Why is the holiday of Purim called “Purim?”
Pur means “lot.”
Why is it that the lottery is the entire focus?
The rabbis answer that it’s because Haman stems from Amalek, whose whole theme is “אשר קרך everything is a mikreh/happenstance. They think G-d doesn’t run the world. They roll the dice because they think everything is just roll of the dice. We counter that approach. We say every little detail, even a roll of the dice, is determined by G-d.
The rabbis tell us that every single pasuk and detail in the Megillah is a miracle. There’s nothing in there that’s not a miracle. Everything that happened was because G-d was directing the miracle. That’s why if you miss one word or letter of the Megillah, you don’t fulfill your obligation. Why is it so important? Because although you might not be privy to exactly what, there’s a miracle in every step of Purim and if you miss a word or letter, you may miss one.
Of the hidden miracles, the following is one of my favorites:
The Megillah starts off by saying: “In the third year of Ahashverosh’s kingdom, when he sat on this throne, he made a party. “
There are a few questions here.
He first made a party in the third year? Why not make a party in the first year? Why does it say when he sat on his throne? And why in Shushan?
As we know, Ahashverosh was a wannabe.
He was a stable boy who married royalty and therefore had an inferior complex, because he lacked blue blood.
When Vashti refused to attend the party, what got him the angriest was how she said, “Oh the stable boy of my father can’t keep his wine down?” It got him so crazy because the whole reason for the party was to show off his “royal” blood.
One of the things he did as a wannabe was have a replica made of the throne of the previous illustrious empire, that of King Solomon.
The original capital of Ahashverosh’s empire was the city of Elam, not Shushan. But the craftsman who could build the special replica-throne were located in Shushan. As it turned out, the throne they had crafted was so big and magnificent that it couldn’t be moved. So Ahashverosh, who was so excited about the throne, relocated his capital to Shushan. That’s where the throne was, so that’s where he made his inaugural party, when he finally sat on the throne in the third year of his reign.
What’s the miracle here?
We know that in order for the salvation to occur, Mordechai had to save the King’s life and then later, when Ahashverosh couldn’t sleep they’d bring him his book and he would recall the favor.
But if Mordechai lived in Shushan and the throne was in Elam, how could all of that take place? Hashem said, No problem. I will bring throne and the entire palace to Shushan, so as not to interfere with the busy schedule of Mordechai, the Rosh Yeshiva. Hashem didn’t want to uproot the tzadik, so Hashem brought Ahashverosh to him.
This could be compared to an imaginary scenario in which President Trump had a son-in-law who lived in New Jersey just so that Trump could meet up with a certain rabbi in shul there and set forth a sequence of events.
That’s how Hashem works. Every little detail is set up. It’s only after the solution is set up that the problem comes up. Hashem doesn’t take chances. רפואה קדמה למכה The antidote comes before the illness. When you have a problem, know that the antidote is already there, before the poison. Don’t ever think there’s no way out, because Hashem wouldn’t set up a problem unless the solution was already in place.
Look into the Megillah and see if you can find more of these miracles.
And realize the lesson for us is that this happens in our lives too. Every detail of our lives too, is a miracle. Everything that happens is a miracle.
And keep in mind: As we’ve learned, we send Mishloach Manot to foster camaraderie. According to some opinions, it doesn’t have to be food. We don’t hold like that but according to that opinion, you could send a nice WhatsApp shiur on Bitachon such as this to your friend to give him hizuk and make him happy. Try it!