Purim: "Until He Doesn't Know"
CHASSIDUT
by Rav Itamar Eldar
Yeshivat Har Etzion
Purim
Until
he doesn't know
Rav
Itamar Eldar
The Gemara in Megila brings the following statement in the name of
Rava:
Rava
said: A person is obligated to drink on Purim until he no longer knows the
difference between "cursed Haman" and "blessed Mordekhai." (Megila
7b)
The meaning of this obligation is not clear. It seems to demand
nullification of the intellect to the point of losing the capacity to clearly
distinguish between Haman being evil and Mordekhai being blessed. Jewish
thought, and Chassidic thought in particular, tried to reach a deeper
understanding of this law, which has become one of the central features of Purim
- drinking wine to the point of drunkenness.
R. Chayyim Vital writes in the name of his master, the Ari z"l, as
follows:
That
which our Rabbis, of blessed memory, have said, that a person is obligated to
drink on Purim until he no longer knows the difference between "cursed Haman"
and "blessed Mordekhai" this means as follows: It is known that in every
kelipa there is a spark of holiness that gives it life, and should it be
removed [the kelipa] will be left with no vitality and immediately
it will totally disappear. Now on this great day, when there is this great
illumination, we want the vitality of this illumination to reach this spark as
well, but not that it should reach so far to illuminate the kelipa. (For
this reason a person must get drunk on this day, to the point that he does not
know the difference between "cursed Haman" and "blessed Mordekhai." For he may
err and give a blessing to that spark in the kelipa, and it too will be
blessed, but its blessing will not have perfect intention, for if it would have,
it would receive a great deal and the kelipa would also be blessed.
(Alternate reading: Therefore he must say "blessed Haman," to draw light also to
that spark, and therefore he must say it without intention, since he is drunk
and has already lost his mind. For were it with intention, God forbid, it would
also illuminate the kelipa.) (Peri Etz Chayyim, Sha'ar Rosh
Chodesh, Chanuka u-Purim, chap. 6)
The words of the Ari z"l are difficult to understand on two
counts:
First,
why must we recoil from giving a blessing to the kelipa? By illuminating
the kelipa, can we not remove it from darkness to light? Why must we take
care to give a blessing only to the spark contained within it, and thus
perpetuate the state in which the spark remains chained within the
kelipa?
Second,
how is it that a blessing given in a state of drunkenness, that is, without full
intention, attaches only to the spark? The Ari z"l speaks of "a blessing recited
in error." How is it that an erroneously recited blessing attaches only to the
spark? How does diminished intention lead to a distinction in destination
between the spark and the kelipa?[1]
The
key to these questions seems to lie in understanding the state of the
kelipa and the Divine spark concealed within it, or as R. Chayyim Vital
puts it: "It is known that in every kelipa there is a spark of holiness
that gives it life." The kelipa, which symbolizes the evil found in the
world, exists by virtue of the Divine spark that is concealed within it and
gives it life. Without that Divine spark hidden within it, it could not exist.
As long as evil exists in the world, a Divine spark must be giving it life. This
is not merely a technical fact; its ramifications have meaning. The kabbalistic
expression, "Divine spark giving life to the kelipa," asserts that the
very fact of evil's existence is its meaning, and that it is by the will and
intention of God that it continues to exist.
What
that meaning is we do not know, and the Ari z"l advises that we not occupy
ourselves in the role of evil. Our blessing, which includes also the readiness
to contain and accept the existence of evil, and perhaps even to be blessed
through it, relates to its very existence, which is the only thing clear to us,
in that it exists by virtue of the Divine spark concealed within
it.
The Ari z"l seems to distinguish between the very existence of evil and
the accompanying phenomenon. A blessing recited without intention, void of
understanding, stemming from an "error," as it were, allows us to relate to the
very existence of the evil, and not its phenomena. A blessing stemming from
knowledge and understanding is accompanied by a conscious or unconscious
explanation of the reason for that blessing. That explanation relates to the
blessed party, and to the justification for the blessing, and so the blessing
bestows abundance and legitimacy upon the blessed party. A blessing recited in
error bestows abundance but no legitimacy, for it bestows its strength, but the
strength of its explanation makes no appearance, for we are dealing with an
error.
