From My Shteiblech - Rav Shagar ZL on the relevance of Purim: In Chance and Providence-lessons on Purim, (Yeshivat Siach Yitzchak, 5765, 50-51) Rav Shagar ZL discusses the reasons behind the mitzvah of getting drunk on Purim: A person is obligated to get drunk until he does not know the difference between cursed be Haman and blessed be Mordechai. The Gemarah in Megillah 7b tells the story of two sages celebrating at their Purim Seudah and drinking a lot of wine. Under the influence of the wine, one of them gets up and kills his friend.The following day he asks for mercy from his friend, and the latter returns to life. The next year, the sage asks his friend to celebrate the Purim Seudah again with him. The friend answers: A miracle does not happen every day. There is no doubt that drinking is one of the symbols of the day and is discussed in the Gemarah, Halachah and Poskim. Rav Shagar explains what this custom of drunkenness on Purim reflects on the nature of Purim itself. Rav Shagar explains how drunkenness is an expression of mans need to reject being in control of his life and feeling part of a strict framework of values and behaviour. Man at times has to be able to break free and be himself completely and not be regulated in a defined and highly structured system. Drunkenness reflects a world void of reason and logic. The Purim Story, Rav Shagar explains as reflected in Megillat Esther also demonstrates that man is not in control. The Purim story shows that man is not in control, but Hashem is. The fate and destiny of man is not in his hands but Hashems. When we read through the Megillah we see that we human beings are just parts of a bigger system that is way beyond and above us. Rav Shagar writes, Drunkenness shatters values, symbolizes more than anything the post-modern world in which we live: the chaos which threatens culture in general and Jews in particular; the disintegration of the individual and his values; the fragmentary nature of post-modernism which is none other than a shattering of vessels; and its merry, drunken, carnivalesque, pluralistic, colourful approach to reality. On the day of Purim we live the post-modern approach to life, which is defined by drunkenness. One that rejects order and a respect for tradition and authority. But this is the antithesis of how we are supposed to live the rest of the year and the ideal of how the Halachik Jew lives. The Halachik Jew lives his life by a system of beliefs, values and practices whose roots are based at Har Sinai and which are Divine and eternal. The true Religious Man does not strive to ride himself of accepted tradition, but rather attempts to integrate it within his own lifestyle. The drunkenness of Purim, reflects anarchy and escaping from a lifestyle based on tradition and respect. Rav Shagar writes, like Purim, the post-modern world, creates chaos and disintegration and rejects all that is so sacred to us. In Yahadut, we believe the opposite. That accepted tradition and values are the source of our greatest pleasure and enjoyment. We only have a present and future as a People, if we are closely connected to our cherished Mesorah and past. Shabbat Shalom, Benjy Singer.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 11:20:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015