What R’ Yonasan Eibshitz Said When He Was Purim Rav
There is a long standing minhag to appoint someone as a “Purim Rav”. “Minhag Yisroel Kedoshim”, the customs of the Jewish people are considered sacred, and not to be diminished. The custom to appoint a “Purim Rav” on Purim is based on the words in the Megillah: ויין מלכות רב כיד המלך - “And the royal wine (creates) a rav, with the power of the king.” Indeed, this custom is strictly adhered to in many communities and yeshivas, and the person chosen for this lofty position is expected to say ingenious “Purim Torah” and act the part of a proper rav, often with merriment and hilarious results.
Historically, the person about whom the most “Purim Rav” stories are told seems to be R’ Yonason Eibshitz, who as a youngster was already known for his brilliant mind and ability to think quickly under pressure.
One year, the other boys in yeshiva elected him to be the Purim Rav. He put on a fake white beard, a rabbinic hat, and a long black coat that dragged on the floor, and he sat down at the front of the room to deliver his prepared lecture.
The boy who had been Purim Rav last year was jealous, and he decided he would challenge Yonason. He called out: “Maybe instead of talking about Purim, the rav should say a chiddush [original thought] on Bava Kama, the masechta we are all learning.” The other boys laughed.
Instead of getting nervous at the daunting challenge, R’ Yonason shot back: “That’s a great idea. The first Mishnah states: ארבעה אבות נזיקין השור והבור והמבעה וההבער – There are four types of damages: The ox, the pit, the maveh and the fire.” Tosfos asks: Why doesn’t the Mishnah add the word הן, there are, like it does at the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, and by the daled shomrim [four guardians]? The answer is quite simple. The Gemara in Pesachim (112b) advises: ניזהא דתורא הן הן – “To calm down an ox, say ‘hein hein’”. So if the Mishnah had said הן, the ox never would have charged or caused damage in the first place. How could someone then be required to pay if no damage was done?” (R’ Shmuel Kameny)