Losing one's mind, according to the Ari z"l, restricts the power of
blessing, and diminishes its light, but this is the only way in which evil can
be blessed in its very existence, that is, in the Divine spark that is concealed
within it, without receiving strength from the blessing for its negative
appearance.
THE GOAL OF KNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE NOT TO KNOW
Lack of knowledge, as it is expressed in the words of the Ari z"l,
involves a restriction and limitation of light, and in this manner a blessing
may be given to evil. R. Natan, in the name of his master R. Nachman of Breslov,
adopts an entirely different approach:
This
is the aspect of "A person is obligated to drink on Purim until he no longer
knows the difference between 'cursed Haman' and 'blessed Mordekhai"
(Megila 7b). For Purim is the primary [time] for subjugating the filth of
the serpent, which is sadness, the aspect of "in sorrow shall you eat of it"
(Bereishit 3:17), as stated above. At that time we must raise the joy
from the depths of the kelipot
until we merit by way of the joy to
achieve the aspect of the nine palaces as stated above, through which we attain
the infinite light
which is the aspect of the goal of knowledge that we are
not to know, as stated above. Therefore a person is obligated to drink, that is,
to get drunk on Purim for the sake of the joy, as it is written: "Wine that
gladdens the heart of man" (Tehilim 104:15). And he must increase the joy
until he merits by way of the drunkenness and the joy of Purim to reach the
aspect of the goal of knowledge that we are not to know, which is the aspect of
"until he no longer knows, etc." For the primary hold of good and evil, which is
the aspect of "blessed Mordekhai" and "cursed Haman," is from the tree of
knowledge of good and evil, the root of which stems from "nirgan mafrid aluf"
("a whisperer separates close friends"; Mishlei 16:18). That
is, it separates the aspect of Keter which is the aspect of alef,
the aspect of wonder which orders and settles the minds, thereby preventing the
minds from their pursuit. For the primary attainment of knowledge is precisely
the aspect of the goal of knowing that we are not to know. For the aspect of not
knowing is the primary goal of knowledge. For him who merits this, knowledge and
lack of knowledge are contained together, they being the aspect of pursuit and
hindrance, which are truly one at their root. Then evil is altogether nullified,
for the primary hold of evil is the lack of knowledge and its concealment that
follows from the excessive light that causes the vessels to shatter. This is
because they do not contain knowledge and lack of knowledge together (as will be
further explained below with God's help). Therefore, on Purim we must get drunk
to the point that we reach such joy until we merit the aspect of the
aforementioned goal of knowledge, where pursuit and hindrance are combined, they
being knowledge and lack of knowledge. The two are combined together in the
aspect of the goal of knowledge that we are not to know, where all evil is
entirely nullified, as explained above. This is the aspect of "until he no
longer knows the difference between 'cursed Haman' and 'blessed Mordekhai.'" For
there we cannot talk about good and evil, for there all is one, all is good, as
mentioned above. (Likutei Halakhot, Hilkhot Nefilat Apayim
4,7)
R. Natan identifies the obligation to be unable to differentiate between
"cursed Haman" and "blessed Mordekha" with one of the fundamental principles in
the thought of R. Nachman of Breslov, which asserts paradoxically that the goal
of knowledge is that we are not to know.
Knowledge and lack of knowledge, argues R. Natan, are "pursuit" and
"hindrance." We seem to be dealing with contradictory ideas. A person engages in
pursuit in order to attain something, be it money, or any other goal, or
knowledge. A hindrance prevents such attainment, whether it be money, or some
yearned for goal, or lack of knowledge that prevents knowledge. R. Nachman's
novel idea was that pursuit and hindrance are one, and that essentially the
pursuer is he who hinders.
