From a letter of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
With the approach of Purim, I take this opportunity of extending to you prayerful wishes for a joyous and inspiring Purim, and to send you this timely message in lieu of Mishloach Manot.
One of the most inspiring lessons of Purim is the extraordinary courage of Mordechai Hayehudi [the “Jew”], who “would not kneel nor bow down,” despite the physical vulnerability of our people being “spread and scattered among the nations”--a tiny minority against an overwhelming majority. Yet it is this uncompromising stance that brought triumph over all adversaries, so that “for the Jews there was light, joy, gladness, and honor.” And the awesome respect of their erstwhile detractors.
The teachings of our Torah (Torah meaning “instruction”), like the Torah itself, are eternal, including the lessons of Purim; particularly since we are still “spread and scattered among the nations,” including our brethren in the Holy Land, for they, too, are surrounded and besieged by numerically overwhelming hostile nations.
But Purim teaches us that the strength of our Jewish people, as of every Jew individually, is in our G-d-given capacity of “not kneeling nor bowing down” to any force that is contrary to our Jewish essence, which is rooted in the Torah and mitzvot. Indeed, yielding to any influence that is alien to our Jewish spirit and way of life, far from winning goodwill and respect, must necessarily bring forth contempt, be it overt or covert. For, what is one to think of a cringing Jew who is willing to compromise his true Jewish identity and noble traditions going back to the time when the world was steeped in barbarism.
Needless to say, the true Jewish spirit, as exemplified by Mordechai and Esther, must not remain in the abstract, but must be translated into concrete behavior in one’s daily life, in keeping with the basic principle of our Torah that “action is the essential thing.”
Certainly this is to be expected of young people, who are generally blessed with a greater sense of urgency and doing. Especially young couples who start out on their own, establishing a home on the foundations of the Torah and mitzvot, to raise a family in the true tradition, and make it a binyan adei-ad [an everlasting edifice] in the fullest sense.
And here, of course, a great deal depends on the akeret habayit [the foundation of the home, i.e., the woman], in whose hands G-d has entrusted the major responsibilities for the character and actual conduct of the home, such as kashrut, Shabbat observance, taharat hamishpacha [laws of purity of Jewish family life], raising the children, and so forth. This in no way diminishes the husband’s full share of responsibility in this G-d-blessed partnership, and they must consistently encourage each other to upgrade all things of goodness and holiness, Torah and mitzvot; but there is no getting away from the fact that the wife and mother bears the noble calling of “the foundation of the home.”
It is also self-evident that together with the G-d-given task comes the G-d-given capacity to carry it out to perfection. Thus it is basically a matter of one’s own will and determination.
It should be noted, in conclusion, that there is no greater emphasis on the historic role of the Jewish life than in the events that brought about the Miracle of Purim, as related in the Megila--which is named not after Mordechai, nor Mordechai and Esther jointly, but solely after Esther- Megilat Esther!
Wishing you, in the midst of all our people, in the words of the Megila, “Light, joy, gladness, and honor,” in the fullest sense of these terms, including their inner meaning, “Light--this is Torah,” etc.
