Miracles above time and renewed Torah

בענין מ"ש חז"ל הדר קבלוה בימי אחשורוש דכתיב קימו וקבלו. קיימו מה שקיבלו כבר.

Concerning what Chazal said: "They re-accepted it [the Torah] in the days of Achashverosh," as it is written "they fulfilled (kiyemu) and accepted (vekiblu)" (Esther 9:27) — they fulfilled now what they had already accepted earlier.

The Gemara reads the verse to mean that in the time of the Purim miracle Bnei Yisrael re-accepted the Torah out of love. One reading: "they fulfilled" refers to upholding the obligations they had already taken on at Sinai.

ותוס' מקשין דדרשינן נמי קיימו למעלה מה שקיבלו למטה.

And Tosfos raise a difficulty, for we also expound: "They fulfilled above what they accepted below."

Tosfos point out an alternate derashah from the same words: Heaven "ratified above" what Bnei Yisrael had accepted "below." The Sefas Emes will show that these two readings are really one idea.

וצריכין לומר דשניהם ענין אחד הם.

And we must say that the two of them are one matter.

The two interpretations — fulfilling the earlier acceptance, and Heaven ratifying the human acceptance — are not in conflict; they are two facets of a single truth.

שהרי קבעו ימי הפורים האלה ומברכין שעשה נסים בזמן הזה.

For they established these days of Purim, and we bless "[Hashem] who performed miracles… in this time (ba-zeman ha-zeh)."

The Purim observance and its berachah speak of miracles "in this time," which prompts a question the Sefas Emes will now raise.

הגם דלכאורה ביום המנוחה לא היה הנס.

Even though, seemingly, on the day of rest [the 14th/15th, when the fighting had ceased] the miracle did not occur.

The actual deliverance happened during the days of battle, yet Purim is fixed on the day of rest afterward — so in what sense did the miracle happen "on this day"?

וגם דעיקר הנס יתכן שהי' בפסח כמ"ש בלילה ההוא כו' זה תקפו של נס.

And furthermore, the essence of the miracle may well have occurred on Pesach, as it is written, "On that night [the king's sleep was disturbed]" (Esther 6:1) — that was the decisive turning point of the miracle.

The pivotal moment, when the king's sleep fled and Haman's downfall began, took place on the night of Pesach. So the "main" miracle did not even happen in the month of Adar — deepening the question of why we celebrate "in this time."

אבל באמת הנסים הם למעלה מהזמן.

But in truth, the miracles are above time.

The resolution: a genuine miracle is a breakthrough of the supernatural, which by its nature transcends time entirely.

ואיך שייך לומר בזמן הזה רק שאין כל הזמנים מיוחדים לקבל הארת הנס שהוא למעלה מן הזמן.

So how is it fitting to say "in this time"? Only that not all times are suited to receive the illumination of the miracle, which is above time.

If miracles are timeless, the phrase "in this time" cannot mean the miracle is confined to that date. Rather, it means that only certain times are fit "vessels" to draw down and receive the timeless light of the miracle.

רק בימי הפורים מתגלה הארת הנס והוא שכתוב נזכרים ונעשים.

Only on the days of Purim is the illumination of the miracle revealed, and this is what is written: "remembered and re-enacted (nizkarim ve-na'asim)" (Esther 9:28).

The days of Purim are specially fit to reveal the miracle's light. The verse "remembered and done" hints that through our remembering, the miracle is actively re-enacted and re-revealed each year.

שע"י הזכירה במצות שתיקנו בפורים. נעשה ומתגלה הארת הנס.

For through the remembrance — by means of the mitzvos that they instituted on Purim — the illumination of the miracle is enacted and revealed.

The mitzvos of the day (Megillah, mishloach manos, matanos la'evyonim, the seudah) are the means of "remembering," and that remembrance is what draws the timeless light of the miracle into the present.

כי הנסים מאירים בשמים לעולם שאין להם זמן כנ"ל.

For the miracles shine in Heaven forever, since they have no time, as above.

The miracle "shines" perpetually in the supernal realm; it never expires, precisely because it stands outside time.