In order to understand this novel idea, let us try to substitute love for
knowledge, it too being a sought after goal, and thus the hindrance will be the
failure to realize love. The implication of what R. Nachman is saying that the
goal of knowledge is that we are not to know, is that the goal of love is that
we are not to love, or perhaps we should say, that we are not to realize our
love.
There are two possible approaches that can explain this surprising
assertion that the goal of love is the failure to realize
it.
1.
Existentially[2] it may be argued that the object of love does not
really exist, and that a person fashions a certain object, a certain person, or
a certain goal in his mind, in his imagination, or in his heart, towards which
he directs his love and his longings. According to this approach, we are not
really interested in the attainment in and of itself, but in the process. The
goal is not reaching love but yearning for it. According to this understanding,
we can say that our goal is not knowledge, but rather the seeking of knowledge
and the experience of its absence, which give rise to constant movement forward
and development. Those who "reach" their goals face the danger of fixation and
even putrefaction, unless a new goal that has not yet been reached is
immediately established that will provide movement and
longing.
2.
According to the approach of Kant[3] a fundamental distinction must be
made between the world of phenomena and the world in itself. Man encounters the
world of phenomena, but not the essence of the world itself. The phenomena may
teach us about the essence, but they constitute an everlasting barrier between
man and the thing itself, and so too between man and himself.[4] Any attempt to
realize love will, therefore, miss the mark, and move it from the potential
state of "essence" to the secondary state of "phenomenon," and from that moment
the phenomenon will become more and more distant from the
essence.
This
Kantian approach asserts that in every action, speech, and sometimes even
thought, there is a dimunition of some abstract will or idea which in and of
itself is infinite, and as we speak about it we put it into a pillory of
definitions, words, and actions. In our every attempt to define an experience,
to realize it, to express it, we miss the mark and diminish it. Realized love is
more diminished than abstract and unrealized love. According to this approach,
the ultimate objective of love lies in not realizing it, and so too regarding
knowledge. For every bit of knowledge and every definition involves a dimunition
of an infinite and abstract idea.
The
first to commit this sin, as it were, was God Himself, for with the first words
that appeared out of the eternal silence, the infinite light contracted into
vessels and definitions. This is tzimtzum, contraction, which in the
world of kabbala expresses the transition from the Ein to the
Yesh, from the sefira of keter which is the highest
sefira, the sefira of Ein, void of limits and vessels, to
the sefira of Chokhma, the second sefira, which begins to
create a world of limits, definitions and contractions.
In
these words, R. Natan describes that moment of transition from Keter to
Chokhma, from Ein to Yesh, as a transition of "nirgan
mafrid aluf," "a whisperer separates close friends" (Mishlei
16:18). That is to say, when the alef, which expresses perfect and
unified Infinity, descends from Keter to Chokhma, Bina and
Da'at, its unity falls away and multiplicity is
fashioned.
The
first creation - that of light - bears within it the multiplicity, separation,
and distinction that immediately follow. From the moment that there is light,
there is also darkness, and thus place is created for good and evil. The
distinction between good and evil belongs to the world of knowledge the tree
of knowledge of good and evil. It is the result of the embodiment of the
Infinite in the vessels of Yesh, that contain Chokhma, Bina
and Da'at.[5]
The
world of knowledge, according to this, is both the world of distinction between
good and evil and also the world of the contraction from the Ein and the
Infinite. Knowledge allows for distinction, but this distinction results from
the sin of eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, from contraction
of the Infinite which is void of distinctions and limits.
It
would seem, according to this, that Kant was right when he asserted that from
the world of knowledge in which we are found, the world of Yesh, we will
never be able to encounter the Ein, the essence, and the Infinite. As
"possessors of knowledge," we can only relate to the world of phenomena that
grew out of the Yesh.
Here,
however, R. Nachman comes to undermine the pessimistic assertion of Kant.
Indeed, from the world of Yesh and its vessels, we will not be able to
reach the Infinite and the essence itself. From the perspective of "good and
evil," we will never be able to relate to anything but the world of phenomena.
