Purim: A Divine Coincidence
Discovering connection in the most unexpected places.
March 15, 2024 | Adar II 5, 5784
Editors Note
I hadn’t been planning to publish anything today, but earlier this week my daughter Rena (14) told me she was selected to speak to her grade about Purim and asked me to help her prepare something. It’s slightly different than usual, but I think it incorporates nicely into the previous week’s topics and so I thought I’d share it. The following is a slightly edited version.
The naming of the Yom Tov “Purim” is very unique and demands explanation. No other Chag / Yom Tov is named after the instigation of a terrible event. Instead and quite naturally, they are named after positive associations, i.e. Pesach (Passover) - Hashem passed over, Chanukah - the day they rested from war, Yom Kippur - the day of atonement… Why then is Purim named after the lottery that Haman selected to destroy the Jewish people?
The Sefer Yetzirah explains that every month is associated with a different component of the head. Tishrei is the skull, Cheshvan and Kislev the two ears, Teves and Shvat the two eyes and Adar is the nose - the sense of smell.
The Bnei Yissaschar states that the only sense not used by the Eitz HaDa’as was the sense of smell. As a result it is the one sense that only the Neshama benefits, and is not typically subject or catalyst for desire or Taava.1 Instead, it remains the purest connection to our soul, breathing fresh life at every given moment.
The energy of the Satan and Amalek has always been to get us to make bad choices (the Sitra Achra of Da’as). But he does it by tricking us into thinking that what we do doesn’t actually matter. By doing this he justifies himself to do whatever he wants, to follow his ego, his selfishness and ignore Gd.
In this way, the energy of Haman in getting us to go to the Feast of Achashveirosh emulated the exact same strategy of the Satan in getting Adam to eat from the Eitz HaDa’as; they got us to doubt Hashem’s higher power in order to follow a lower power - ourselves, all with the intention to remove responsibility from ourselves in order to pursue our base human desire. The resulting consequence in both stories was the same, disconnect from our Neshama and therefore, death.
But even at the lowest point, Hashem never gave up on his relationship with us. In the Megillah, the phrase referring to Haman’s lottery is written very strange - instead of saying “Haman Hipil Pur” - ‘Haman drew lots, it says “Hipil Pur Lifnei Haman” - a lottery was drawn before Haman. Didn’t Haman draw the lottery? And if not, who then drew it? The answer is hidden in plain sight - Hashem. By having the lottery fall our on Adar, He was pointing to the power of Neshama, an unbreakable connection no matter how far we wander. This connection is further reinforced through the story’s protagonists, “Haddassah” Esther and Mordechai, referred to in the Torah as “Mor Dror” - both beautifully smelling flowers and spices.
Hashem taught us through this simple act that nothing is coincidence, everything is Divine Providence. Even when we think there’s room for doubt, space to find opportunity to remove the relationship from ourselves, He teaches us that even in that very moment He is always there, that our Neshama is always connected, thereby keeping the door open for us to come back and reignite our relationship with Him.
With this in mind, we can then find the relationship between the Eitz HaDa’as, and the Tikkun that Purim represents. As we know, Da’as, reflects the unique human ability to choose between our finite lower selves or connection with our higher selves. Da’as in the positive sense refers to the deepest level of a relationship, like a marriage, where by choice a person wants what the other wants. But in the negative sense it refers to me choosing my own wants over the other’s.
Haman, by consciously choosing to believe that everything is by chance, enables himself to focus on his ego and personal desires over anything else, the negative of Da’as. This exact influence is what led us to the sin of the Eitz HaDa’as and Seudas Achashverosh, where we too chose our limited and finite lower selves - a path that leads to death.
The answer to this is to reconnect with our Neshama, rebuilding the relationship with Hashem. This is precisely how we responded. On Purim “Kimu V’Kiblu Hayehudim”, the Jewish people accepted the Torah shel ba’al peh - the Torah with Ahava. This is exactly the ultimate response to Haman. Instead of choosing ourselves, we choose the deepest relationship with the Creator.
This is why the Yom Tov is called Purim. Because specifically in the things that we think are the cause of our biggest challenges, that cause us to question our beliefs, that we are reminded that Hashem is at the center of it all - He hasn’t disappeared - rather that is literally where He is. And if we so choose we can not only find Him, but discover the most meaningful and loving relationship ever.
It is for this reason that the Gemara explains why we make a bracha (blessing) for smell, when generally we only need reasons not to make a bracha.