Purim

This week was yet another amazing week at Yeshiva in Israel. This past Shabbat both Neil Silverman and David Beitner stayed at Shapel’s and we had a great time catching up on everything that has happened in our lives since we last spoke. Additionally, David Morley showed up on Shabbat afternoon to see how everyone was doing. It was quite the pleasant surprise. It seems like I just arrived but the zman (semester) is already almost over. We are spending two more weeks on new information and then the last two weeks reviewing everything we have learned so far. The last day of class is March 26th. I will most likely stay here over the semester break and learn with some of the other students who are also staying.
Since Purim is coming up very soon I think it would be appropriate to say some words about the coming holiday. The Torah says in Exodus 19:17 “the Jews stood under the mountain,” referring to when the Jewish people were at Mt. Sinai. Most English translations translate the word as meaning close to, but literally it means under. There is a Gemara in Shabbos on daf (page) 88 that explains the reason the Torah wrote “under” instead of “next to.” It says that after the Jewish people responded, “We will do, and we will listen,” Hashem placed them under Mt. Sinai and gave them a choice, accept the Torah or be buried under the mountain. Obviously they accepted. However, this is a problem because whoever does not follow the Torah can claim they only accepted under distress. However, the Gemara goes on to say that in Megillat Ester 9:27 it says that the Jews “confirmed and accepted” after the Rabbis decreed that every year the holiday of Purim was to be celebrated. The Gemara asks, “Why does the verse say ‘confirmed and accepted,’ it should just say ‘accepted’!” The answer is the Jews did not confirm that they would celebrate Purim every year. That does not make sense. The definition of the word confirm is, “to verify the truth or validity of something thought to be true or valid.” Celebrating Purim cannot be true or valid, it is either accepted or not accepted. There is no truth involved. Rather at that time the Jewish people confirmed the truth and validity of the Torah and additionally accepted to celebrate Purim every year. This means that Purim is the day where the Jewish nation accepted to follow the Torah without being forced to accept it.
There is an additional question which is “Why would Hashem force the Jews into accepting the Torah?” There are many answers to this question, however I will only talk about the one that strikes me the most. The Alter Rebbe of Chabad asked what does the Torah mean when it says, “We will do, and we will listen?” Logically you would think that before deciding to do something, you should first listen to what you will be agreeing to do. His answer is built around the psychology of the human being. I think it is human nature to assume that you are right and not question your way of life. To just do what everyone else is doing. When I was at the University of Michigan I noticed how some people were against attending religious events because they assumed they would be boring. Those same people would only agree that religious events could be fun after going to one. The reason Hashem forced us to accept the Torah under Mt. Sinai and the reason the Jewish people said “We will do, and we will listen” is because deeds lead to listening, not the other way around. The way to understand the beauty of Judaism is to experience a Jewish event. Purim is next Sunday, I hope that everyone will have the opportunity to experience Purim the way it is meant to be experienced. Have a great week and an even better Purim.