Purim Mordechai’s Universal Appeal
Rabbi Ron-Ami Meir As Megillat Esther draws to a close, Mordechai triumphantly exits the court of Ahashverosh donning the most elaborate of royal garb. “And the city of Shushan was happy and joyous.” This imagery stands in stark contrast to a verse in the third chapter of the Megilah: When the order to annihilate the […]
Purim Mordechai: Planting the Seeds for Jewish Growth
Rabbi Ron-Ami Meir “There was a Jewish man (Ish Yehudi) in the capital city of Shushan.” Thus we are introduced to Mordechai, one of our two heroes in the Purim story. Who was this hero? According to the midrash, Mordechai embodied an essential attribute of Avraham Avinu: “Just as Avraham Avinu dove into the fiery […]
Purim The Joy of Adar
Rabbi Aba Wagensburg We are told that just as Adar begins we are to increase our level of joy (Ta’anit 29a). Why does this mitzva take effect at the beginning of the month and not just on Purim itself? B’ezrat Hashem, through gaining an insight into the nature of the month of Adar, we will […]
Purim Megillat Esther and Political Theory
Rabbi Yehuda Schnall Megillat Esther revolves around the political intrigues of Achashveirosh’s Persian Empire. A closer look at a number of episodes in the Megilla reveals some of the moral and theoretical undercurrents of the Persian political life. We first examine two seemingly contradictory comments by Rashi in Devorim in a passage about the Torah’s […]
Purim Mishloach Manot — Source Guide
Mishloach Manot — Sending Gifts on Purim A Darche Noam Source Guide Must I give food for Mishloach Manot? Do I have to send it on Purim itself? Do I really need to send it through a messenger? This source guide is designed to help understand what is behind these and many other questions concerning […]
Purim The Eternal Mishkan
by Rabbi Dovid Kamenetsky On the first day of Adar the Sanhedrin would announce the commandment to give the half shekel coin to the Beit Hamikdash, as described in the first Mishnah of Masechet Shekalim. It is not by coincidence that the Parshiot of Terumah and Tetzaveh, which deal with the erection of the Mishkan, […]
Purim The Hidden Presence by Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky
In a leap year, such as this one is, Purim is celebrated during the second Adar, rather than the first one. The reason the Talmud gives for this is in order to link the miracles of Purim to the miracles of Pesach. In explaining why Adar is a month of special joy, Rashi (Ta’anith 29a) […]
Mikdash and Shabbat: Two Reflections of the Same Reality
by Rabbi Yaakov Haber After gathering B’nai Yisrael together to inform them of the commandment to build the Mishkan and the kohanic garments, Moshe Rabbeinu first instructs them concerning the mitzva of Shabbos at the beginning of Parshas VaYakheil. Rashi, quoting the M’chilta, explains that this teaches us that the building of the Mishkan is […]
Shabbat: Connecting with Yourself
From Shem Mishmuel on Parshat Eikev Why (asks the Chidushei Harim quoted by the Avnei Nezer) do we not say the prayer for knowledge (Chonen Hada’at) in the Shabbat Amida (standing prayer)? Even though we do not make our standard prayer requests on Shabbat, we do make spiritual requests — “Sanctify us with Your commandments, […]
Torah and Professionalism: Part II Should I be a Professional?
Adaptation of an Address by Rabbi Dr. Yitzchok Breitowitz at the summer 1999 Darche Noam Yarchei Kallah on “Torah im Derech Eretz” Many deliberate over whether to enter the professional world (usually preceded by university study) or to pursue full-time Torah study in a kollel framework. I draw on my experience in the yeshiva, the […]
