RABBI BEN ZION SNEH
ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך כתית למאור
Hashem says: Bring me your broken heart, your deepest darkest desires, and I will make them whole (lit. crushed and beaten oil shines the brightest).
When we fail and fall victim to the whims and desires of the moment, there is a little voice inside of us that whispers, “You have failed...messed up, there may be no hope for you if you keep this up.”
In the above verse from our parsha, R’ Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev reveals one of the heavenly secrets, as taught by the Baal Shem Tov.
Man was meant to fail. In fact, when we fail and come back, it is more dear to G-d than if we were constant - a dry and bland observance. A true growing person must experience failure in order to succeed.
The yeitzer hara tells us to give up, but we must, as R' Levi Yitzchok says, stand up to him and say the following:
If I have a desire and passion for earthly and transient things, how much more so am I able to have a strong desire for ruchnius. I do not have to give up my passion but merely change it, little by little, to a strong desire for spirituality.
The fact that I am a passionate person proves that I can be observant, not that I have to, chas veshalom, give up observance.
Perhaps this is the secret behind our celebration of Purim. We take our mundane desires (eating, drinking, and joking with one another) to an extreme as we change them into holy acts of devotion.
This secret is revealed in the name of the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippurim, which literally translates as a day in the year that is holy because it is compared to Purim.
We are all broken this year as we recover and recuperate from the ongoing battles in Eretz Yisroel and the return of the hostages.
This Purim, keep in mind that we must show our love to each and every Jew, especially those who are not the same as we are. Many of them are broken souls in need of some warmth. Let’s not let them down; rather, bring them up!
Good Shabbos and a Freilichin Purim!
Written by R’ Avrohom Hillel Reich based on a lesson and story by Harav Ben Tziyon Sneh Shlita
