Purim's rebirth and renewed acceptance of kingship

והימים האלה נזכרים ונעשים כו'.

"And these days are remembered and observed (nizkarim v'na'asim)..." (Esther 9:28).

The piece opens with the verse describing how the days of Purim are both "remembered" and "done."

נזכרים למעלה ונעשים למטה.

"Remembered" above and "observed" below.

The two verbs are read as two realms: Purim is "remembered" in Heaven above and "enacted" by Bnei Yisrael here below.

דכתיב ונוח בארבעה עשר כו' ועשה אותו יום משתה ושמחה.

For it is written, "And they rested on the fourteenth... and made it a day of feasting and joy."

The Megillah records the establishment of the day of feasting and rejoicing, but in a curiously singular form.

וכ"כ בשושן ועשה.

And so too it is written regarding Shushan, "and made (v'asoh)" — in the singular.

The verse uses the singular "made," not the expected plural, prompting the Sefas Emes's question.

דהול"ל ועשו.

For it should have said "and they made (v'asu)" — in the plural.

Grammatically the subject is the Jews (plural), so the plural verb would be expected.

רק דקאי על הקב"ה שעשה אותו יום משתה ושמחה.

Rather, it refers to the Holy One, who made it a day of feasting and joy.

The singular "made" alludes to Hashem Himself: it was He who made this a day of feasting and joy.

שהיה שמחה לפניו במרום שניצולו בנ"י מאותה הגזירה שהי' נגזר גם בשמים כדאיתא במד' ואח"כ כשנתבטל ע"י תשובתם ונהפך לטובה עשה אותו יום משתה ושמחה כמ"ש חז"ל למנצח למי שנוצחין אותו ושמח.

For there was joy before Him on high that Bnei Yisrael were saved from that decree, which had been decreed even in Heaven, as stated in the Midrash; and afterward, when it was annulled through their teshuvah and was turned to good, He made it a day of feasting and joy — as Chazal said on "lamenatze'ach": to the One who is "defeated" and rejoices.

The decree against Bnei Yisrael had been sealed even in Heaven; when their teshuvah overturned it, there was joy before Hashem. Chazal's striking image — Hashem rejoices when He is "defeated" by His children — captures His delight when Klal Yisrael's repentance reverses the decree.

ואלה הימים כמו שמתפרסם בו הנס למטה.

And these days — just as the miracle is publicized through them below.

On Purim the miracle is made famous and publicized here in this world.

כך למעלה בשמים נזכרים הנפלאות.

So too above in Heaven the wonders are remembered.

Corresponding to the publicizing below, the wonders are "remembered" on high — the dual "nizkarim v'na'asim."

וכהנים בעבודתן גם למעלה כולם באין לשמוע מקרא מגילה.

And the kohanim in their service [are interrupted] — and even above, all come to hear the reading of the Megillah.

Just as Chazal say even kohanim leave their avodah to hear the Megillah, so too in the upper realms all the heavenly hosts gather to hear the miracle recounted.

ובאמת גם שמחת בנ"י למטה העיקר על שנשארנו לכבודו ית"ש.

And in truth, the joy of Bnei Yisrael below is essentially over the fact that we remained for His glory.

The deepest source of the Purim joy is not mere survival but that Bnei Yisrael endured in order to give honor to Hashem.

שאין מי להעיד עליו בעוה"ז רק בני ישראל.

For there is no one to bear witness to Him in this world except Bnei Yisrael.

Bnei Yisrael alone are Hashem's witnesses in this world; their survival is essential to His glory being attested here.

עם זו יצרתי לי כו'.

"This nation I formed for Myself [that they may tell My praise]" (Yeshayahu 43:21).

Hashem fashioned Bnei Yisrael specifically to be the ones who declare His praise and testify to Him.

וכל צערן של בני ישראל הי' ע"ז כדכתיב מה בצע בדמי כו' היודך עפר כו'.

And all the anguish of Bnei Yisrael was over this, as it is written, "What gain is there in my blood... will the dust praise You?" (Tehillim 30:10).

Their distress at the decree was bound up with Hashem's glory: if they were destroyed, who would remain to praise Him? — "will the dust acknowledge You?"

וזה המזמור נדרש על ימי מרדכי ואסתר.

And this mizmor (Tehillim 30) is expounded as referring to the days of Mordechai and Esther.

The Sefas Emes notes that this psalm is applied by Chazal to the Purim story.

כי כך דרך כל איש ישראל.

