From Redemption to Redemption: Purim & Pesah

by Rav Avraham Levy Melamed, translated by Hillel Fendel

Something interesting about the Jewish month of Adar: In some years there is one Adar, while in leap years, there are two consecutive Adars. This raises the question: In which Adar is Purim celebrated in leap years? The answer is: in the Adar that immediately precedes the month of Nissan, and not the earlier Adar. This is in order that Purim can be commemorated as close to Pesah as possible. 

The reason this is so important has to do with the inherent link between the Redemption of Purim and that of Pesah. To explain:

 

The holiday of Passover is the first one in our history; from it, everything began. The Exodus from Egypt marks the start of the Nation of Israel and its path in the world. Purim, on the other hand, is the last Biblical holiday (see Tr. Yoma p. 29). The connection between these two Redemptions, the first and last, is very significant, as it represents their inter-linking in one inclusive historic process. That is to say, the Divine process that began on the first Pesah was designed to continue throughout the generations and attain its completion on Purim – while Purim alone, without the foundation of Pesah, is lacking the essential ingredient. How so?  

The Pesah redemption is an expression of "up to down" salvation, beginning with G-d Himself. It was His decision to extricate us from Egypt, to bring the Ten Plagues upon our tormentors, and split the Red Sea for us. In addition, He alone did it, as we read in the Haggadah: "I – and not an angel; I -  and not an emissary; etc." It was G-d Himself Who saved us from Egypt. This Redemption, coming from above, has a great advantage, in that it was accompanied by great miracles that prove to the world G-d's existence and might. Processes that begin from G-d are absolute, eternal, and unchanging. G-d's choice of Israel as His People, and Israel's acceptance of the Torah, are eternal, and Israel will forever remain G-d's Nation. "For G-d will not abandon His nation, and His inheritance He will not leave" (Psalms 94,14). The Torah, too, will never change, as we say in the Yigdal prayer hymn: "The Lord will never change or switch His for another, for all eternity."

On the other hand, not always can we connect with these great Divine processes; sometimes, they remain in the upper spheres, and we feel distant. Our Sages teach allegorically that when we were given the Torah at Sinai, G-d forced it upon us by overturning the mountain upon us like a tub (see Tr. Shabbat 88a) and demanding that we accept the Torah, "or else." That is to say, Israel on its own did not yet feel sufficiently connected to the Torah; it was "above them." 

Purim, on the other hand, stands for the redemption that comes from the ground up, based on our own actions. The Purim story began with Mordechai's erect and proud stance on behalf of the honor of the Jewish People. And when the decree of their destruction was announced, they gathered together, fasted for three days, and repented together and whole-heartedly. It was in this merit that they were saved – via Esther's successful and clever mission to the Persian king, which led to the hanging of the wicked Haman and royal permission to kill those who would kill them. Here we see how the miracle happened via the efforts of saintly people; the name of G-d does not appear even once in the Scroll of Esther. The Purim miracles transpired in a "natural" manner, not via miracles. 

And it was precisely during this "natural" redemption that Israel reconnected with its Torah, and, as the Sages teach, "received it anew" out of love, not because they were compelled. Their connection with Torah and mitzvot at this point was truly tremendous and deep-seated; they felt in their very souls the true light of Torah. This is as the Sfat Emet (by the 19^th-century Gerrer Rebbe) explains: The Talmud tells us that when the Scroll of Esther writes that after the miracle, "the Jews had light, and joy, and happiness, and great honor" (Esther 8,16)," it means that they had Torah, a festival, circumcision, and tefillin." Asks the Sfat Emet: "Why then is it not written that they had Torah and tefillin? Why does the verse say they had light and joy, etc.?"

And he answers: "This is the very point! The Torah itself became light for them, and they felt it in their very souls; they similarly deeply felt the joy of the Rabbinically-proscribed festival, and the happiness of Brit Milah, and the honor of tefillin."

And this is the great advantage of Purim over Pesah: The Jews re-received the same Torah that had been "forced" upon them at Sinai – but this time with love and true desire. This is of course the ideal: that we fulfill the Torah and its commandments of our own volition and soul connection, and not for lack of a choice. 

And yet once again, on the other hand, if we had only Purim without Pesah, this would indicate that everything is up to our own choice – which is something that cannot be counted on in an absolute manner. People are fickle, and what we accept willingly one day, we might reject the next day. If Israel's acceptance of the Torah depended only on us, what would happen if one generation might decide to reject the decision of their fathers? Rather, the Israel-Torah connection is absolute as determined by G-d, and it is the assignment of us mortals to find the way to connect with it.  

This is why the Redemption of Purim must be commemorated adjacent to that of Pesah. We must show that although the goal of Pesah is ultimately to reach the state of Purim Redemption, where G-d is revealed in nature, and where even the material world strives to fulfill G-d's will – still, at the same time, we must always remember that everything begins from Above, from G-d's choice of Israel, and from the absoluteness of His word, upon all of which we can add our efforts and come close to and connect with G-d's word. Purim and Pesah – always adjacent!

This combination of the lights of both Purim and Pesah, of the two types of Redemption, of the miraculous and the natural – Israel reaches complete emuna (faith) and its ultimate national goal of Redemption, with the building of the Nation in its Land chosen by G-d as His dwelling place and the place in which His nation will live, and with the return to Torah by all of Israel throughout the world to fulfill His will with desire and love – Rachmana liba ba'i, the Talmud tells us: G-d wants our hearts and will – and we will merit to see the complete Redemption speedily in our days.