According to R. Nachman, however, the possibility exists within the framework of
this world, to climb up to the Ein, and touch the place where there is no
knowledge: "the goal of knowledge is that we are not to know." Concealed within
the waiver of the world of knowledge, even for a moment, lies the possibility of
crossing over the abyss between the Ein and the Yesh, and touching
the Infinite. By waiving definitions and being prepared to devote ourselves to
the "hindrance," we will be able to reach the primeval "pursuer," which is the
goal of knowledge.
To
a certain extent, R. Nachman agrees with Kant's assertion that the essence is
hidden and the phenomenon is false, and that the sefirot of knowledge
from the world of the Yesh diminish and limit the Keter coming
from the world of the Ein. According to him, however, and in contrast to
Kant, it is possible to waive knowledge and touch the Keter, to ignore
the phenomenon and encounter the essence.
As
we have seen, the transition from the Ein to the Yesh is
characterized by the transition from a world that is entirely good to a world
that distinguishes between good and evil. In this world we possess knowledge,
and this knowledge allows us to judge and categorize: this is good and this is
evil. In the world of Ein, where there is no knowledge, there is also no
distinction between good and evil. Elsewhere R. Natan writes as
follows:
Therefore,
one is obligated to drink on Purim until he no longer knows the difference
between "cursed Haman" and "blessed Mordekhai." For there he is above knowledge,
and there it is inappropriate to say, "cursed Haman," for there it is entirely
good, above the middot, above days of good and days of evil, as stated
above. This is the aspect of the secret of the red heifer, which is the aspect
of statute (chuka), above knowledge: it defiles the ritually pure and
purifies the ritually impure. This secret will remain incomprehensible until the
future when the hidden Torah will be revealed, as stated above. (Likutei
Halakhot, Hilkhot Purim 4, 5)
The chuka that is not given to understanding or definition, is the
place where the boundaries between good and evil become blurred, where the
ritually impure purifies and the ritually pure defiles. It is precisely in the
absence of knowledge, argues R. Nachman, that we can touch the secret of the
Infinite and eternity.
"my
glory I will not give to another" (Yeshaya
42:8)
Understanding
the Ein as a place void of the distinction between good and evil is
relevant not only to the primeval history of creation, but to the here and now.
Thus writes R. Nachman in a different passage:
Know,
that the root of the entire creation is glory. For everything that the Holy One,
blessed be He, created, He created only for His glory. As it is written:
"Everyone that is called by My name, for I have created him for My glory"
(Yeshaya 43:7) (Yoma 38). Since everything was created for His
glory, blessed be He, His glory is the root of all of creation. Even though He
is entirely One, nevertheless creation consists of parts, and each and every
part of creation has a unique aspect of glory, which is its root, as stated
above. This is the aspect of (Avot 5:1): "By ten utterances was the world
created. Could not all have been created by one utterance? It is only for reward
and punishment that it was created by ten utterances." And each and every
utterance has a unique aspect of glory, which is its root, for glory is the root
of everything, as stated above. This is the aspect of (Tehilim 29:9):
"And in His temple, everyone speaks of His glory," for every utterance clothes
His glory, blessed be He, for through it the world was created, for "the whole
world is full of His glory" (Yeshaya 6:3). Even sins and evil things, God
forbid, which are void of His glory, blessed be He, having the aspect of "My
glory I will not give to another" (Yeshaya 42:8). For the glory has a
limit, past which it will not spread. And even though the whole world is full of
His glory, nevertheless there is a limit when it reaches the aforementioned
places, so that it will not go out there. This is the aspect of "My glory I will
not give to another," as stated above. And there is a limit to each and every
glory, so that it not spread to the external places, as stated above. But know,
that all this notwithstanding, they too certainly receive vitality from Him,
blessed be He; even filthy places and houses of idolatry must receive vitality
from Him, blessed be He. But know, that they receive from the aspect of a closed
utterance, which at the beginning is a closed utterance, which includes all the
utterances, and all of them receive vitality from it. And the glory of a closed
utterance is closed and hidden in ultimate concealment, and from there they
receive vitality. For from the aspect of the revealed glory and utterances, it
is impossible for them to receive vitality, having the aspect of "My glory I
will not give to another," as stated above. Only from the closed utterance,
which is hidden in ultimate concealment, from there they receive vitality. This
matter cannot be understood, and one is forbidden to contemplate it at all.
