Purim is essentially a day where one can build a space in the soul of a holy kind of igul\circle. It is a day where there are good and evil forces warring with each other, where the sin with the Golden Calf (the eigl, which is the unholy kind of igul) is pitted against the holy kind of igul in a Jew’s soul.
The Gemara says that Hashem will make a “machol” (a circular kind of room, like a tunnel) for the righteous in Gan Eden, and each of them will point with his finger and exclaim, “This is Hashem my G-d.” A machol is round, like an igul (a circle), and the tzaddikim will all stand within this “circle” and point to Hashem from there.
The concept of the “igul”\circle in the side of holiness is thus a perspective in which all points are equal from each other [when viewed from the center], where the distance between each point and another point in the circle is always the same. This is in contrast to a straight line (a kav), where the end of the line is at a greater distance away from the beginning of the line.
Line and Circle
This represents two dimensions that we have of serving Hashem – “the line” (kav) and “the circle” (igul).
Moshe received the Torah from Hashem and transmitted it to Yehoshua, and from then on we received the Torah as a mesorah (tradition) in a straight, uninterrupted line. This is our kav, our line, that connects us to Hashem; the further the generations are from Har Sinai, the greater the distance. Yehoshua was not as close to Hashem as Moshe was, and the Elders were not as close to Hashem as Yehoshua was, and so forth.
But from another angle, it is said, “All of Your nation is righteous.” Although no one is similar, and we have our own separate looks and beliefs and abilities, there is a point in which all of us are equal: the fact that Hashem dwells within the heart of each Jew. It is written, “Make for Me a temple, and I shall dwell amongst them”; on this the Sages expound that “Hashem dwells within the heart of each of them.” When it comes to that point, all are equal. The differences are only outwardly, for each of us are a different kli (container) to hold Hashem’s light, but the light of Hashem that dwells in each person is always the same light. Hashem dwells in the heart of a person, for it is written, “The rock of my heart and portion is G-d”. The heart of a Jew contains the concept of the igul (circle) in the side of holiness.
From the other perspective, kav\line, there is always a system of ten points. There are ten expressions that Hashem created the world with; ten commandments; and so forth. But from the perspective of igul\circle, we can reach the heart’s perspective, where Hashem’s presence is contained, and all points are contained in one point.
From the view of our outer layers, which is outer components and unique abilities that differ from one another, we are each a different kli (container). The kli of each person is different from one another. Each person has a different da’as, a different way of thinking, and this is the angle of daas\Moshe\kav. But from view of the inner light that is contained within each of our souls, we are all equal, when viewed from that point. That is the depth of how all the tzaddikim in the future will stand amidst a “circle” and point to Hashem – because when it comes to our bond with Hashem, in that aspect, everyone is equally connected and contained in one point.
When a person does not stand in that “circle”, he is stuck inside his own ego, always concerned for his own “I”, always trying to know: “Who is the real me?”
But when a person is more concerned about Who we are trying to reveal, and he is not as concerned about his own “I” but about the One who dwells inside him – and He is within each and every Jew, without any exceptions, for His oneness cannot be divided or changed – in that point, all are equal. There are only differences between us on our outer layers, but when we consider the fact that Hashem dwells inside each person, in that point, we find the point where every soul is equal in.
Daas and Above Daas
The halachah on Purim is that “One is obligated to become inebriated on Purim, until he does not know the difference between “Cursed is Haman” with “Blessed is Mordechai.” What is the depth of this? And if the truth is that Mordechai is blessed and Haman is cursed, why must one reach the point where he does not know this?
It is along the lines of what we explained above. [We have two angles of connection to Hashem – the straight line, and the circle]. One angle is da’as, represented by the chain of tradition which we received through Moshe, in a straight and continuous line. But Purim is not about da’as. That is why one must reach the point on Purim where he doesn’t have daas, where he does not know the difference between “Blessed is Mordechai” and “Cursed is Haman”. At Har Sinai, we received the Torah through Moshe [which represented our relationship to Hashem through daas], but on Purim, we reached a point [above daas] that resembles the tzaddikim in the future when they are all pointing their finger at Hashem and saying, “This is my G-d that I hoped for.”
We will explain this deeper. At Har Sinai, there were two aspects. One aspect of it was that “Hashem descended upon the mountain of Sinai” - in other words, that He revealed Himself there. The other aspect of it was the giving of the Torah. The Torah was means that reveals Hashem upon the world. By Har Sinai, the emphasis was on the Torah that we received; in other words, it was about our daas [which is different with each person]. But on Purim, the emphasis was placed more on the “Giver” that is behind the Torah, and that we all receive from the Giver (Hashem). With regards to that aspect, all of us are equal.
We know that the face of each person is different. A deeper reason for this is because each person has a different daas, and the face is called “panim”, for it reveals the “pnim” (the inwardness) of the person, and since each person’s daas is different, it shows up differently on each person’s face; resulting in different faces throughout mankind. Thus there is a connection between daas\knowledge and differences. So on a deep note, as long as a person “knows” the difference between Mordechai and Haman, he is still within the perspective of his daas, and there he sees the differences. But when a person becomes inebriated to the point where he “does not know the difference between Mordechai and Haman”, there he reveals an even more inner point in himself, which is above his daas. There, in that very innermost point, everything and everyone is equal...
Above the Self
The decree of Haman upon the Jewish people was to destroy all of the nation, men women and children, and all in one day. His agenda was to do it all on all-inclusive level, and he didn’t want to do it gradually and in steps; he wanted to wipe all the Jews out at once.
Our salvation was of a similar nature, where we all accepted the Torah again willingly; all of us, with no exceptions. It is understandable that we all accepted the Torah at Har Sinai, where we were all forced. But how does an entire nation willingly accept the Torah? How can everyone want the same thing? The answer to this is that indeed, if it would depend on a person’s daas, then no one would be able to want the same thing, for every person has a different daas. But when we dig deeper into our soul and we go above the point of our daas, there we can find a common ratzon (will) that everyone will share.
At Har Sinai, it was a revelation of the Torah, of daas. And since each person has a different daas, we all needed to be forced into accepting the Torah. But on Purim, it was revealed the secret inner unity within the soul, where there are no differences, and all is equal. Besides of what was revealed at Har Sinai (the Torah), Purim revealed a deeper point in a Jew’s soul: the idea that one can leave his own self! It is this point which is the deep avodah of a Jew’s entire life. When Hashem created the world, He created it with ten levushim, “garments” (also called keilim, “containers”), and all people are essentially the “garments” that Hashem wears, which wraps around His existence.
When one lives through the perspective of his daas, that means he is only busy trying to identify himself, for daas is essentially the way of how a person identifies “Who I am.” If we want to define what a person is, the way to define it is, by how deep his daas goes.
Although we often hear many different definitions of the true inner self of a person which differ from this, that is only because the “I” has been so cheapened, and people only identify its superficial layers. If we want to define the deepest point of a person, what the “I” is, it is the daas. One’s daas is his very “I.” The other parts of the self are all but expressions of one’s inner daas.
However, the purpose of Creation is not for us to reach our “I”. It is rather to turn our “ani” (I) into “ayin” (nothingness), which enables us to reach the true “I”, Who is the Creator. The view from one’s daas is thus the expression of his “I”. When we build our daas, we are building our “I”, and that is one side of our avodah. But in order to reach the Creator completely, we need to reach a point where we are able to remove ourselves from our own “I.” It is written, “I (אנכי) stand between Hashem and you”, and there is a well-known interpretation of this verse that the “אנכי” (the “I”) of a person, is what divides him from the Creator, so to speak.
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK
