Purim
פוריםHidden Miracles
34 translated essays · 83 total
תרל"א(1870)
Two lots of Purim· Essay 1
"Therefore they called these days Purim, after the name of the 'pur' (lot)" (Esther 9:26). The Megillah states that the festival is named "Purim" specifically after the pur, the lot that Haman cast. And it implies that the essence of the mi…
Drawing renewal into nature defeats Haman· Essay 2
And it is brought in the Midrash that [Haman] cast lots (goralos) upon the days of the week, and they did not "come up" favorably for him, so he cast [them] upon the months. The Midrash relates that Haman first cast his "pur" (lot) on the d…
Purim's love-driven re-acceptance of Torah· Essay 3
On Purim there was a [renewed] kabbalas haTorah (acceptance of the Torah), as Chazal say: "They accepted it again in the days of Achashverosh" (Shabbos 88a). Purim is not only a deliverance but a second Sinai — the Jews willingly re-accepte…
Unity through the inner point· Essay 4
The mitzvah of mishloach manos (sending portions) appears to come for the sake of ahavas Yisrael (love of fellow Jews). The Sefas Emes explains the Purim mitzvah of sending gifts of food as a means of awakening love among Bnei Yisrael. For …
Remembrance fused to the soul erases Amalek· Essay 5
My grandfather, my master and teacher (of blessed memory), explained the meaning of "they gathered and stood for their lives." The verse in Megillas Esther describes Bnei Yisrael assembling to defend themselves; the Sefas Emes brings his gr…
Purim תרל"א
על כן קראו לימים האלה פורים על שם הפור. ומשמע שעיקר הנס תולה בזה. כי איך יקרא שם היום על דבר טפל שאינו העיקר. “Therefore they called these days ‘Purim’, due to the lottery – פור”. (Esther 9:26). The implication is that the prima…
Parshat Hachodesh תרל"א
תרל”א ב”ה ויקהל פקודי ופ’ החודש כתיב ויקהל קודם מצות שבת כי בשבת מתאחדין ברזא דאחד זה עיקר ענין שבת להיות כל הרצונות וכחות האדם דבוקין בשורשם שהוא נקודה הפנימיות חיות השי”ת שיש בכל אדם כמ”ש ויפח באפיו כו’…
תרל"ד(1873)
Remembrance precedes the deed· Essay 2
Why they did not establish the night for feasting and rejoicing. The Sefas Emes asks why Chazal fixed the Purim seudah for the day and not for the night. Because the action comes only after the remembrance. Doing (asiyah) flows from first r…
Purim's salvation through unearned love· Essay 3
"You were their salvation forever, and their hope in every generation" (from the Purim Al HaNissim / piyut). The Sefas Emes opens with the liturgical phrase declaring that the salvation of Purim was eternal and remains a source of hope for …
Walled cities and their hidden holiness· Essay 4
It appears that walled cities are more esteemed. The Sefas Emes opens by noting that cities surrounded by a wall (which read the Megillah on the fifteenth) carry a greater status. He will explain the spiritual root of this distinction. For …
תרל"ו(1875)
Reaching teshuvah through joy on Purim· Essay 1
On Purim it is a time of teshuvah, as it is brought that Yom Kippur and Purim are one matter — see there in the Tikkunim (Tikkunei Zohar). The Sefas Emes opens by establishing that Purim is a time for teshuvah, citing the teaching of the Ti…
Purim repairs the sin of the Egel· Essay 2
It is taught: they accepted it anew (hadar kibluha) in the days of Achashverosh, etc. The Gemara (Shabbos 88a) says Bnei Yisrael re-accepted the Torah willingly in the time of the Purim miracle. And Tosafos raised a difficulty: but they had…
Blotting out Amalek to rectify scattered thoughts· Essay 3
"And Esther spoke again… and wept… to annul the evil of Haman… and his scheme which he had devised against the Jews… to revoke the letters, the scheme of Haman…" (Esther 8:3,5). The Sefas Emes gathers the verses describing Esther's plea — t…
תרל"ז(1876)
Sins transformed into merits on Purim· Essay 1
"Gather… all the Jews who are found in Shushan…" (Esther 4:16). The Sefas Emes opens with Esther's call to gather the Yidden of Shushan for fasting and teshuvah. For they understood that the decree came about because of the sin of having en…
Daily devotion merits the Purim miracle· Essay 2
"And every single day Mordechai would walk about..." The pasuk describes how Mordechai would walk daily before the courtyard of the women's house where Esther was held, and the Sefas Emes explores why the Megillah records this detail. It ap…
Mordechai rectifies King Shaul's sin· Essay 3
"Son of Kish" (Esther 2:5). The Sefas Emes examines why Mordechai's lineage is traced to Kish. And it is brought in Targum Sheni that he was of the seed of Shaul; if so, why was he not traced after King Shaul? Since Mordechai descended from…
Purim restores the merit of na'aseh v'nishma· Essay 4
