אם על המלך טוב יכתב לאבדם
“If it please Your Majesty, let an edict be drawn for their destruction.” (Esther 3:9)
Megillas Esther revolves around the decree written by Haman and sealed by Achashveirosh to eradicate every Jew, and every year on Purim we celebrate our salvation from their plot by Hashem. Rav Shimshon Pinkus points out that we say in the Haggadah that the nations of the world try to destroy us in every generation, but Hashem inevitably rescues us. Ferdinand and Isabella, Stalin, Hitler, and so many others all tried to do the same thing as Haman and Achashveirosh, yet we do not make any Yom Tov in conjunction with them. Why is Purim different?
The Medrash says (Esther Rabbah 7:13) that when Eliyohu heard about Haman’s plan, he pleaded with Moshe to intercede on behalf of his nation, but warned him that Hashem had agreed to it and signed a Divine edict to wipe out the Jewish people. This was unprecedented. Moshe asked Eliyohu: “Did Hashem seal His decree with blood or with clay? If it was sealed with blood, it is too late, but if it was only sealed with clay, then there is still a chance.” Eliyohu replied that Hashem sealed it with clay, so Moshe immediately got to work and instructed Eliyohu to inform Mordechai as well.
Rav Pinkus explains that when we hear this Medrash, we make a big mistake. We think the Medrash means that only an order sealed with blood is serious, but one sealed with clay is no big deal because it can simply be annulled. In reality, once an edict has been sealed by Hashem, it is final, regardless of the type of seal used, as the Megillah states (8:8) that once the King has sealed a decree, it cannot be revoked. If so, why did Moshe ask Eliyohu about the seal?
Rav Pinkus explains that the concept of past, present, and future does not exist for Hashem. Everything takes place simultaneously in heaven, a concept that humans cannot grasp. When Moshe asked if the order was signed in blood, he was in essence asking if it had already taken place, even if it had not yet manifested itself in this world. A seal of blood would mean that the Jewish blood was already spilled in heaven, in which case nothing could be done.
To appreciate what happened next, Rav Pinkus gives a moshul [parable] of an only child, a little boy named Yankel. One day, as Yankel was walking to school, he was hit by a car. Hatzolah came and rushed him to the hospital, where he was immediately taken into surgery. As his parents were anxiously saying Tehillim, the surgeon came out and told them that he did everything he could, but unfortunately their son’s internal injuries were too great, and he did not survive. Yankel’s parents cried and held each other, and with a heavy heart, they called the chevra kadisha [Jewish burial society] to make funeral arrangements. Just after they hung up the phone, a nurse came running out and screamed: “It was a mistake. We just revived your son, and his heart is beating again.”
After lots of intense rehabilitation, Yankel was eventually taken home by his overjoyed parents, but not in the family sedan. They had to rent a special truck for the occasion, as it was filled with every gift their son had ever asked for: a new bike, Legos, games, virtually the entire toy store. It is impossible to put into words the simcha his family felt that day after they thought it was all over, and now their Yankel had truly come back to life. This is exactly what happened on Purim more than 2000 years ago. We were Yankel. Hashem kavayachol [so to speak] endured a sleepless night after sealing the decree to wipe out His only child – המלך בלילה ההוא נדדה שנת (6:1). It was time for the chevra kadisha. What happened next? Whenever we find ourselves in serious trouble, we cry out to Hashem with prayer and Tehillim and turn to our Rabbis for guidance. Accordingly, when the Jews heard about Haman’s edict and realized that they were facing total annihilation, their first thought was to daven. Unfortunately, Mordechai quickly discovered that this avenue was unavailable as Eliyohu informed him that Hashem had consented to Haman’s plan.
At that point, the Jews shifted their focus to human intervention. They felt they could not count on Mordechai, as he was the one who caused the predicament by walking past Haman and refusing to bow to him. They realized that they had one last hope: Esther, their sister in the royal palace. Accordingly, when she asked them to fast for her for three days, they knew it was their last chance and went along with her plan.
To their chagrin, Esther then appeared to switch sides. Of all people, she decided to invite Haman to her private banquet with the king. At that point, Hashem had signed them away, Mordechai was responsible for their plight, and now Esther had forged an alliance with the enemy. It appeared that they had been abandoned by everybody.
In their darkest moment, when everything seemed hopeless and everyone they were used to counting on had turned on them, they knew deep down that there was only One hope, so they decided to continue davening and trying to reconnect to Hashem against all the odds. Their persistence and devotion in the face of death kavayachol broke Hashem’s heart and brought them back from the chevra kadisha. Their teshuvah [repentance] was so intense and unprecedented that it led to techiyas hameisim [the resurrection of the dead].
Just like Yankel’s parents, the burning love Hashem felt for His resurrected child caused Him to shower us with presents, but instead of a new bike, we got a new Beis HaMikdosh and a new Kabbolas HaTorah (Shabbos 88a). Purim was the day when Hashem’s ahava [love] for us burst forth more than at any other time in history.
Returning to Yankel, what would happen on the first anniversary of his return from the hospital if he would remind his parents of the special day and ask for more toys? They would tell him “That was a one-time deal when Hashem gave you back to us. Don’t think that every year on this day you are going to get gifts all over again.” Purim does not work this way. What happened on the first Purim takes place annually. Every year on Purim, Hashem feels the identical intense love toward us and showers us with presents once again.
Normally, if a person approaches us and asks for tzedokah, we are permitted to inquire and verify whether he is truly needy, but on Purim, there is a unique halachah (Orach Chaim 694:3) that: כל הפושט יד נותנים לו - “we should give blindly to anyone who sticks out his hand without asking any questions”. Several meforshim explain that Hashem also keeps this law. All we have to do is stick out our hands in prayer and ask, and just as on the original Purim, Hashem has oceans of berachah waiting to give to His beloved Yankel. (R’ Ozer Alport)