רק שלמטה יש זמנים מיוחדים שיכולין לקבל הארת הנס כנ"ל.

Only that below, there are special times that can receive the illumination of the miracle, as above.

Down in our world of time, certain dates — like Purim — serve as windows through which that ever-shining miraculous light can be received.

והנה באמת תכלית מפלת עמלק והמן הרשע הי' כדי לקדש שמו ית' בעולם.

Now, in truth, the ultimate purpose of the downfall of Amalek and Haman the wicked was in order to sanctify His Name in the world.

The defeat of Amalek/Haman was never an end in itself; its true goal was kiddush Hashem — making Hashem's Name great and recognized in the world.

כמ"ש חז"ל נשבע הקב"ה שאין שמו שלם עד שימחה שמו של עמלק א"כ בכל עת שיש לו מפלה מתגדל שמו ית'.

As Chazal said: HaKadosh Baruch Hu swore that His Name is not complete until the name of Amalek is erased. If so, every time Amalek suffers a downfall, His Name is magnified.

Amalek's existence "withholds" the completeness of Hashem's Name. Therefore each defeat dealt to Amalek directly enlarges and completes the revelation of that Name in the world.

והוא באמת התגלות התורה דאורייתא כולא שמא דקוב"ה הוא.

And this is, in truth, the revelation of the Torah, for the entire Torah is the Name of HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

Since the whole Torah is, in its inner essence, the Name of Hashem (as the Zohar teaches), magnifying His Name is identical to revealing the Torah. Thus Amalek's fall opens the way to fresh Torah revelation.

וכמו שהיה מלחמת עמלק קודם קבלת התורה בהר סיני.

And just as the war with Amalek occurred before the receiving of the Torah at Har Sinai.

In the wilderness, the battle with Amalek (at Refidim) preceded Mattan Torah — a defeat of Amalek cleared the path to receiving the Torah.

כן בכל מקום שיש מפלת הרשע מתעורר אח"כ כח התורה.

So too, in every place where there is a downfall of the wicked, the power of the Torah is then aroused afterward.

This is a recurring pattern: whenever evil is brought down, it releases and awakens a new surge of Torah power in its wake.

ובני ישראל הבינו וידעו זאת שזה עיקר המכוון.

And Bnei Yisrael understood and knew this — that this is the main intention.

Bnei Yisrael grasped that the real purpose of Haman's defeat was not mere survival but this opening for renewed attachment to Torah.

לכן כתיב ליהודים היתה אורה זו תורה כו'.

Therefore it is written, "The Jews had light (orah)" (Esther 8:16) — "this refers to Torah," as Chazal expound.

The "light" the Jews experienced after Haman's fall is identified by Chazal as Torah. The Sefas Emes reads this as confirming that the joy of Purim centered on the renewed light of Torah.

פירוש שהניחו עיקר השמחה בכח התורה ומצות שקיימו אחר איבוד הרשעים בחילא סגי מה שהיו הרשעים מעכבין מקודם.

The explanation is that they placed the main joy in the power of the Torah and mitzvos that they fulfilled — after the destruction of the wicked — with great strength (be-chayla saggi), which the wicked had previously been obstructing.

Their primary celebration was over the Torah and mitzvos they could now keep with renewed vigor. The wicked had been blocking that spiritual energy, and once they fell, the dammed-up power of Torah was released in full force.

ולכן נראה שעיכבו איגרות אחרונות עד סיון.

And therefore it appears that they delayed the final letters until Sivan.

The Sefas Emes notes that the later Purim letters (confirming the observance) were sent in Sivan, and he suggests the timing was deliberate and meaningful.

דהיינו כשראו שפעל תליית המן שקיימו אח"כ התורה באהבה.

That is, when they saw what the hanging of Haman accomplished — that they afterward fulfilled the Torah with love.

Once Haman was executed and Bnei Yisrael responded by embracing the Torah with renewed love (the very re-acceptance "in the days of Achashverosh"), the deeper purpose of the miracle became visible.

אז הכינו עצמם ללחום מלחמת ה'.

Then they prepared themselves to fight the war of Hashem.

