Truth of Yaakov outlasts Amalek's falsehood

ופורים הכנה לגאולה העתידה תחילת נצחון אדום שכחו חזק מאוד.

And Purim is a preparation for the future geulah, the beginning of the victory over Edom, whose power is very strong.

Purim, the defeat of Haman the Agagi (of Amalek/Edom), is the first installment of the ultimate geulah — the conquest of Edom, whose spiritual strength is formidable.

כמ"ש במדרש שראה יעקב אבינו ע"ה שרו של אדום עולה ואינו יודע כמה עולה ע"ש.

As the Midrash says, that Yaakov Avinu, peace be upon him, saw the sar (heavenly prince) of Edom ascending, and he did not know how high he would ascend; see there.

In Yaakov's dream of the ladder, the Midrash relates that he watched the angel of Edom climbing ever higher without seeing its limit — a sign of how powerful and long-lasting the dominion of Edom would be.

שהוא כחו של מדה"ד שירש מאת יצחק ועל חרבך תחי'.

For it is the power of middas hadin (the attribute of strict judgment) that he [Esav/Edom] inherited from Yitzchak, and "by your sword you shall live" (Bereishis 27:40).

Edom's strength comes from a corrupted inheritance of Yitzchak's middah of gevurah/din; Esav took that power of severity and turned it into the way of the sword — "by your sword you shall live."

והוא מתגאה בזה שאין מלחמה שנוצחת שלא יהי' בו מזרע עשו.

And he prides himself on this — that there is no war that is won unless there is in it [someone] from the seed of Esav.

Edom boasts that the very power of victory in war derives from him, so that no battle is won without his "sword"-force being present.

אבל כשנהפך החרב עליהם זה מיתוק הגבורות.

But when the sword is turned back upon them, this is the "sweetening" of the gevuros (mamtikus ha-gevuros).

When that very sword recoils upon Edom/Amalek themselves, it represents the sweetening of the harsh judgments — the power of din redirected and transformed for good.

לכן וחמת המלך שככה.

Therefore, "and the wrath of the king subsided (shachachah)" (Esther 7:10).

This is why, after Haman's downfall, the pasuk says the king's wrath "subsided" — the harsh judgment was quieted and sweetened.

דרשו חז"ל של מלך מלכי המלכים.

Chazal expounded: [the "king" here also alludes] to the King of kings of kings (Hashem).

Chazal read "the king" in Megillas Esther as hinting also at Hashem; so the verse hints that the Divine "wrath" — the middas hadin — was appeased.

שכאשר שלט בהם הדין.

For when the din ruled over them [Edom/Amalek] —

When the attribute of judgment was finally exercised against Amalek themselves, rather than against Yisrael —

זה הוא רצון הקב"ה.

— this is the ratzon (will) of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Turning the din back upon Amalek is precisely what Hashem desires; it accomplishes His will and reveals His ratzon in the world.

וכשיש מפלת עמלק נעשה עת רצון למעלה.

And when there is the downfall of Amalek, an "es ratzon" (time of [Divine] favor) is created above.

The fall of Amalek generates an es ratzon, a moment of favor and closeness in the upper worlds.

שככ"ה גי' רצו"ן.

For "shachachah" (subsided) has the same gematria as "ratzon" (will/favor).

The Sefas Emes supports this with gematria: the word shachachah (the wrath that "subsided") equals ratzon, showing that the quieting of wrath against Amalek is itself the revelation of Divine favor.

ונראה לי במה שזימנה אסתר את המן לסעודה.

And it appears to me [an explanation] regarding the fact that Esther invited Haman to the feast (seudah).

The Sefas Emes now offers his own insight into why Esther deliberately invited Haman to her banquets.

שבזה החלישה כח מדה"ד החזק שבו.

That by this she weakened the strong power of middas hadin that was within him.

By drawing Haman close and honoring him at the feast, Esther actually sapped the potent force of din that Haman embodied.

שכתיב אח"כ ויצא המן כו' שמח וטוב לב.

As it is written afterward, "and Haman went out... joyful and glad of heart" (Esther 5:9).

The proof is that Haman left the feast "joyful and glad of heart" — a softening of his nature, since joy and good-heartedness belong to the side of chesed, not to the harsh sword of din.