For so is the way of every Jew.

What the psalm expresses reflects a truth about the inner nature of every Jew.

אפילו שאינו עובד ה' כראוי מכח טרדות העולם.

Even one who does not serve Hashem properly, because of the distractions of the world.

Even a Jew whose avodah is lacking due to the pressures and preoccupations of worldly life.

מ"מ כשבא העת להסתלק מן העולם וזוכר אחריתו.

Nevertheless, when the time comes to depart from the world and he remembers his end.

When faced with death and reflecting on his ultimate end, something deeper awakens in him.

שם כל מגמתו לעבודת הבורא ית"ש למסור הנפש אליו.

He directs all his striving toward the avodah of the Creator, to give over his soul (mesiras nefesh) to Him.

At that moment his entire being turns to serving Hashem, ready to surrender his very soul — revealing the true penimiyus that was always within.

וכיון שהיה הגזירה להשמידם עמדו על נפשם והיו מצטערין על כבוד שמו ית' יותר מעל ימי חייהם בעוה"ז.

And since the decree was to destroy them, they stood up for their lives (literally, "for their souls") and were distressed over the honor of His Name more than over the days of their lives in this world.

Facing annihilation, Bnei Yisrael's deepest core was aroused; their grief was less for their own lives than for Hashem's honor — pure mesiras nefesh.

ולא עוד שאפילו רשעתו של אותו רשע המן הרשע הי' ג"כ כל עיקר רצונו בהשמדת בנ"י כדי להשכיח שמו ית' מן העולם ח"ו.

And moreover, even the wickedness of that rasha, Haman the wicked — his entire desire in destroying Bnei Yisrael was likewise in order to cause His Name to be forgotten from the world, Heaven forbid.

Even Haman's hatred testifies to the same truth: his real aim in destroying Bnei Yisrael was to erase Hashem's Name from the world, since Bnei Yisrael are the bearers of that Name.

וכשעשה לנו הקב"ה נסים וניצולו מן הגזירה נעשו כקטן שנולד.

And when the Holy One performed miracles for us and they were saved from the decree, they became like a newborn child.

The salvation was a kind of rebirth; Bnei Yisrael emerged renewed, as if born anew.

וקיבלו עליהם עול מלכותו ית' מחדש.

And they accepted upon themselves the yoke of His kingship anew.

This rebirth expressed itself in a renewed acceptance of ol malchus shomayim — the basis of "kimu v'kiblu," accepting the Torah afresh.

ז"ש ליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה כו' זו תורה ויו"ט כו'.

This is the meaning of "The Jews had light and joy..." (Esther 8:16) — "this is Torah," "this is Yom Tov," and so on.

Chazal expound each term of this verse: "light" is Torah, "joy" is Yom Tov, etc. — all of these were renewed for Bnei Yisrael at Purim.

הגם שכבר הי' להם כל זאת רק שנעשו אצלם בהוי' חדשה.

Although they already possessed all of this, only that it became for them a new reality (havayah chadashah).

They already had Torah and Yom Tov; the renewal was that, reborn, they now received and experienced them with entirely fresh vitality.

ולכן נתקן מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית על זה.

And therefore the "Mizmor Shir Chanukas HaBayis" (Tehillim 30) was instituted concerning this.

This explains why the psalm of the "dedication of the house" is associated with Purim — Purim too was an inauguration of a renewed beginning.

וזה הנס הי' כמו חינוך לבית שני שהתחיל אח"כ כנ"ל:

And this miracle was like a chinuch (dedication) for the Second Bais Hamikdash, which began afterward, as above.

The Purim miracle and the renewed acceptance of Hashem's kingship served as the dedication and spiritual foundation for the Bayis Sheni that was soon to be built.

Summary: Purim is "remembered above and observed below" — a singular "He made it a day of feasting and joy" alludes to Hashem Himself rejoicing when Bnei Yisrael's teshuvah overturned the decree sealed even in Heaven, for He rejoices when "defeated" by His children. The deepest Purim joy is that Bnei Yisrael survived to give Hashem glory, since they alone bear witness to Him in this world. Facing annihilation, even the least observant Jew's inner core awoke to mesiras nefesh, grieving more for Hashem's honor than for his own life — and Haman's very aim was to erase Hashem's Name through them. Saved, Bnei Yisrael were reborn, accepted His kingship anew, and received Torah and Yom Tov as a fresh reality — a dedication that became the spiritual inauguration of the Second Bais Hamikdash.