Ascending to the fiftieth gate above good and evil

איתא בגמרא חייב אדם לבסומי בפוריא עד דלא ידע כו'.

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 to drink on Purim until one can no longer distinguish between "cursed Haman" and "blessed Mordechai."

שמעתי בזה מילין מפה קדוש מו"ז ז"ל לעלות עד למעלה מעה"ד טוב ורע.

I heard concerning this matters from the holy mouth of my grandfather, of blessed memory: to ascend to above the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

His grandfather explained that this "not knowing" means rising above the level of the Eitz HaDaas — the realm where good and evil are mixed together and distinguished.

ואיני זוכר הדברים על בורין.

And I do not remember the words in their full clarity.

The Sefas Emes humbly admits that he no longer recalls his grandfather's teaching precisely.

אבל נראה תורף הדברים דכתיב עץ גבוה חמשים אמה והם כל מדריגות השערי טומאה שיש מ"ט פנים טמא כו'.

But the gist of the matter appears to be as follows: It is written [regarding Haman], "a tree fifty cubits high" — and these are all the levels of the gates of impurity, for there are forty-nine "faces" of the impure, etc.

Haman's gallows of fifty cubits alludes to the gates of tumah (impurity). There are forty-nine such gates — corresponding to the forty-nine ways a matter can be ruled impure — each a rung in the hierarchy of impurity.

כי כח של עמלק נמצא בכל המדריגות.

For the power of Amalek is found within all of those levels.

Amalek, the root of evil, has a foothold within every one of the forty-nine gates of impurity.

אבל באמת שער הנ' של הקדושה. שם לא יש ב' הדרכים. רק כולו טוב.

But in truth, the fiftieth gate — that of holiness — there, the two paths do not exist; rather, it is entirely good.

Above the forty-nine gates lies the fiftieth gate, the gate of holiness. There, the duality of good and evil no longer exists — it is wholly good, beyond Amalek's reach.

כי שם שורש האחדות.

For there is the root of unity (achdus).

The fiftieth gate is the source of absolute oneness, where everything is united in good.

וע"ז כתיב כאשר ירים משה ידו לשער הנ' ועץ החיים שהיא התורה.

And concerning this it is written, "When Moshe raised his hand" — toward the fiftieth gate and the Tree of Life, which is the Torah.

Moshe's raising his hands in the war against Amalek alludes to lifting Bnei Yisrael up to the fiftieth gate, to the Eitz HaChaim, the Torah, which lies above the Tree of Knowledge.

ולכן כשנתעורר כח מרע"ה שהוא שר התורה יש מפלה לעמלק.

Therefore, when the power of Moshe Rabbeinu — who is the prince of the Torah — is aroused, there is a downfall for Amalek.

Since Moshe embodies the Torah, the Tree of Life of the fiftieth gate, awakening his power brings about the defeat of Amalek, who has no grip on that level.

לכן איתא שבפורים קבלו התורה כו'.

Therefore it is taught that on Purim they [re-]accepted the Torah, etc.

This is why Chazal say that on Purim Bnei Yisrael accepted the Torah anew — for the downfall of Amalek is bound up with reaching the level of the Torah, the Tree of Life.

והיינו התגלות עץ החיים.

And this is the revelation of the Tree of Life.

The renewed acceptance of Torah on Purim was a revelation of the Eitz HaChaim, the fiftieth gate of holiness.

ושם נק' דלא ידע בין ארור כו'.

And there it is called "not knowing the difference between 'cursed,'" etc.

At this exalted level of the Tree of Life, one no longer distinguishes between "cursed Haman" and "blessed Mordechai" — this is the meaning of "ad delo yada."

שאין שם שום אחיזה לסט"א כלל.

For there is no grasp whatsoever for the sitra achra (the side of evil).

At the fiftieth gate the forces of evil have absolutely no hold, since it is entirely good.

כי הוא שורש האחדות כנ"ל:

For it is the root of unity, as above.

This is because the fiftieth gate is the source of absolute oneness, where all is unified in Hashem's good.

בסומי הם הריחות מבשמים שנתמלא העולם בעשרת הדברות.

"Becoming mellow (besumei)" refers to the fragrances of spices with which the world was filled at the [giving of the] Aseres Hadibros.

The word "besumei" (to become intoxicated/perfumed) hints at the spice-fragrances that, according to Chazal, filled the world at each of the Ten Commandments — connecting Purim's "intoxication" to the revelation of the Torah.

ומו"ז ז"ל אמר רמז בשמים מר דרור מתרגמינין מרי דכי.

And my grandfather, of blessed memory, said a hint: "fragrant myrrh (mor deror)" is rendered in Targum as "mari dachi (pure myrrh)."

His grandfather pointed out that the spice "mor deror" is translated in Aramaic as "mari dachi," a phrase whose sound foreshadows a hidden allusion.

ומרדכי הוא הארת מרע"ה שורש התורה:

And Mordechai is the illumination of Moshe Rabbeinu, the root of the Torah.

"Mari dachi" echoes the name Mordechai, who carries the light of Moshe Rabbeinu — the root of the Torah and the Tree of Life that overcomes Amalek.

Summary: The obligation to become "intoxicated" on Purim "until one does not know" means ascending above the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. Haman's fifty-cubit gallows represents the forty-nine gates of impurity in which Amalek has a hold, but the fiftieth gate is the gate of holiness — wholly good, the root of unity, where evil has no grip. Moshe Rabbeinu, the prince of the Torah and the Tree of Life, lifts Bnei Yisrael to this level, which is why Amalek falls and the Torah was re-accepted on Purim. The very word for Purim's joy hints at the fragrance of Torah at Sinai, and Mordechai himself carries the light of Moshe, the root of the Torah.