Meaningful Moadim
  • Welcome to Meaningful Moadim
    • Tu BiShevat - The New Year of the Trees >
      • Bearing Fruit
      • Lesson of the Trees
      • Pri Eitz Hadar
      • Tu BeShevat – A Day of Perceptible Belief
    • Mishenichnas Adar Marbim BeSimcha >
      • A Purim Thought
      • Mazal Adar Dagim - The Month of Adar is Symbolized by Fish
      • More on Mazel Adar Dagim
      • The First of "the Four Parshiyos" - Parshas Shekalim
      • The Month of Adar and Purim >
        • Holiday of Unity?
      • Why Megillas ESTHER?
      • Purim and Prayer >
        • Prayer in the Megillah
      • The Most Unhappiest Queen of them all
      • Purim and Charity
      • Making Purim Last Throughout the Year
      • Story: The Purim of Saragosa
      • KISLEV - Great Expectations >
        • What is Chanukah? >
          • The Name of the Holiday >
            • Chanukah: Renewal
            • Why is Shehechiyanu recited only on the first night of Chanukah?
            • Biblical Allusions
            • Another explanation of the name Chanukah
            • Ve-Al Hnissim, not Al Hanissim
            • Mai Chanukah?
            • Bais Shamai and Bais Hillel (2)
            • Mazal Kislev Keshes
            • Why didn't the Kohanim themselves defile the oil if everyone was tamei, ritually impure due to the war? >
              • Chanukah Always has a Shabbos >
                • Chanukah Always Falls our Around parshas Mikeitz
              • Tu B'shvat and Shabbos Shira
      • We blow the Shofar Throughout the Month of Elul
      • Shofar Throughout the Month of Elul
      • Reconnecting with our Father in Heaven
      • Month of Teves: Catastrophic Events
      • Questions or Comments? >
        • TAKING A MOMENT OUT FOR A CHANUKAH THOUGHT >
          • TAKING A MOMENT OUT FOR A CHANUKAH THOUGHT
        • Calendar Converter
    • Chanukah: The Festival of Lights >
      • Are we celebrating the victory over the Greeks or the Miracle of the Oil? >
        • Miracle Oil?
        • The Jewish People Are Above Nature
        • The Light of the Jewish Soul Glows on Chanukah
        • Chanukah: A Winter Festival
        • Chanukah: A War of Conflicting Philosophies >
          • Alexander The Great and The Jewish Sages
          • Uphold Good or Destroy Evil?
          • LeHashkicham Torasecha U’LeHa’aviram MeiChukei Retzonecha
        • Why was a holiday established specifically for the war that led to the Chanukah miracle?
        • U’Leamcha Yisrael Assisa Teshua Gedola U’furkan K’Hayom Hazeh…
      • Give the Gift of LIGHT!
      • Customs, Symbols & Observances >
        • More Reasons for Doughnuts on Chanukah
        • The Letters on the Dreidel
        • More Customs >
          • More About the Dreidel
          • More on Dreidel
          • Chanukah Gelt
          • The Lesson of "Chanukah Gelt"
          • L'Hodos U'LaHallel
        • More Symbolism >
          • Symbolism of Olive Oil
          • The Greeks vs. The Jews
          • The Little Jug that Traveled Through Time
        • The Custom to serve Dairy and Cheese Products on Chanukah
        • Tzedaka - Charity
      • The Shamash >
        • The Secret of the Shamash
      • Putting Away the Menorah?
      • Recommended Reading

Haman's Decree
​of annihilation

​More Effective Than the Reprimand of the Prophets

​Chazal tell us that the violation of Rabbinic commandments carries a more severe punishment than the commandments written in the Torah. Rav Yeruchom Levovitz zt"l explains the rationale behind this idea. The more one can relate to a concept or idea, the more it obligates him. It is easier for us to relate to the commandments and restrictions that were enacted by the Rabbanan, not only because the reasons behind them are more comprehensible to us, but also since those who instituted them lived in a more recent era than the one in which the Torah was given. Hence, these mitzvos obligate us to a greater degree and neglecting them carries a greater punishment.

            Rav Wolbe (Da'as Shlomo Geulah pg. 201) writes that if mitzvos de'rabanon carry a greater punishment, it follows that their fulfillment brings greater results. The fact that we can relate to the mitzvah means that we can gain more from the mitzvah. Therefore, it is quite possible that we can gain more from Purim, which is de'rabanon, than we can gain from other Yomim Tovim even though they are mi'deoraisa. Additionally, the Arizal writes that Yom Kippurim means that it is "a day like Purim," i.e. Yom Kippur is secondary in greatness to the day of Purim. Another indication to the spiritual loftiness of Purim is the fact that a sefer in Tanach, a Mesechta of Gemara, and a plethora of mitzvos and customs are dedicated solely to this day.

