Parshas Tetzaveh, Parshas Zachor, and of course Purim. Lets see if we can put them all together.
"V'ata Tetzaveh es Bnei Yisroel v'yikchu eilecha shemen zayit zach kasis la'maor l'halos ner tamid/Now you shall command the Children of Israel that they shall take for you pure, pressed olive oil for illumination, to kindle the lamp continually.(Shemos 28:20)
Reb Nosson z"tl (Hilchos Bitzias Hapas 5:24) says that "eilecha/to you" is to teach that the oil should be brought specifically to Moshe Rabeinu who is the epitome of the true Tzadik Emmes. Moshe Rabeinu has the power to awaken and enlighten the roots of all of the Jews neshomas which are in essence rooted in the Torah. By enlightening all of the Jews the seven lamps of the Menorah are then lit which in essence include all of the souls of Israel which are divided into seven groups. On the peoples side it says "v'yikchu/they shall take", each and every Jew has to bring to the Tzadik "shemen zayis zach/pure pressed olive oil." This corresponds to the "nikudos tovos/good points" that each and every Jew has. No matter where we are or what we my have done we still have within us that "good point" and by bringing that to the Tzadik he will awaken us and help us illuminate our part of the Menorah. Why olive oil specifically? The Midrash (Shmos Rabbah 36:1) says Why is Yisroel compared to the olive? It sits in the tree and is then rudely shaken till it falls, its then beaten, then put in the olive press, then scraped with ropes, then put under heavy rocks, until finally the oil comes out. So too with the Jewish people we have to go through many hardships and pains but in the end the best oil wil come out. In Hilchos Birchas Ha'peiros Reb Nosson z"tl discusses why allot of the shiurim (measurements) in the Torah are based on a "cazayis/the size of an olive" On one hand its said that olives bring to forgetfulness and on the other hand we know that olive oil is good for the memory. What's the difference? Its what we said before, the crushing, the process. If we think that we can just remember without doing any work then we're wrong. The Torah only remains with those who kill themselves for it. Does it mean we have to live with only bread and water? Give up all of the good things in life? No, chas v'shalom! But it means that we have to be willing to if it came to that. The problem is that we're not sure. We're not sure about ourselves. We're not sure about others. We're not sure about anything. Thats Amalek!!! Amalek=Safek. When we erase the memory of Amalek tomorrow we have to put in a little prayer that Hashem help us erase all of the uncertainty in ourselves, in others and in the world at large. Purim!!! It's all about Simcha!!! What's going on that Yom Kippur the holiest day of the year is considered like Purim? Well lets look at the word "Nes". It can also mean melt (as in nescafe) and that is the simple but yet deeply profound message of Purim. By being b'simcha, we melt away all of the barriers of nature, of ourselves, and of anything that might be in the way of us seeing Hashem behind everything. Seeing Hashem in everything is true Emunah and true Emunah is why we were put into this world. No miracles in the Megilla, no splitting sea, no makkos. But really everything is a miracle, every breath, every second. And how does this weeks parsha tie into it? Well it says about the Menorah that it should be lit "M'erev ad boker/from the evening until the morning." And at the end of the parsha we have the Korban Tamid. Darkness, light, good times, bad times, no matter what we have to be tamid/consistent. We have to always see that Hashem is in control and that it's all good. V'nahafochu!!!! Everything will be turned upside down. Let's all take some time out this Purim and try to see Hashems hand, try to appreciate all those little things and then ask Hashem to redeem us not for our sake but for His sake and for the sake of all of Israel! A gut Shabbos, A freilichen Purim, and most importantly A gans yor freilich!!! The whole year should be happy!!! Happiness melts everything else away!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment