B"H
THOUGHTS ON PURIM KATAN
I am taking the liberty of re-running an article which I wrote several years ago at this time of year. It was well received, and I think it is still appropriate in our days ... perhaps even more so.
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Why do our enemies hate us so much? What did we do? Are we more horrible than all those other people who are hated so much less than we are?
Before Purim we read Parshas Zachor, the account of how Amalek tried to wipe out the Children of Israel in the Sinai Desert. Amalek, of course, is the ancestor of Haman, who tried to destroy us in the days of Mordechai and Esther. G-d is hidden in the Megilas Esther, His name does not appear. Nevertheless, the entire story illustrates how His saving hand constantly rescued us until we renewed our Covenant with Him and our enemies were destroyed. But why was it all necessary? What is it about the Children of Israel that acts as a lightning rod for the hatred of the other nations?
I had a thought recently when we read Parshas Teruma, which describes the construction of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. I wondered why the Mishkan is set up from east to west.
Imagine a Kohain walking through the Mishkan. He enters the Courtyard from the east and first approaches the Copper Altar, where the sacrifices were brought. He continues walking westward. Past the Copper Altar, he enters the "Holy" area, where he would find the Golden Altar, where the incense was burned, the Menorah on the south and the Shulchan, the Table with the Showbread, on the north. Beyond the "Holy" area was the "Holy of Holies," furthest to the west, where the Ark of the Covenant was situated behind the Paroches. The Holy of Holies was the most sanctified spot in the Mishkan, in the world for that matter.
Later, when the Temple was built in Jerusalem, the same orientation held true: the Ark was furthest on the west. (Today, when we stand at the Western Wall, we are facing eastward, toward the side of the Temple Mount closest to where the Ark stood.)
Why is the holiest part of the Temple on the west and the entrance on the east?
Every day the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. But the sun is really stationery relative to the earth; it is the earth that spins. Clearly then, if the sun is stationery, the earth must be spinning from west to east, under the sun. And that is in fact what happens. (That is why the prevailing winds of the world flow from west to east, along with the rotation of the earth, which is why a flight from Israel to the U. S. is always longer than the other direction, because flying west is flying against the prevailing winds.)
So the earth is spinning from west to east.
And when the Kohain enters the Mishkan or the Temple, he is walking from east to west. Going toward the holiest place, he is walking west.
The world is spinning one way, and we, the Children of Israel are walking the other way! The other nations are focused on the material, the ephemeral things in life and we are focused on the spiritual, the eternal; we are going AGAINST the "way of the world." Perhaps that is why we write from right to left and most of the world writes from left to right.
Thus, when King David describes how the "kings assembled" to attack Jerusalem, he says that with an "east wind" G-d smashed their ships. * Our wind comes from the east, theirs comes from the west. They rely on their "chariots" and "horses," but we call out "in the Name of G-d." **
The rest of the world is marching in one direction and the children of Israel - alone in the world - are marching in the other direction. The other nations desire to detach us from our connection with G-d. Achashverosh made a great banquet and invited the Jews to eat, to become a part of Babylonian Society. Haman became incensed when one Jewish man -- one man! - refused to bow down to him. The nations are perfectly free to perform the Seven Mitzvos assigned to them and elevate themselves. But instead, they become incensed when they see our level of holiness.
Yet that level of holiness is our salvation. We walk west, against the spin of the earth. The earth and all that it contains are only dust, and in time it will cease to exist, but we and our nation are eternal, because we are united with the Eternal Creator.
May we once again live in "light and gladness, joy and honor," as we did in the days of Mordechai and Esther, and may we merit this time to enjoy this happiness forever, as the names of Amalek and Haman are drowned out by the sound of the Shofar Gadol and the voices of the Children of Israel raised in prayer and Talmud Torah.
A Freilichen Purim Katan!
Roy S. Neuberger
© Copyright 2008 by Roy S. Neuberger
