Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Purim & The Month of Adar
- The Essence of Purim
It is obvious that to all who have some knowledge of Judaism and its laws and traditions that Shabat trumps almost all other commandments of the Torah except for preserving human life itself. On Shabat there is no Rosh Hashana shofar, no Succot etrog and lulav and no Purim megilla reading. That is because Shabat itself is the primary miracle and ritual in Judaism’s view of life and creation. Shabat testifies to the existence of a God Who created the universe and sustains all life on our otherwise insignificant planet. Shabat is the Jew’s connection to eternity and infinity. Shabat therefore makes all miracles and rituals pale before it. But Shabat is a hidden miracle, a regular weekly occurrence thus taking on the form of being natural rather than miraculous. But as only Shabat observers can testify to, Shabat is truly a miracle. How else can one describe and characterize the ability to leave the mendacity and mundaneness of daily existence for a day and feel transformed and refreshed, cleansed and strengthened in body and soul? Where else can one escape the burdens of life for a short period of time and tend to one’s own inner self if not on Shabat? Shabat therefore becomes the miracle of all miracles, the wonder of original creation and the continuing and ongoing extraordinariness of human striving for the infinite and the holy. We need no reminders of ritual and miracles when we experience and observe Shabat itself.
Purim is as we all know a hidden miracle. God’s name does not appear even once in the entire megillah reading. God orchestrates, so to speak, the whole plot and manipulates its characters to eventually do His will but He is hidden in the entire unfolding drama. The deliverance of the Jews in ancient Persia from the murderer Haman is not accomplished by splitting waters or having manna descend from heaven. It is not as dramatic as Daniel in the lion’s den nor Elijah’s triumph over the priests of the Baal. It is almost a regular story of political intrigue and unreasoning human hatred, of scapegoating and victimhood, much as we unfortunately experience regularly in our own times and world. And yet the entire structure of the Purim study begs for the recognition of its miraculous quality throughout. Purim is like Shabat therefore in its subliminal message of God’s omnipresence in human affairs. It is therefore most fitting that Shabat should carry the banner of the prayer regarding miracles on its holy day. Shabat is the ultimate representative of the hidden miracle that constantly dominates our lives and fortunes. So, in a philosophical way, Shabat itself is also included in the prayer regarding miracles that we recite on the Shabat of Purim here in Jerusalem. Shabat, Purim and Jerusalem as well are the miracles we celebrate here this holy Sabbath day.
Rabbis in Midrash
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