שנחלש קצת כח החרב שבו.

For the power of the sword within him was somewhat weakened.

His momentary joy reveals that the cutting "sword"-force of din in him had been partly drained — setting the stage for his downfall.

וכעין זה כתב בחי' מו"ז ז"ל בעשו דכתיב וילך כו' את מחלת.

And something similar to this my grandfather, z"l, wrote in his chiddushim regarding Esav, where it is written, "and he went... [and took] Machalas [the daughter of Yishmael]" (Bereishis 28:9).

The Sefas Emes cites his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim) on Esav's marriage to "Machalas," whose name is linked to the root of mechilah/cooling — a similar idea of softening or weakening Esav's harsh power.

ע"ש פ' ויצא.

See there, in Parshas Vayeitzei.

He refers the reader to his grandfather's comments on Parshas Vayeitzei for the full explanation.

שהכל יראים מכח החרב שלו.

For everyone fears the power of his [Esav's] sword.

All are afraid of Esav/Edom's "sword" — the dreaded force of din and worldly might that he wields.

עמל"ק גי' ר"ם.

"Amalek" has the same gematria as "ram" (lofty/high).

By gematria, Amalek equals ram, "high" — alluding to Amalek's genuine spiritual loftiness and the great strength he possesses.

שיש לו באמת כח חזק מאוד והוא הגדול.

For he truly has a very strong power, and he is "the great one" (ha-gadol).

Amalek really does wield enormous power and stands as "the great one" in the order of worldly might.

אבל יעקב אדרבא הוא הקטן.

But Yaakov, on the contrary, is "the small one" (ha-katan).

Yaakov/Yisrael appears as the small, lowly one — the opposite of Amalek's self-exaltation.

ונתעלה בכח התורה כמו שזכה אל הבכורה במעשיו.

And he is elevated through the power of the Torah, just as he merited the bechorah (birthright) through his deeds.

Yaakov's greatness is not raw power but earned elevation through Torah and avodah — just as he acquired the birthright through his own righteous actions rather than by force.

וכ' ואתה מרום לעולם דרשו חז"ל רוממות (אתה) [שאתה נותן] בעולמך.

And it is written, "but You are exalted (marom) forever" (Tehillim 92:9), [which] Chazal expounded: the exaltation that You give in Your world.

"You are exalted forever" is read to mean that all true elevation in the world comes from Hashem; the only lasting loftiness is the one He grants.

כי הרוממות שבא מאתו ית"ש קיים לעד.

For the exaltation that comes from Him, Yisbarach, endures forever.

Unlike Amalek's self-made "highness" (ram), the loftiness given by Hashem is permanent and eternal — this is the elevation of Yaakov.

וז"ש להודיע שכל קויך לא יבושו.

And this is the meaning of "to make known that all who hope in You shall not be put to shame" (cf. the tefillah; Tehillim 25:3).

Those who place their hope in Hashem will never be shamed, because the elevation He grants them cannot fail.

אותן שמקוים לישועת השי"ת.

Those who hope for the salvation (yeshuah) of Hashem Yisbarach.

This refers to the people who place all their hope and trust (bitachon) in Hashem's deliverance.

החוסים בך לא יכלמו לנצח.

"Those who take refuge in You shall not be disgraced forever."

Those who shelter in Hashem will never be put to lasting shame, for their elevation is rooted in the Eternal One.

וזהו בחי' שפת אמת תכון לעד.

And this is the aspect of "the lip of truth (sefas emes) shall be established forever" (Mishlei 12:19).

This enduring quality is the aspect of sefas emes — truth, which alone is established forever, in contrast to falsehood, which is fleeting.

כי ה' אלקים אמת ויעקב כתיב בי' תתן אמת ליעקב.

For "Hashem Elokim is truth" (Yirmiyahu 10:10), and concerning Yaakov it is written, "You shall give truth to Yaakov" (Michah 7:20).

Hashem is emes itself, and Yaakov is the one to whom truth is "given"; thus Yaakov is bound to the very attribute of Divine truth.

ויש לו דביקות באמת.

And he [Yaakov] has dveikus (cleaving) to emes.

