The Mitzvah to Become Intoxicated on Purim
One of the mitzvos unique to Purim is that of mishteh, the seudas Purim. It is not sufficient to merely have a festive meal; one is mandated to become intoxicated [with wine] and drink above and beyond what he normally would drink. This mandate is striking, since there are numerous times in Tanach that we are warned not to become inebriated. A significant portion of Sefer Mishlei focuses on the hazards of consuming wine.
According to one opinion, the very first aveirah, the sin of the Eitz HaDaas, was committed with gefen. Similarly, Noach became intoxicated after leaving the teivah, with disastrous consequences. Lives are ruined because of drinking wine, and it is very difficult to understand why this substance is the central theme of seudas Purim.
The Elyah Rabbah (695) explains that when Chazal enacted Purim as a Yom Tov, they did so in way that commemorates how the miracle transpired. The miraculous salvation came about through a mishteh, therefore, we commemorate this through seudas Purim.
Vashti’s demise came about through Achashveirosh being intoxicated and making demands of her with which she refused to comply. This in turn paved the way for Esther’s entrance into the palace. Haman’s eventual downfall also took place at a mishteh, this time of Esther’s making. Chazal instruct us to partake of wine on Purim as a way to recollect the miracles that transpired.
This reason, however, seems inadequate to explain why Chazal would make it a requirement to engage in a reprehensible activity that routinely leads to sin. There were many components of various miracles that have been performed for Klal Yisroel that are not included in how the event is celebrated. Why include something that is regarded as so detrimental to our physical and spiritual health?
The Jews Warranted Complete Annihilation Because They Enjoyed Achashveirosh’s Mishteh
Never before or since has Hashem signed off on a decree as devastating as that of Haman: להשמיד להרג ולאבד את כל היהודים מנער ועד זקן טף ונשים- “To wipe out and kill all the Jews from young till old, women and children” (Esther 3:13), was an edict that called for complete annihilation of the Jewish people. This was the only time in history that Hashem had permitted such a decree to be promulgated.
There is no aveirah that Klal Yisroel ever succumbed to that warranted a more disastrous punishment than participating in Achashveirosh’s party. This compounds our question many times over. The single event that led to the worst decree the Jewish nation has ever faced was participating in the party. Why would we then celebrate our salvation from such a fate with a mishteh, which could call to mind the terrible aveirah that warranted Klal Yisroel’s destruction? Why are we commemorating sin?
Why Did Esther Make a Mishteh?
Rav Shlomah Kluger (Ma’amer Esther end of Perek 6) asks a similar question. We have a principle that, אין קטגור נעשה סנגור, the prosecutor cannot also serve as the defence attorney.
Klal Yisroel enjoyed Achashveirosh’s party; this was the aveirah for which they incurred the wrath of Hashem. Their enjoying a party, with abundant food and drink, was what the prosecuting angels were invoking as proof of their accusation against the Jewish people, and was touted before Hashem as the reason to destroy Klal Yisroel.
In seeking to mount a defence on behalf of the Jews, why did Esther use the same event, a mishteh, as a vehicle to work on behalf of the Jews? How could the very act that incriminated the Jewish people be the same activity that would save them?
Why wasn’t Esther concerned that Hashem would see her party, be reminded of the aveirah, and be motivated to confirm a tragic fate for Klal Yisroel?
Why Did Klal Yisroel Warrant This Awesome Miracle?
We mentioned above (“The Most Important Miracle of the Purim Story”) that the Chasam Sofer says that Hashem planted the seeds for the salvation whilst Klal Yisroel were engaging in sin at the seudah of Achashveirosh. The obvious question is, why would Hashem do this, why would Klal Yisroel warrant salvation at the very moment that they were engaging in sin?
The Incredible Revelation of the Nesivos
The Gemara in Yoma (86b) teaches that when teshuvah is performed out of love for the Ribbono Shel Olam, a sin is transformed into a mitzvah. It stands to reason that, were the Jews to perform teshuvah genuinely and lovingly for the worst aveirah they had ever committed, then that act would transform into the greatest zechus of all time!
The Chasam Sofer (Droshas, Vol. 1, pg. 19) writes that if someone were to have eaten meat that was prohibited and subsequently regrated having done so and performed teshuvah out of love, Hashem considers his act of eating the meat as if he had actually partaken of the korban Pesach. His sinful eating becomes a form of consumption that is a great mitzvah.