(Likutei Moharan Tinyana, 12)
The creation of the world through the ten utterances is the transition
from unity to multiplicity. It is also the place where good and evil came into
being. "It is only for reward and punishment that it was created by ten
utterances." Multiplicity engenders good and evil, and they all arise in the
world of Yesh.
The utterance standing behind each and every thing does not only bring it
into being, but rather it dwells within it and maintains it. Thus the Divine
glory, namely the Divine utterance, dwells in all of creation. However, in the
world of distinctions, of good and evil, of Yesh, there are limits that
the Divine Shekhina and the Divine glory
will never cross, having the aspect of "My glory I will
not give to another."
In the world of Yesh, distinctions are dichotomous. Good is good
and evil is evil, and he who has sinned will not repent, having the aspect of
"None that go to her return" (Mishlei 2: 19). The law governing the
Sabbath desecrator is stoning, and the law governing one who strikes his father
or mother is death, and there is no repentance, for in the world of Yesh,
the world of distinctions, a clear distinction must be made between holy and
profane, between light and darkness, and between good and evil. Evil, however,
also requires a "Divine utterance" in order to exist, as we saw at the beginning
of the lecture, for everything that exists must receive its vitality from
God.
R. Nachman teaches us, surprisingly, that it is the "closed utterance"
that comes from the Infinite, from the Ein, that gives life to evil, for
it alone, that Divine light void of distinctions that comes from the Ein,
to which the capacity to draw distinctions coming from the world of Yesh
has not adhered it alone can dwell even in the midst of evil. This is the
"closed light" that is void of knowledge and meaning, and as the Ari z"l, all
that can be said about it is that it gives life to evil. This is the light that
we cannot bless with the blessing of knowledge, for it does not come from the
world of knowledge. It comes from a higher place, void of
knowledge.
It is precisely this infinite light, teaches us R. Nachman, that dwells
in the evil, and therefore it is precisely the conjunction with that supreme
light that allows us to redeem evil, and that allows one who has fallen into
that place to be redeemed and rescued.
He
also exceedingly expanded upon the enormity of the virtue of repentance. Even
when people fall very low, God forbid, and each person falls to the place where
he falls, may God save us, nevertheless, it is forbidden to despair of him. For
repentance is high above the Torah. Therefore there is no despair in the world,
for if a person merits, his sins will turn into something else entirely, as our
Sages of blessed memory have said (Yoma 56b) that sins turn into merits.
This matter contains the most concealed secrets. (Sichot ha-Ran,
3)
According to R. Nachman, the repentance that comes from the sefira
of Keter,[6] is higher than the Torah, because the Torah comes from
the world of the Yesh, from the world of Chokhma, Bina and
Da'at. The Torah is Chokhma and Bina and it serves as the
pillar of the world of Yesh. It is the source of all distinctions between
good and evil, between pure and impure, between permitted and forbidden. It
punishes sinners and bestows reward upon those who walk in the path of God. It
is the Torah's light that cannot dwell among evil and
filth.
This is not true about repentance that comes from the world of
Ein, the world that is void of distinctions. It is light that is not
afraid nor does it recoil from entering, blessing and receiving a blessing even
amidst evil. Therefore, it is the light that can redeem one who has fallen and
sunk deep into that evil.
The absence of knowledge is the ability not to recoil or fear the world
of phenomena and to reflect upon the essence that is entirely light and
good.
Know
that one must judge every person favorably, and even in the case of a totally
wicked man, one must search and find in him some small amount of good, in which
he is not wicked. By finding in him a small amount of good, and by judging him
favorably, one truly elevates him toward merit, and can cause him to repent.
This is the aspect of "For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; and
you shall look well at his place, but he will not be there" (Tehilim
37:10). That is, the verse warns one to judge everyone favorably. Even if
you see that he is totally wicked, nevertheless you must search and try to find
in him a small amount of good where there is no wickedness. This is "For yet a
little while, and the wicked shall not be." For you must search in him for that
small amount of good that is still in him, where there is no wickedness, for
even though he is wicked, how can it be that there is no small amount of good in
him, for how can it be that never in his life did he perform some mitzva
or good deed. By finding in him some small amount of good where he is not
wicked, and by judging him favorably, through that you truly elevate him from
liability to merit, to the point that he will repent. This is "For yet a little
while, and the wicked shall not be." By finding in the wicked person a small
amount of good, where there is no wickedness, through that "you shall look well
at his place, but he will not be there." That is, when you look upon his place
and level, he will not be there in his original place. For when we find in him a
small amount of good, some good point, and judge him favorably, through that we
truly remove him from liability to merit. (Likutei Moharan Kama,
282)
What is needed to fulfill the words of R. Nachman in this teaching is
"loss of knowledge." For how can we judge a wicked person standing before us
favorably, when we look at him, and see that from head to toe he is evil? The
world of phenomena that is manifest before us is filled with evil. In the world
of Yesh, it is very clear and simple how to catalogue this evil. R.
Nachman demands of us that we disregard the world of phenomena, waive knowledge,
waive judgment, waive understanding, waive distinctions, and reflect upon the
Ein within us. Reflect upon the essence, and bless it: "Blessed
Haman"!
But the Torah cries out: "My glory I shall not give to another." How can
one bless the cursed? How can one purify the impure? How can one illuminate
darkness?
Repentance quietly answers from the world of Ein: Indeed our holy
Torah is right, for I am void of knowledge. It is true that I understand nothing
of the world of distinctions. It is true that I am not made of the world of
Yesh, but all these failings are what allow me to bless this wicked
person, to be blessed by him, and to elevate him from his dark abyss to the
Divine light that illuminates all of existence.
Taking in the infinite light, which involves a blurring of boundaries, is
what gives us the ability that Kant never considered assigning to man the
ability to disregard the world of phenomena and look at the
essence.
Waiving knowledge is, indeed, a little scary, just as it is a
little scary to put on a mask and lose our appearance. Who are we, we ask
ourselves when we look in the mirror and see a Purim mask. From the moment that
our faces are hidden, we can no longer provide a simple answer: It is I, Moshe,
Yitzchak or Sara. For from the moment that we don a mask, we lose the world of
phenomena, and in the words of Rav Kook, who adopted the Kantian position
regarding man's looking at himself, we have lost that which surrounds the
"center of knowledge." There is no longer anything surrounding it. There is no
face, no smile, no mustache or mouth. Only a mask with a stupid smile, void of
knowledge, on our faces.
At this frightening moment, a moment without knowledge, a moment
of drunkenness, we can do nothing but look inwards, into ourselves, into our
essence, into the center of knowledge to the Ein within us which is
only revealed when we remove all the garments. At this moment, there is no
cursed and no blessed, no profane and no holy, no impure and no pure there is
only blessed silence, that allows us for a moment to look at the Ein, at
repentance which is above the Torah.
The foundation of repentance that disregards the world of
phenomena and seeks the blessing of the essence, reveals itself not only when we
get drunk on Purim to the point that we no longer know the difference between
cursed Haman and blessed Mordekhai, but also on Purim's twin holiday Yom
Kippur (Yom Ki-Purim).
"With the consent of the Omnipresent One, and with the consent of
the congregation, by the authority of the heavenly court and by the authority of
the earthly court, we declare it lawful to pray with sinners." This is the way
we begin our prayers, following Tefila Zaka, on the eve of Yom Kippur.
