04 Mar BACK TO THE CHOMETZ

My veteran readers
will remember that
sometimes I imagine
a simulated, fictional
interview with the
Yeitzer Hara to give us
an inner look into the
machinations of the one whose mission it is
to cause us to sin. So, I hope you find it
enjoyable and inspirational.
Rabbi Weiss: I haven’t run into you for a
long time, Reb Yeitzer Hara.
Yeitzer Hara: Every time we meet, I end up
spilling some of my secrets to you.
RW: The Torah says, “Hachaim v’hamaves
nasati l’fonecha, u’vacharta bachaim – Life
and death I put before you, you should
choose life.” It seems to me that many
times there is a polarity in our choices and
there is almost a black and white difference
between good and evil.
YH: (chuckling!) You just noticed that
now? Take the mitzvah of mishloach manos,
sending gifts on Purim as an example. It’s
such a lofty opportunity that the Rambam
waxes rhapsodically, “Kol hamarbeh
mishloach manos, harei zeh m’shubach –
Whoever increases the amounts of gifts

they send is to be praised.” So important
is the spirit of promoting rei’us, friendship
on Purim! Yet, today I’ve convinced
people to go all the way in the opposite
direction. They buy two fancy gifts and for
everyone else they send postcards in lieu of
shlach manos. That’s like saying you gave
tzedakah instead of having a sumptuous
Shabbos meal.
RW: You’ve piqued my interest. Any other
Purim examples?
YH: Sure! You know that Purim is a very
special day for prayer. We are taught,
“Kol haposhet yad, nosnim lo – Whoever
stretches out their hand for tzedakah, you
should give them [without any inspection].
RW: So, what does this have to do with
prayer?
YH: Baal Shem Tov interprets this
differently. “Whoever stretches out his
hand to Hashem on Purim, his request will
be granted to him.” We also know that Yom
Kippur is called Yom ki’Purim, it is a day
like Purim. That means that as much as
Yom Kippur is an intensive all-day time for
prayer, so is Purim!
RW: Yes! And the hero of Purim,
Mordechai, is introduced as, “ben Yair,

ben Shimi, and ben Kish.”
The Gemara homiletically
interprets this to mean, “ ‘Ben
Yair,’ ben she’hei’ir eineihem
shel Yisroel bi’sfiloso –
[Mordechai is called] ‘son of
Yair,’ a man who illuminated
the eyes of Yisroel through his
prayers… ‘ben Shimi,’ bein
sh’shama Keil t’filaso – [He
is called] ‘son of Shimi,’ a son
whose prayers were listened
to by Hashem… ‘ben Kish,’ she’hikish al
sha’arei rachamim v’nif’t’chu lo – [He is
called] ‘son of Kish,’ who banged on the
doors of mercy and they were opened to
him.” So, we see that Mordechai reversed
the deadly threat of Haman through the
power of prayer.
YH: The very name, and the letters that spell
the word Purim, is an anagram of ram piv,
the exaltation of his (Mordechai’s) mouth.
RW: But, where is the polarity that you were
talking about?
YH: What do you mean? People get so
drunk on Purim that many hardly have
any kavannah in their regular Mincha and
Maariv. Forget about devoting time to extra
Tehillim and extra requests!
RW: But, there is an actual mitzvah to
drink on Purim!
YH: Here I go again spilling my secrets!
In today’s world, where so many people
are prone to addictive behavior or are
looking for ways to escape from reality,
over-drinking is just asking for trouble.
RW: Yes. My Rebbe, Rav Moshe
Feinstien, zt”l, zy”a, minhag was to do
like the Rema, the posek for Ashkenazi
Jewry, and just drink a little be more than
usual and take a nap. Now I see what
you mean, that with all the craziness on
Purim, the last thing on people’s mind is
to utilize the day for intensive prayer.
YH: If you want an almost comical
example of polarity, take the modern-day
corruption of the minhag of to’ameha on
erev Shabbos.
RW: What do you mean?
YH: Well, the Yerushalmi says,
“To’ameha chaim zachu – One who
tastes the food before Shabbos will merit
life.” This means to check the food, as
to whether it has enough salt, enough
pepper, or if it needs some other doctoring
to make it taste better. But just a taste!
For, on erev Shabbos we are supposed to
eat sparingly so that we should come to
our Friday night meal salivating and with
a strong appetite. The Kitzur Shulchan
Orech says that we should skip one meal

each week to give our digestive system a
rest, and he recommends that it should be
Friday lunch, to ensure a ravenous appetite
l’kavod Shabbos.
RW: Ok. Where’s the polarity?
YH: Ah!!! Today, we have sumptuous
to’ameha, a repast with buffalo wings,
franks and blankets, a selection of cholents,
and a full smorgasburg with all types of
whisky. Talk about corruption of a minhag!
By the time people come to the Shabbos
meal, they can’t put food in their mouths,
they’re so full. Besides the fact that they
walk into shul or come home tipsy.
RW: Yes. I always knew that you are
the master of con artists. When I think
of polarity, I think of a wife who wears a
shmata when her husband comes home but
gets dressed to-the-nines when she goes out
with her lady-friends.
May it be the will of Hashem that we not be
misled by the Yeitzer Hara. May this Purim
be a day where we bring joy to many others
and find time to pray for all those who are in
need. And in that merit, may Hashem bless
us with a very merry Purim, long life, good
health, and everything wonderful.