The miracle of Purim was the very last miracle that happened to Bnei Yisroel which is recorded in Tanach. However, the uniqueness of this miracle is the fact that it occurred during a time of galus and hester panim. Therefore, we can glean from the day of Purim all that one needs to know to live and weather the days of galus and hester panim.

When Achashveirosh gave his ring to Haman, thereby allowing Haman to do to the Jews as he pleased, despite the hester panim the Jewish People were able to decipher that it was Hashem who brought upon them the decree of annihilation. This realization was more successful than the prophets in causing them to do teshuva. Moreover, when they merited the salvation through the hands of Mordechai, they literally felt Hashem's loving hand penetrating through the hester panim, which in turn prompted them to reaccept the Torah wholeheartedly.
​
Purim is the day that helps us become more aware of Hashem despite the hester panim of galus. If we prepare ourselves properly, and internalize the message of the miracle of Purim, we can anticipate coming out of the day of Purim better than the way we went into Purim! 
      
Source: Bais Hamussar Newsletter - Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe Z"l
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  • Welcome to Meaningful Moadim
    • Tu BiShevat - The New Year of the Trees >
      • Bearing Fruit
      • Lesson of the Trees
      • Pri Eitz Hadar
      • Tu BeShevat – A Day of Perceptible Belief
    • Mishenichnas Adar Marbim BeSimcha >
      • A Purim Thought
      • Mazal Adar Dagim - The Month of Adar is Symbolized by Fish
      • More on Mazel Adar Dagim
      • The First of "the Four Parshiyos" - Parshas Shekalim
      • The Month of Adar and Purim >
        • Holiday of Unity?
      • Why Megillas ESTHER?
      • Purim and Prayer >
        • Prayer in the Megillah
      • The Most Unhappiest Queen of them all
      • Purim and Charity
      • Making Purim Last Throughout the Year
      • Story: The Purim of Saragosa
      • KISLEV - Great Expectations >
        • What is Chanukah? >
          • The Name of the Holiday >
            • Chanukah: Renewal
            • Why is Shehechiyanu recited only on the first night of Chanukah?
            • Biblical Allusions
            • Another explanation of the name Chanukah
            • Ve-Al Hnissim, not Al Hanissim
            • Mai Chanukah?
            • Bais Shamai and Bais Hillel (2)
            • Mazal Kislev Keshes
            • Why didn't the Kohanim themselves defile the oil if everyone was tamei, ritually impure due to the war? >
              • Chanukah Always has a Shabbos >
                • Chanukah Always Falls our Around parshas Mikeitz
              • Tu B'shvat and Shabbos Shira
      • We blow the Shofar Throughout the Month of Elul
      • Shofar Throughout the Month of Elul
      • Reconnecting with our Father in Heaven
      • Month of Teves: Catastrophic Events
      • Questions or Comments? >
        • TAKING A MOMENT OUT FOR A CHANUKAH THOUGHT >
          • TAKING A MOMENT OUT FOR A CHANUKAH THOUGHT
        • Calendar Converter
    • Chanukah: The Festival of Lights >
      • Are we celebrating the victory over the Greeks or the Miracle of the Oil? >
        • Miracle Oil?
        • The Jewish People Are Above Nature
        • The Light of the Jewish Soul Glows on Chanukah
        • Chanukah: A Winter Festival
        • Chanukah: A War of Conflicting Philosophies >
          • Alexander The Great and The Jewish Sages
          • Uphold Good or Destroy Evil?
          • LeHashkicham Torasecha U’LeHa’aviram MeiChukei Retzonecha
        • Why was a holiday established specifically for the war that led to the Chanukah miracle?
        • U’Leamcha Yisrael Assisa Teshua Gedola U’furkan K’Hayom Hazeh…
      • Give the Gift of LIGHT!
      • Customs, Symbols & Observances >
        • More Reasons for Doughnuts on Chanukah
        • The Letters on the Dreidel
        • More Customs >
          • More About the Dreidel
          • More on Dreidel
          • Chanukah Gelt
          • The Lesson of "Chanukah Gelt"
          • L'Hodos U'LaHallel
        • More Symbolism >
          • Symbolism of Olive Oil
          • The Greeks vs. The Jews
          • The Little Jug that Traveled Through Time
        • The Custom to serve Dairy and Cheese Products on Chanukah
        • Tzedaka - Charity
      • The Shamash >
        • The Secret of the Shamash
      • Putting Away the Menorah?
      • Recommended Reading