The foundation of the day of repentance lies in the nullification of the
distinction between the righteous and the sinners, just as the foundation of
Purim lies in the nullification of the distinction between cursed Haman and
blessed Mordekhai. Repentance is based on a waiver of knowledge that makes
distinctions, that sets clear boundaries between the righteous and the wicked.
Therefore, as a first step, we are required to waive this
knowledge.
On Yom Kippur, we do not get drunk, and this waiver is made in
full consciousness, and therefore we require the consent of God and of the
congregation sitting in the heavenly and earthly courts, in order to allow us to
waive knowledge, to waive the distinction, to gather in every created being,
from good and from evil, from the pure and the impure, from the holy and from
the profane, into the bosom of the infinite unity that gives rise to the light
of repentance.
All the festivals will
cease to be observed, but the days of Purim will never cease to be observed. As
it states: "And that these says of Purim should not fail from among the Jews,
nor the memorial of them perish from their seed" (Esther 9:28). R. Elazar
said: So too Yom Kippur will never cease to be observed. As it is stated: "And
this shall be an everlasting statute to you, to make atonement for the children
of Israel for all their sins once a year" (Vayikra 16:34). (Midrash
Mishlei [Buber], 9)
The eternity of the days of Yom Kippur and Purim stems from the fact that
they both try to skip over the world of Yesh, to waive the world of
knowledge, not to stumble in the world of distinctions; from the fact that they
both strive to touch not only the world of phenomena, but also the
essence.
Internalizing these two holidays in our hearts, all year long, will allow
us to look at ourselves, at others, at our world, with a deep and penetrating
look that is not distracted by the world of phenomena, that does not submit to
masks, that does not for a moment give up on touching the Ein. By asking
permission to pray with the sinners, and through drunkenness that removes
knowledge to the point that we cam bless and be blessed by all, we shall don the
Keter of the world, and illuminate ourselves and others with an
apprehension of eternity, with the light of repentance, and with the abundance
of blessing.
Happy
Purim!
FOOTNOTES:
[1] We wish to note that
the distinction between the blessing of "cursed Haman" in a state of drunkenness
and in a state of knowledge and clear-headedness stands many
tests.
First, psychologically,
there is no doubt that the world relates with greater clemency towards a person
who demonstrates a forgiving attitude to sin and sinners while in a state of
drunkenness, than to one who demonstrates such an attitude while in a
clear-headed state.
Second, historically,
one of the central symptoms of Sabbatianism was the bestowal of blessing and
legitimacy upon sin and sinners. It is reported about Shabbetai Tzvi that he
would hold in his hand animal fat that is forbidden by Torah law and recite the
blessing, "Blessed is He who permits that which is forbidden," in order to bless
and redeem the Divine spark that is concealed in the sin and the prohibited
article. Had Shabbetai Tzvi understood the distinction of which the Ari z"l
speaks, he and the Jewish world would have been spared that dark and
uncomplimentary period of the Sabbatean movement.
[2] Existentialism
school of thought whose perspective upon the world stems from man and his
existence.
[3] Kant modern
philosopher whose thought constitutes one of the foundations of modern
philosophy.
[4] We find a similar
idea in the words of Rav Kook: "Nobody can know the essence, even of himself,
and all the more so of another, of an individual, and all the more so of a
nation. We go around the center of knowledge, we deal in surmises and guesses,
making determinations on the basis of manifest actions, which are also mostly
concealed from us, and particularly their complicated causes, and on the basis
of such testimony, we speak of about unique natures and separate souls. We must
decide that our knowledge in this area is based on nothing, judgment belonging
to God alone" (Orot ha-Kodesh, III, p. 119, Shemona
Kevatzim, III, 352).
[5] The first thing that
we do after Shabbat is distinguish between light and dark, between Israel
and the nations, between holy and profane, and between good and evil. These
distinctions are included in the Havdala inserted into the Amida
blessing of "Ata chonen le-adam da'at," for as Chazal say, if
there is no knowledge, from where should there be
distinction.
[6] Likutei Moharan
Kama, 6, 2.
(Translated by David
Strauss)
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