Defeating The Persian Enemy

A Message from the Kalever Rebbe Shushan Purim 5786 In every generation, there are powerful nations that rise to the level of empires — whose leaders become, in effect, "kings of kings," wielding influence over the rulers of all other nations. All of mankind seeks their favor and strives to find grace in their eyes. But the Jewish people must always remember: above all of them reigns the Holy One, Blessed be He — the true King of kings of kings. It is He who determines who shall rise to power, and it is He who places into the hearts of rulers their very decisions about how to govern. As we say on the Yomim Noraim in the piyut V'chol Maminim — Hashem is "the One who crowns kings, for sovereignty is His alone." Throughout the generations, there were Jews who forgot this foundational truth. They studied the ways and methods of the powerful kings and ministers of the nations, and sought to imitate them — believing that by winning their favor, they would gain protection and benefit. But in the end, the results were always the opposite. Evil decrees were brought upon them, because everything depends on the King Above. The First Test of Exile This was seen most vividly in the days of Achashverosh and during the story of Purim. There were Jews then who did not wish to heed the words of the Sages, who had forbidden drawing close to the nations and their ways. They convinced themselves that it was a practical necessity — required for their livelihoods — and therefore permitted. In the end, they saw how mistaken they had been. Those were the first years of the Jewish people in exile. They had not yet been tested by the challenge of living a Torah life under the conditions of galus, the way they would be in later generations. The seventy years of the Babylonian exile had been a time of rupture and hardship — but under Achashverosh, life had apparently become more comfortable and settled. Jews were honored guests invited to the king's feast. They were woven into the economic fabric of the kingdom — as we see from the fact that Haman, when proposing to annihilate the Jews, felt it necessary to personally offer to cover the financial loss to the royal treasury. And so, for the first time, the great question arose: how does one live among the nations? The masses argued that one must mix with the broader society — to trade, to sustain oneself, to be respected, to avoid being seen as strange outsiders. And therefore, they said, one must attend the feast of Achashverosh, who had invited everyone. But this was no ordinary royal banquet. The overriding purpose of Achashverosh's feast — his core intention from the very beginning — was to erase the boundary between Israel and the nations. To dissolve the separation. To make the Jewish people indistinguishable from everyone else sitting at the banquet. This was the ideology the feast was built upon, and it was precisely this battle that Mordechai the Jew stood up to fight. Mordechai's Stand Mordechai forbade attendance at the feast, precisely so that the Jewish people would not draw closer to the nations. But Israel did not listen. Surely they reasoned — as Jews in exile have reasoned in every generation — that refusing the king's invitation would be seen as a provocation, an act of hostility toward the throne. And perhaps, they thought, by drawing closer to the king, they might even succeed in convincing him to permit the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash. But it was a mistaken outlook. From closeness to the nations and their ways, nothing is ever gained. The terrible decree came precisely because they had enjoyed the feast of Achashverosh. By seeking to draw close to the nations, they had drawn away from Hashem — and the suffering that followed was Heavenly intervention to bring Israel back, to repair the spiritual damage of their sin. Mordechai understood this deeply. And so he acted accordingly — demonstrating his loyalty to Hashem and His commandments before all. When the king's command went out that all must bow before Haman, Mordechai refused. He surrendered himself completely to the halacha that forbade such bowing, even against all worldly logic. He did not bow, did not move, showed not the slightest trace of flattery or submission. As the Megillah states: "And Mordechai would not kneel and would not bow!" The Bankruptcy of Assimilation And yet, a large portion of the Jewish people — seeing the wealth and success of Achashverosh and the wicked Haman — distanced themselves from the G-d of Israel and the Torah of Israel, and drew themselves toward the nations and their culture, believing this would secure their survival. But then came Haman's decree — and it exposed, in the most devastating way, the utter bankruptcy of the philosophy of assimilation. Despite all their efforts to blend in, despite having enjoyed the feast of that wicked one, the hatred of the nations was not forgotten. The decree went out to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews — young and old, children and women — even those who had converted. And the very Mordechai whom they had mocked — the one they blamed for bringing disaster upon Israel by refusing to bow to Haman — it was he who brought about the downfall of Haman, enemy of Israel. For it was Mordechai's defiance that drove Haman to build his towering gallows and seek to hang him — and in the heat of his fury, the king commanded that Haman himself be hanged upon it. In an instant, Mordechai rose to greatness. And this is how the miracle of Purim came to be. The Timeless Lesson All of this proved, beyond any doubt, that Heaven does not govern Israel the way it governs other nations. The Jewish people cannot determine their own fate through political maneuvering or worldly strategy. Success — even in material matters — does not come through drawing close to the nations and walking in their ways. This truth became crystal clear to the Jewish people in the days of Achashverosh. And out of that clarity came their renewed acceptance of the Torah — this time from the heart, from love. As the Sages teach: "They re-accepted it in the days of Achashverosh out of love for the miracle that was done for them" — as it is written, "the Jews confirmed and accepted" — they confirmed what they had already accepted at Sinai. This is why we celebrate Purim as a Yom Tov each year and commemorate the miracle. For the story of Purim carries within it a timeless lesson for every generation: that no person has the power to determine his own fate, and that success — even in the things of this world — depends on nothing other than the choice to fulfill the will of Hashem. The Test of Our Generation And in our own time, this lesson demands to be heard. Today as well, there is a powerful temptation to set aside the guidance of the gedolei Yisrael — who have always warned against compromising on various matters — for the sake of earning a livelihood. Some mistakenly reason: since today's street culture is one of mixed gatherings, lightheadedness, and immodesty, one has no choice but to go along with it. And so they permit themselves to be lenient about yichud, about forbidden touch, or about the use of technology that has no place in a Jewish home — all "for the sake of parnassah," because, they say, that is simply how business works today, and there is no other way to earn a living. But in these days of Purim, let us look honestly at the story of the miracle — and learn from it. Guarding the boundaries of kedusha costs us nothing. By fulfilling the will of Hashem, we cannot lose. On the contrary — we gain. We earn reward from Heaven that no worldly calculation can match. Therefore, let us strengthen ourselves to uphold and fulfill the words of the Torah and the words of the Sages of Israel — openly and without apology. And in that merit, may we be blessed with abundant parnassah and every manner of goodness from Heaven. Kaalov Headquarters - 188 Hewes St, Brooklyn, NY, 11211 unsubscribe