Strengthened by this renewed love of Torah, they readied themselves to wage Hashem's war against their enemies.

כמ"ש נקהלו ועמוד על נפשם.

As it is written, "they gathered together and stood up for their lives" (Esther 9:16).

The verse describes the Jews uniting to defend themselves — an outgrowth of the spiritual fortification they had just gained.

וכשנגמר כל המלחמה אז כתבו המגילה והסכימו עמהם מן השמים להיות מתגלה הארת התורה ע"י קריאת המגילה.

And when the entire war was completed, then they wrote the Megillah, and Heaven agreed with them that the illumination of the Torah should be revealed through the reading of the Megillah.

Only after the whole victory was achieved did they compose the Megillah, and Heaven "ratified above" their initiative — establishing that reading the Megillah would forever channel the light of Torah. This is exactly the "they fulfilled above what they accepted below" of Tosfos.

ומ"ש הדר קבלוה בימי אחשורוש. גם ענין זה נשאר לדורות כמ"ש והימים כו' נזכרים ונעשים בכל דור.

And as for what was said, "they re-accepted it in the days of Achashverosh" — this matter, too, remains for all generations, as it is written, "and these days… are remembered and re-enacted" in every generation.

The renewed acceptance of Torah was not a one-time event; it is built into Purim permanently, so that each year and each generation re-accepts and re-experiences the light of Torah through the day's mitzvos.

וע"ז הוצרכו הסכמה עליונה.

And for this they required a heavenly assent.

Because Purim was to carry this enduring power of Torah-revelation for all time, it needed Heaven's ratification "from above" — not merely human enactment.

ונס זה היה הכנה לבנין בית שני.

And this miracle was a preparation for the building of the Second Bais Hamikdash.

The Purim deliverance set the stage, both historically and spiritually, for the return to Eretz Yisrael and the rebuilding of the Bais Hamikdash.

ונתקיים מאמר חז"ל בסדר הברכות דשמ"ע. כשנעשה דין ברשעים מתרומם קרן הצדיקים והיכן מתרומם קרנם בירושלים ע"ש בפ"ב דמגילה.

And the teaching of Chazal regarding the order of the berachos of Shemoneh Esrei was fulfilled: when judgment is executed upon the wicked, the horn (keren) of the tzaddikim is lifted up — and where is their horn lifted up? In Yerushalayim — see there, in the second chapter of Megillah.

Chazal explain why the blessing about Yerushalayim follows the blessing against the wicked in Shemoneh Esrei: the downfall of the wicked directly leads to the exaltation of the righteous, which is realized through the rebuilding of Yerushalayim. Haman's fall thus naturally pointed toward the restoration of the holy city.

ואפשר שלכך עשו זכר לירושלים בנס זה בענין מוקפין חומה מימות יהושע. לרמוז שזה הי' מכוון הנס ויסודו:

And it is possible that for this reason they made a remembrance of Yerushalayim within this miracle, in the matter of cities walled since the days of Yehoshua [observing Purim on the 15th]; to hint that this was the intention and the foundation of the miracle.

The law that walled cities (defined by the days of Yehoshua bin Nun) keep Purim on the 15th is itself a built-in "remembrance of Yerushalayim." The Sefas Emes suggests this enshrines the very purpose of the Purim miracle: to lift up the keren of the tzaddikim and lead to the restoration of Yerushalayim.

Summary: Because miracles are above time, the phrase "in this time" means only that Purim is a uniquely fit moment to receive the ever-shining light of the Nes — drawn down through the day's mitzvos, "remembered and re-enacted" in every generation. The true purpose of Haman's and Amalek's downfall was kiddush Hashem and, with it, the revelation of Torah (for the whole Torah is Hashem's Name); just as the war with Amalek preceded Sinai, the fall of the wicked released a renewed power of Torah, which Bnei Yisrael accepted "with love." This human re-acceptance "below" was ratified "above," and the whole miracle pointed toward the exaltation of the tzaddikim and the rebuilding of Yerushalayim — hinted in the walled-city Purim and the Second Bais Hamikdash.