17 Feb LISTENING TO OUR GEDOLIM: AN ANCIENT PURIM MESSAGE

Megilas Esther is an exciting repository of contemporary advice. This is revealed to us through Esther’s request to the sages, “Kavuni l’doros – Affix me for all generations.” Although Esther was the most modest of people, she recognized with Divine inspiration that there were moral and ethical lessons in the story of Purim that would be current and helpful for all times. One such example is the imperative to listen to our Torah sages and how devastating and lethal the consequences can be if we do not hearken to their sagacious advice. Many years before the scary events of Purim, Shmuel, the great prophet, instructed King Shaul to eradicate the Amalekites. Shaul deviated from these instructions slightly by sparing some animals and Agag, their king. Although Agag’s respite was short-lived for Shmuel executed him one day later, during the night that Shaul spared him, Agag had time to sire a son who was the ancestor of Haman. Thus, we see that disobedience to daas Torah resulted in the horrific fright to our entire nation from the wicked Haman. In a similar vein, the Megillah opens up with an elaborate description of Achashverosh’s gala one hundred and eighty day extravaganza. The Jews, too, were invited to partake in the royal festivities and feasting. And it was glatt kosher, as the Megillah reveals to us, “La’asos kir’zton ish v’ish,” that Achashverosh instructed the royal chef to do both the will of Mordechai and of Haman. All care was to be taken that the Jews should be able to partake within the bounds of Jewish culinary laws. This was greeted with great anticipation and excitement in the Jewish quarter. The oppressed Jews, during those antiSemitic times, never gained access to the wondrous palace and never were allowed to mingle with the elite and famous. They never had access to delicacies prepared and served with all of the royal touches. With mounting excitement for this royal shebang, they greatly anticipated all of these amazing things. Then Mordechai, the head of the central Beis Din, announced that no one should attend the feast, warning them that no good would come of it. This was a bitter pill indeed. Many argued that it would be downright dangerous not to attend and that it would risk the monarch’s displeasure to shun his kind invitation. Why, it would be downright unpatriotic. After all, they argued the king went to so much trouble to accommodate their needs. Therefore, in spite of Mordechai’s remonstrations many Jews attended the feast. Sadly, the Gemora informs us that this was precisely one of the reasons why the threat of Haman occurred. “Mipnei sheneh’nu mai’seudas Achashverosh – Because they benefited from the feast of Achashverosh.” With the Gemora’s analysis of history, we now know many reasons why Mordechai did not want them to attend. While wearing the rarified eight garments of the Kohein Gadol, Achashverosh and Vashti would desecrate the holy vessels of the Beis HaMikdash, using them for their drunken revelry. The very party was to celebrate the alleged failure of G-d to fulfill His promise to redeem the Jews after seventy years. And, it was also a wedding celebration in honor of Vashti, who was the granddaughter of Nevuchadnezar, who destroyed our Temple. At the time, many Jews were hoodwinked by the lure of palace life and didn’t listen to the Gedolim, with the devastating results that followed. On the other hand, Esther showed incredible courage, adamantly refusing to divulge to Achashverosh her nationality, for Mordechai told her not to do so, even though she already knew what this very fickle king could do to someone who disobeyed him. Furthermore, Rambam, in his commentary on the Megillah, writes that although Achashverosh promised tax amnesty and many gifts to Esther’s nation, not one Jew revealed who she was because Mordechai told them not to. Their adherence to daas Torah was seen later as well. They listened to the summons of Mordechai and Esther to fast for seventy-two hours straight, even skipping the Seder night! Furthermore, when the Jews conquered the Amalekis, they hearkened to daas Torah and amazingly did not touch any of the millions of dollars of booty available to them from their fallen foes!! It is vital that we train our children to have a wise rabbi they can go to when they reach a difference of opinion in their marriages. So many couples experience an erosion of the magic of their marriage because there is bitterness over disputed issues. If a couple decides beforehand that, if they reach an impasse, they will hand it over to a respected Torah Gadol – and believe in their hearts that his decision is the will of Hashem – it will save them from much discontent and bitterness. May Hashem bless us with the inner strength to listen to our sages and, to all my dear readers, I wish you a very healthy, safe, and joyous Purim.