We all look forward to Purim and the many beautiful and meaningful mitzvos of this day, such as reading the Megillah and giving Mishloach Manos. However, the Gemara (Megillah 7b) tells us of another obligation: “V’chayav inish l’besumei,” a person must become intoxicated on Purim to the extent that he cannot differentiate between “Arur Haman” (cursing Haman) and “Baruch Mordechai” (blessing Mordechai).
What type of mitzvah is this? Is one really supposed to make such a terrible mistake and confuse Haman and Mordechai? Many explanations offer a deeper understanding of this confusion. We would like to present an approach based on a well-known essay from R' Yaakov Kamenetsky (Parshas Vayeitzei and Vayeishev) regarding a Jew’s life in galus.
The Torah tells us that Yosef was especially beloved to his father Yaakov because he was a “ben zekunim,” a child of his old age. Rashi provides an additional explanation: Yaakov taught Yosef all the Torah he had absorbed during his years in the yeshiva of Shem and Ever. What was special about the Torah learned from Shem and Ever? How was this Torah distinct from the Torah he learned at home from Avraham and Yitzchak, and why did he impart this Torah specifically to Yosef?
R' Yaakov explains that Shem lived through the Dor HaMabul, and Ever lived during the Dor Haflagah. These were both eras of unspeakable immorality and heresy, yet these tzadikim managed to remain pure and unaffected. Therefore, they were able to teach Toras HaGalus—the lessons on how to retain one’s moral standing while surrounded by wickedness.
When Yaakov Avinu left his parents’ home and headed for Charan, he knew he was walking into a spiritual lion’s den. The Torah of his father and grandfather had built him into who he was, but he still felt unprepared for the upcoming nisyonos. There was only one destination that could serve this purpose: the Beis Medrash of Shem and Ever. Yaakov stayed there for fourteen years, absorbing the Torah that would fortify and sustain him for the next twenty years in galus, living in the home of Lavan.
Yaakov was well aware that his children would go into galus Mitzrayim and that Yosef would precede them, living there alone for many years. Naturally, he was concerned for Yosef’s spiritual welfare—how he would remain Yosef HaTzadik among the depravity of the Mitzriyim. Therefore, he gave him all the tools he had, conveying the lessons from Shem and Ever, the Toras HaGalus that had served him well.
There is a famous incident involving Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein, the Slabodka Rosh Yeshiva. In 1923, after the yeshiva relocated to Chevron, he traveled to America to raise much-needed funds. Upon his return, he was asked for his impression of American Jewry. He replied succinctly, “They are proficient in Kiddush but not in Havdalah.” His meaning was clear: Many Yidden were keeping mitzvos and willing to support yeshivos, but they were failing to keep themselves separate and were being drawn into the American melting pot.