Following this line of reasoning, the greatest zechus Klal Yisroel ever achieved was eating at Achashveirosh’s party! This was a colossal aveirah, a sin of enormous magnitude. When Klal Yisroel turned around and did teshuvah out of ahavah, this devastating sin became a zechus of commensurate magnitude! It was transformed into the most spectacular mishteh shel mitzvah!
Megillas Storim – 9:19
This phenomenal mishteh of mitzvah is something that is definitely worth commemorating and celebrating. We celebrate on Purim with a mishteh, with a party, because we want to joyously commemorate the biggest zechus ever performed for the Ribbono Shel Olam, it was the sin of enjoying the mishteh of Achashveirosh that was transformed into an unparalleled zechus that we celebrate annually on Purim with our seudas Purim.
Why Esther Made a Mishteh
Once Klal Yisroel performed teshuvah out of love, the mishteh could no longer be classified as an agent of prosecution. It now served as advocacy for the defence, a zechus that can be employed to help save the Jews.
Esther had no qualms about making a mishteh, because by that point in time the seudah of Achashveirosh had transformed into a source of pride and merit for Klal Yisroel. Her act of making a mishteh would indeed invoke the merit of the seudah at which the Jews participated – as it was no longer a source of sin and shame. It was now a zechus to be recalled and relied upon for salvation.
This is the ultimate from of ונהפוך הוא. The worst sins the Jews committed changed into the biggest zechus through the process of teshuvah.
Understanding Why Klal Yisroel Deserved This Awesome Miracle
The Sefas Emes (Purim, 5637, pg. 180) adds that Hashem planned the redemption and planted the seeds of the geulah while Klal Yisroel were sinning at the party. Hashem’s love for Klal Yisroel is so strong that He was anticipating that they would eventually do complete teshuvah out of love. Hashem expected they would change the sin into a merit and would warrant salvation. Therefore, He was already planning the salvation of the Jews even as they were sinning.
Baalei Teshuvah Can Be Greater Than a Tzaddik Gamur
The Gemara in Berachos (34b) teaches: “In a place where baalei teshuvah stand, even the completely righteous do not stand.”
One who has done teshuvah for his sins can reach a higher level than that of a tzaddik who has never sinned.
This concept is surprising and requires explanation. The tzaddik gamur, someone who has always been righteous, has been fulfilling mitzvos and learning Torah his entire life.
The baal teshuvah, on the other hand, may have gone without a single mitzvah and without a single moment of Torah study, perhaps even most of his life.
When he opts to change his ways and learn Torah and do mitzvos, why should this place him on the level that is not accessible to someone who has never sinned in the first place? The baal teshuvah seemingly has much lost time for which to compensate, many years during which the tzaddik was doing mitzvos and he was not. Why is the baal teshuvah lauded in this manner?
The Chida (Pnei Dovid, Parshas Shoftim) offers a magnificent explanation. As great a tzaddik as someone might be, he is limited in how many mitzvos he can possibly perform. There are 248 active mitzvos asei. And not every mitzvah can be performed by everyone. Some only apply to Kohanim. Some depend on circumstance, or on the time of year. Thus, the tzaddik is restricted in the number of mitzvos he can perform.
The baal teshuvah, on the other hand, can perform many more mitzvos. There are 365 prohibitions that he may have violated. Through his teshuvah, his eating non-kosher food on Yom Kippur, his cooking on Shabbos, his worshipping avodah zorah, etc. can all transform into mitzvos. These mitzvos are unique in that they can only be performed via teshuvah. Therefore, these mitzvos are out of the realm of possibility for a tzaddik gamur.
Tzaddikim can’t perform as many mitzvos as the baal teshuvah, as the tzaddikim did not commit aveiros. They do not have violations and transgressions that can be transformed into mitzvos with teshuvah. This special category of mitzvos is uniquely available to the sinner who does teshuvah.
Parable from the Dubno Maggid
The Dubno Maggid (Kisvei HaMaggid MiDubno, Vol. 2, Parshas Nitzovim pg. 95) offers another dimension to understanding the windfall available to the baal teshuvah, with the following parable:
A couple were engaged to be married. The chosan’s family was poor and could not afford to pay for the wedding. The bride’s father graciously offered to cover the entire cost of the wedding. The only thing he asked was that the chosan’s father purchase the suit in which his son would get married.
With difficulty, the father scraped together enough money to purchase an inexpensive suit that the groom then wore as he travelled to the wedding. On the way, the horse he was riding stumbled. He was thrown from the horse and landed in the thick mud at the side of the road, ripping the suit in several places in the process.
He arrived at his bride’s home the day before the wedding in a torn and muddied suit that clearly was not appropriate garb in which to be married. His father-in-law took one look at the suit and whisked the chosan off to his tailor to purchase a custom-made suit of the finest fabric.
