביונים, ומשלוח מנות. These mitzvos together comprise the vessel of bringing the unique light of Purim into our hearts and souls. This Yom Tov has a special light, and when we perform the mitzvos hayom with the proper approach, we allow this light to illuminate our hearts. Performing these mitzvos enables our hearts to internalize the Yom Tov.
Let us thus analyze and learn what the feelings and attitudes of a Yid must be as he engages in the special avodah of this exalted day, so we will indeed merit that the aura of the day permeate our hearts.
The Main Thing Is the Heart!
The golden rule is that the primary element in a Yid’s avodah is for his heart to be aflame and engaged in the avodah of his Creator. During קריאת שמע, we don’t say that we are to love Hashem with our minds, but rather with our hearts and souls. The Ribbono shel Olam desires the avodah of our hearts and souls. Even the words ובכל מאודך refers as well to the heart, as Chazal say that it refers to loving Hashem with “every measure that He metes out for you.” Whether it’s something you want or something you appreciate less—you must accept Hashem with love.
The entire Yiddishkeit of a Yid is dependent upon his heart: רחמנא ליבא בעיא, Hashem desires the heart—for the essence of Yiddishkeit depends upon the level to which we’re tethered and connected to Hashem, and the deveikus of the heart is far stronger than the deveikus of the mind. The mind only has the capacity to think thoughts, while the heart—an emotional entity—is truly the vessel of love and deveikus on which the entire chiyus of the person is dependent.
Two Paths to the Heart
But how do we reach the heart? For this, the Ribbono shel Olam has given us 613 mitzvos, which work along two central paths to the heart. One is מח שליט על הלב, the mind controls the heart—that is, a person’s thoughts influence his heart. And the second is האדם נפעל כפי פעולותיו, man is influenced by his actions—that is, through the actions that a person takes, he becomes emotionally connected to whatever he is doing.
In a sense, we might refer to these two paths as “Torah” and “mitzvos.” When a Yid learns Torah, his mind is coopted to avodas Hashem. He doesn’t merely attain knowledge; the Torah also beams kedushah and Elokus through his mind into his heart! In fact, we see that when a person learns about a given topic, he becomes emotionally connected to it... he gains a special feeling toward that area of Torah. Learning Torah awakens a love for the Ribbono shel Olam within a person—if we learn Torah with the proper intent, which is that it should bring him closer to the Ribbono shel Olam.
On the other hand, when a person performs mitzvos, this is the second path, the mehalech of האדם נפעל כפי פעולותיו—as these actions beam the light of ahavas Hashem into his heart.
Mind Over Heart
The Ba’al HaTanya (Perek Yud Beis) elaborates greatly on the idea of מח שליט על הלב, saying that when a person meditates on a thought, he can control through his thought how his heart will feel about that matter. For example, he says, if a person perceives that someone has wronged him, it will create a feeling of hatred toward that person in his heart. Conversely, if he thinks that this person genuinely has his good in mind and wants to help him, it will arouse a feeling of love toward that person.
Thus, every feeling of the heart truly is dependent on how we think about it. Therefore, we have the choice of how our hearts will feel. A person cannot say, “How can you command me to feel something? I just don’t feel it!” But the truth is that he has that feeling because he thought along certain lines in his mind. If he changes the way he thinks, he will begin thinking proper thoughts—this will translate to a transformed heart.
The Sifri tells us regarding the pasuk ואהבת את ה' אלוקיך that a person can be commanded to love Hashem. One may ask, how can we be commanded to love? The answer lies in the following words: והיו הדברים האלה על לבבך. If we learn words of Torah and meditate upon them, we will become connected to these words in our minds, and this will automatically generate love for Hashem in your heart.
Transformed by Action
The second mehalech—that of האדם נפעל כפי פעולותיו—is brought by the Sefer HaChinuch regarding the prohibition to break a bone of the Korban Pesach. The reason for this mitzvah, he says, is to foster a feeling of cheirus, freedom. A prince doesn’t bite into bones. And when we perform princely behavior, it helps us internalize an aura of royalty.
