I hope everyone had an enjoyable and meaningful Purim.
In the Gemarah, in Masechet Megillah, our rabbis discuss the right time to read the Megillah when there are two Adars in a year. We know the halacha (the second Adar) but there is an argument in the Gemarah about it. One opinion is that it should be read in the first Adar, because whenever a Mitzvah comes to your hands, you should do it- so why push it off until the second Adar? The second opinion is that it should be read in the second Adar, because it’s better to put one redemption (Purim) next to another (Pesach), and this is what we do. Rav Wolbe says that we see an important rule from this: It’s not by chance that Purim and Pesach are near each other. Rather, we purposely put them together, because we want to connect one redemption to the other.
What is the logic behind that? He explains that we like to build on a previous success. We don’t just reach a holiday, and then let it dissipate. Purim is the holiday of Bitachon, and we shouldn’t just come to the holiday and then let it peter out. Rather, we should use that Bitachon. The holiday, says Rav Wolbe, is only the time, that we start working on a certain topic. Some people think that when the holiday is over, it’s over. But that’s wrong. It’s just the beginning. He proves it from a Ramban that talks about the three different wells mentioned by the Avot, (mainly Yitzhak). These wells refer to the three holidays because every holiday is like a well. Rav Wolbe explains that when people used to go to a well, their purpose was not just to drink for the moment, but to fill up their jugs, load up their camels and take it on their way. He says that it’s the same with our holidays. We are supposed to fill our jugs, and fill our camels so that it lasts us. Purim is supposed to keep us going until Pesach. It is not a coincidence that 30 days before Pesach, we start learning the laws of Pesach. It’s not just because it’s 30 days beforehand, but because it is Purim. And we go straight from Purim to Pesach without a break. That being said, we don’t want the delicious Purim flavor to leave our mouths.
There is an important thought from the Gaon of Vilna that I would like to share.
Not everybody is familiar with the actual chronology of the Purim. The actual story of Purim occurred during the month of Nissan. Esther went into the palace of Achashverosh, and Haman was hung in Nissan. Haman picked the lots in Nissan - which it clearly says in the Megillah. It came out in the month of Adar, twelve months later, which gave the Jews a lot of time for salvation.
If we read the story, in perek ח, when Esther said (in Nissan), “How can I see my nation destroyed?” Achashverosh told her that he couldn’t rescind the previous decrees, but that she could write whatever she wanted, to tweak the original decree in a way that would be good for the Jews. Then, in pasuk ט, it says that it wasn’t until the 23rd of Sivan (about two months later), that they wrote up the new amendments and sent the messengers out. Why did they wait so long? It seems like unnecessary torture.
The Goan of Vilna says something fascinating (just don’t try this at home): In those days, when they didn’t have immediate communication, the Jews outside Shushan didn’t hear news of the rescinded decree. Had they immediately sent out the news that the decree was rescinded, the Jews would’ve stopped praying. And they were praying so well. Why take away that beautiful prayer?
I have a mashal for this: Imagine a woman giving birth during Corona time, with only one person allowed to enter the delivery room with her. The wife picks her husband, who texts his mother-in-law to let her know how things are going. He tells her the baby is in fetal distress and that she should pray harder. Ten minutes later the baby is born. The mother-in-law sends him pictures of her crying and praying in tears, but he doesn’t respond. He waits an hour to send the text that the baby was born and everyone is healthy. The mother-in-law later finds out, from the hospital staff, when the baby was actually born, and she realizes that he waited an hour to tell her. She yells at her son-in-law, asking him why he put her through that. And he tells his mother-in-law, “You were praying so nicely. I didn’t want to take away that wonderful prayer opportunity.” That sounds like torture. Why would Mordechai and Esther do that? That son-in-law would not find himself in a very good position.
The answer is based on a principle that we have said many times, and that we can see here live, in the way great Sadikim live their lives: They understood that the problem is there in order to cause you to pray. We don’t pray to get rid of a problem. The problem is there to cause us to pray. If we are praying so nicely, why create a new problem?
The problem went away? Great! Keep praying! The mother-in-law needed to cry her heart out, and that’s why there was fetal distress. It was in order for the mother-in-law to pray. So why should he steal that prayer from her? She was doing so nicely.
Now of course, as I said earlier, we should not try this at home. This is for Mordechai and Esther to do, not us. But from this, we see an important principle: When we are praying and crying, we have to realize that this is why the problem is here. We have to appreciate that we have gotten to this point, of such closeness, that we can pray with such heart. It’s an important Purim lesson, that hopefully, we can keep going, until Pesach.