In the Gemara: "They fulfilled and accepted" — they re-accepted it (the Torah) in the days of Achashverosh, etc. (Shabbos 88a). Chazal derive from "kimu v'kiblu" that in the time of the Purim miracle Bnei Yisrael re-accepted the Torah, now …
Purim תרל"ז
תרל”ז כנוס כו’ כל היהודים הנמצאים בשושן כו’. כי הבינו שהגזירה הי’ ע”י החטא שנהנו מאותה סעודה של אחשורוש. ולכן נאמר לעיל עשה כו’ לכל כו’ הנמצאים בשושן כו’ משתה כו’. וכן כאן הנמצאים. שזה ק…
תרל"ח(1877)
Purim unity and the Oral Torah· Essay 1
Regarding that which [the Sages] instituted — feasting and rejoicing, mishloach manos (sending portions) and matanos [la'evyonim, gifts to the poor], etc. The Sefas Emes asks about the nature of the mitzvos of Purim, which all center on bon…
The lot reveals Amalek's final downfall· Essay 2
On the pasuk: "These days were called Purim, after the pur (the lot)." The Sefas Emes asks why the festival is named specifically after the lot that Haman cast, since that would seem to be a minor detail. It appears that this is the very fo…
תרל"ט(1878)
תר"מ(1879)
Generosity belongs to Yisrael, mirrored in evil· Essay 1
On the verse: "And the account of the silver that Haman said he would weigh out…" (Esther 4:7) Mordechai is told the full story, including the sum of silver Haman pledged to weigh out into the king's treasuries to destroy the Jews. The Sefa…
Refusing Amalek's spoil blots out his memory· Essay 2
That which the Megillah repeats twice and three times — "but upon the spoil they did not lay their hand" (Esther 9:10, 15, 16). The Sefas Emes notes that the Megillah stresses again and again that the Jews did not take the plunder of their …
Ascending to the fiftieth gate above good and evil· Essay 3
It is brought in the Gemara: A person is obligated to become mellow (le'vasumei) on Purim until he does not know [the difference between "cursed is Haman" and "blessed is Mordechai"], etc. The Sefas Emes opens with the well-known obligation…
תרמ"א(1880)
Haman's rise engineered for his fall· Essay 1
"King [Achashverosh] promoted Haman" (Esther 3:1). The Sefas Emes opens with the verse describing Haman's sudden, astonishing elevation to power. In the Midrash the reason is given by way of a parable — that it was so that there would be a …
Unity defeats Amalek· Essay 2
"A Jewish man" — singular [yechidi] — see there in the Midrash. The Midrash reads "ish Yehudi" (Esther 2:5) as hinting that Mordechai was a yachid, a singular unifying figure, and the Sefas Emes will build on this. For when Bnei Yisrael bec…
Purim on the day of rest: uprooting Amalek through clarity· Essay 3
Concerning their establishing the day of rest as the Yom Tov. The Sefas Emes asks why Purim was fixed on the day of rest from the fighting rather than on the day of the victory itself. Even though the essence of the miracle and the destruct…
תרמ"ב(1881)
Eradicating Amalek reveals latent holiness and Torah· Essay 1
The essence of Amalek's opposition is against the Torah, as it is written "and their laws are different" (Esther 3:8). The Sefas Emes identifies the root of Amalek (and his descendant Haman) as enmity specifically toward the Torah of Bnei Y…
Unity and the Tzaddik Bring Geulah· Essay 2
On the pasuk "they gathered together and stood up for their lives (al nafsham)" (Esther 9:16). The Sefas Emes reads the verse describing how the Yidden in Shushan assembled to defend themselves, finding in the phrase "al nafsham" — literall…
תרמ"ג(1882)
Amalek's fall opens conversion to the nations· Essay 1
On the verse: "And many of the people of the land became Jews (misyahadim), for the fear of the Yehudim had fallen upon them" (Esther 8:17). The Sefas Emes opens with the verse describing the wave of conversions after the Purim miracle, pro…
Mordechai's unbending emunah in every generation· Essay 2
On the pasuk "And Mordechai would not bow" — for seemingly it should have been written "bowed" (in the past tense). The verse uses the future/continuous form "would not bow" (yichra) rather than the simple past "did not bow" (kara), which c…
Purim unity and the downfall of Amalek· Essay 3
The matter of the Yom Tov of Purim was a preparation for the building of the Second Bais Hamikdash, and it came about through the power of arousal from below (isarusa diletata) — this is the matter of the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah (Men of th…
Purim's darkness revealed retroactively as light· Essay 4
On the pasuk: "For the Yehudim there was light," etc. (Esther 8:16). The Sefas Emes opens with the verse describing the salvation of Purim, when the Jews experienced light, gladness, joy, and honor. It can be understood according to the Mid…
תרמ"ד(1883)
49 more essays from this section await translation.