Yaakov clings to truth and is attached to it as his defining middah.

ונק' שפת אמת.

And he is called "sefas emes" (the lip of truth).

Because of this attachment, Yaakov bears the name sefas emes — the embodiment of enduring truth.

והוא בחי' הוי זנב לאריות.

And this is the aspect of "be a tail to lions" (hevei zanav la-arayos) (Avos 4:15).

Yaakov's path is the mishnah's counsel to "be a tail to lions rather than a head to foxes" — to be humble and small but attached to true greatness.

שזנב ארי ארי.

For the tail of a lion is [still] a lion.

Even being the lowly "tail," so long as one is attached to the lion (to truth and to Hashem), one shares in the lion's greatness — this is Yaakov, "the small one" who is truly elevated.

לכן הגם שעוה"ז עלמא דשיקרא.

Therefore, even though this world is a "world of falsehood" (alma d'shikra) —

Although olam hazeh is fundamentally a realm of sheker, where falsehood and deception dominate —

מ"מ יעקב שיש לו דביקות בה' אמת.

— nevertheless Yaakov, who has dveikus to Hashem, [who is] truth —

Yaakov, by cleaving to Hashem the source of all emes, transcends the falsehood of the world —

הוא שפת אמת.

— he is "sefas emes."

— and so he remains the bearer of enduring truth even within a world of falsehood.

אבל בעמלק כתיב ראשית גוים עמלק.

But concerning Amalek it is written, "Amalek is the first of the nations (reishis goyim)" (Bamidbar 24:20).

Amalek is called "the first of the nations" — he is the "head," the chief of the forces of falsehood and worldly power.

והוא ראש לשועלים.

And he is a "head to foxes" (rosh la-shualim).

Amalek is the opposite of Yaakov: he chooses to be a "head to foxes" — chief among the cunning and the false — rather than a humble "tail to lions."

ומתגאה ברוממות שלו.

And he prides himself on his own [self-made] exaltation (romemus).

Amalek glories in his own self-generated loftiness (ram), the very opposite of the lasting elevation that comes only from Hashem.

ועליו נאמר ועד ארגיעה לשון שקר כמ"ש ללשונינו נגביר.

And of him it is said, "but only for a moment (ad argia) is the tongue of falsehood (leshon sheker)" (Mishlei 12:19), as it is written, "with our tongue we will prevail" (Tehillim 12:5).

Amalek's power is the "tongue of falsehood," which lasts only a fleeting moment — contrasted in the very pasuk of sefas emes with truth that endures forever; he typifies those who boast "with our tongue we will prevail."

כדאיתא ליכא דידע לישנא בישא כהמן.

As it is brought, "there was none who knew lashon hara (evil speech/slander) like Haman."

Haman, Amalek's descendant, was the master of lashon hara and false speech — the very embodiment of the "tongue of falsehood."

לכן אחריתו עדי אובד.

Therefore his end is to be destroyed (aderi oved) (cf. Bamidbar 24:20).

Precisely because Amalek's power rests on falsehood — which has no permanence — his ultimate end is total destruction.

כמ"ש איש לשון בל יכון בארץ:

As it is written, "a man of [evil] tongue shall not be established in the land" (Tehillim 140:12).

The "man of the tongue" — the slanderer of sheker, Amalek/Haman — has no lasting foothold; only the sefas emes of Yaakov is "established forever."

Summary: Purim is the first installment of the future geulah, the defeat of Edom/Amalek, whose strength is a corrupted inheritance of Yitzchak's middas hadin — the "sword." When that sword is turned back upon Amalek the harsh judgments are sweetened ("the wrath subsided" = ratzon by gematria), and Esther's inviting Haman to the feast itself weakened his power of din. The deeper contrast: Amalek (gematria ram, "first of the nations," a "head to foxes") boasts of his own self-made loftiness and rules through the fleeting "tongue of falsehood" — like Haman, master of lashon hara — and so his end is destruction. Yaakov, by contrast, is "the small one," a humble "tail to lions" who is truly elevated through Torah and his dveikus to Hashem the One of truth; he is the sefas emes that "shall be established forever" even in a world of falsehood.