The kallah’s father told his son-in-law, “Now that I am the one buying you a suit, I am not going to buy you the type of suit you would buy for yourself. I am going to buy you the kind of suit that I would wear: the best fabric, beautifully tailored, and a perfect fit.”
The Dubno Maggid explains: Even the mitzvos performed by a tzaddik are likely to have imperfections. Mitzvos are inevitably impacted by human limitation.
For example, someone may have attended a shiur, but maybe some of his motivation was that refreshments were being served, and his learning was not entirely lishmah. Someone davening may not have done it with complete ahavas Hashem and yiras Shomayim, or maybe his mind wandered, and he did not have the proper kavonah. Perhaps while eating the kezayis of matzah at the seder, he did not have the proper simcha in the performance of the mitzvah. Maybe his shemiras Shabbos lacked the proper enthusiasm.
Everyone, even the greatest of tzaddikim, is limited in the performance of a mitzvah. We are mere mortals, and are subject to human limitations. However, when someone sins, and then performs teshuvah from love, the aveiros are converted into mitzvos. These mitzvos are being gifted to him by Hashem: Hashem is bestowing these merits on him, as a result of his repentance. Hashem is not subject to human limitation, and he is not affected by the human condition.
Any mitzvah gifted by Hashem is therefore complete and perfect, without any deficiencies. Hashem says, “Now that I am giving you the mitzvah, I am not going to give you the type of mitzvah you might do yourself. I am going to give you the kind of mitzvah that I would want: performed flawlessly, with all the right kavonas.”
The greatest zechuyos a person can attain are when the aveiros they committed are converted to zechuyos through teshuvah out of love. These mitzvos are unparallelled, gifted from the Ribbono Shel Olam himself.
Klal Yisroel Willingly Accepted the Torah After Purim
The Gemara in Shabbos (88a) relates that when Hashem gave Klal Yisroel the Torah, He suspended a mountain over the nation. He warned the Jewish people that all would be well if they accepted the Torah, but if they declined, He would drop the mountain on them. They would be buried right there and then.
The Gemara then wonders, if this was the case, then any Jew who violates an aveirah has a legitimate excuse, as they were forced to accept the Torah, and they never willingly agreed?
The Gemara explains that this, in fact, would have been true, but only until the events of Purim. After being saved from Haman, Klal Yisroel willingly accepted the Torah. We can no longer claim that we were forced to accept the Torah, since,הדר קבלוה בימי אחשורוש, we willingly and voluntarily reaffirmed our acceptance of the Torah in the times of Achashveirosh.
The obvious question is, at the time of Purim, Klal Yisroel were obviously not on a particularly high spiritual level. They had sinned to the point that they warranted complete destruction. How, then, were they able to be elevated to such a lofty level that they were motivated to accept the Torah willingly?
In light of what we mentioned above, however, we can explain as follows:
During the time of the Purim story, Klal Yisroel sank to new depths. Klal Yisroel plummeted to the lowest of levels, where Jews were participating in the party celebrating the alleged finality of the Churban Beis HaMikdosh. Klal Yisroel committed the all-time greatest sin.
But, subsequently, they did teshuvah out of great love. Klal Yisroel’s heartfelt teshuvah caused their sins to be transformed into G-d-given flawless mitzvos.
This unique zechus, this gift from Hashem, propelled Klal Yisroel to the highest levels that Klal Yisroel ever achieved. Then they were able to accept the Torah on the highest level.
The Joy of Turning It Around
If, chas v’sholam, one may have committed an aveirah, one cannot become despondent or demoralized. One must recognize that it is an opportunity for extraordinary growth - to a degree that may not have been possible had the sin not been committed. A grievous sin has the potential to be transformed into the greatest mitzvah a person will ever perform.
If someone does teshuvah out of love, then his sins may catapult him to higher level than any of the many mitzvos he may have done. Of course, we must make every effort not to sin. But if we have sinned, we should capitalize on the remarkable opportunity to perform teshuvah out of love, and extraordinary opportunity to change our sins into the most phenomenal mitzvos.
Our sins of the past can become the greatest zechus for ourselves, our families, and all of Klal Yisroel. May we be zocheh to take advantage of the benefits of teshuvah and celebrate Purim as a time of kabbalas haTorah b’ahavah uv’ratzon. (The above is based on a much lengthier essay from R’ Doniel Glatstein, which can be found in his sefer “The Concealed and The Revealed” titled “The Ultimate Irony”)
