Friday, February 27, 2015

Purim is Coming! Special learning for Purim

Countdown to Purim! Harav Arush spoke about Purim on Wednesday both to the Yeshiva and in his weekly class. There were some amazing thoughts and important pointers - over the next week I will G-d willing be emailing even daily with important tidbits from Harav Arush on this holiday, which is the most important holiday according to Harav Arush - even Yom Kippur is "yom" the day "k-Purim" like Purim, a day we get close to the holiness of Purim. Over the 3 days of Purim (the fast of Esther, Purim and Shushan Purim) a person can bring down incredible salvations. Even more, Purim sets the calendar for the entire year - everything begins with Purim. Rebbeinu also explains that a kosher Pesach depends on a proper Purim.

Let's begin with the basics - who is Amalek?
Rabbi Arush chuckled - he said in order to know how to erase Amalek, we first have to know who and what he is! So we must speak about him!
Klipat Haman-Amalek - the dark side force of Haman and Amalek (Haman was Amalek, and the most notable one, but this influence began before him and continues today) - is the force of denial of Hashem (kefirah).... Interestingly, the most bold manifestation of this is denying the good - that is how closely tied denying the good is to heresy. Everything that comes to a person comes to him from Hashem - this is a basic tenet of emuna. So if a person denies the good done to him by the messenger of Hashem (the flesh and blood person doing him the good, for instance) then if a person denies the messenger, they certainly also deny the one who sent him!
The famous example Rabbi Arush brings is that Haman had 10 sons, and incredible wealth and power. Everyone bowed down to him in the streets! Yet the fact that one little Jew, Mordechai, would not bow to him - he says "it is all like nothing in my eyes." This is the greatest denial of good possible and the quintessential example of denying the good and letting the "dark spot" in your life overwhelm all the good in it, to the point where you feel like the dark spot is everything and the good is like nothing - when really, if you could see clearly all the good being done for you and properly appreciate it, you would feel the exact opposite!
So the war against Amalek is the war of emuna, against kefirah (heresy). This is also the war of every person, at every moment - to strengthen themselves in the emuna to see Hashem, appreciate the good, and know Hashem is doing everything for the best - or to deny that G-d forbid, and question Hashem instead - "What's going on here? What does Hashem want from me? Why is this happening?"
Don't forget to start praying NOW already for a meaningful and inspiring Purim!

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