Lessons on The Happiness in Purim
The Joy of Purim
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed | 5 Adar II 5784
What Mordechai Discovered When He Returned to Shushan
Scholars of the Bible and Rabbinic writings know that the Scroll of Esther took place at roughly the same time as the beginning of the Book of Ezra...During that period, only a small minority of the Jewish People moved back to the Land: just over 43,000 people. The others did not heed the prophetic call, and preferred to remain with the fleshpots and other enjoyments of the exile... But this raises a well-known question: Why did Mordechai HaYehudi, the great righteous man, remain in Shushan, when he had a chance to return to our Holy Land and rebuild Jerusalem and the Holy Temple? Actually, we read in the Book of Ezra (2,2), that Mordechai was one of the leaders of those who did return to the Land of Israel – which means that he later returned to Shushan! Why did he do this?...
Rabbi Netanel Yossifun | Adar 10 5783
What Mordechai Discovered When He Returned to Shushan
Scholars of the Bible and Rabbinic writings know that the Scroll of Esther took place at roughly the same time as the beginning of the Book of Ezra...During that period, only a small minority of the Jewish People moved back to the Land: just over 43,000 people. The others did not heed the prophetic call, and preferred to remain with the fleshpots and other enjoyments of the exile... But this raises a well-known question: Why did Mordechai HaYehudi, the great righteous man, remain in Shushan, when he had a chance to return to our Holy Land and rebuild Jerusalem and the Holy Temple? Actually, we read in the Book of Ezra (2,2), that Mordechai was one of the leaders of those who did return to the Land of Israel – which means that he later returned to Shushan! Why did he do this?...
Rabbi Netanel Yossifun | Adar 10 5783
The Search for Simcha
But can we be commanded to be happy? Is happiness a state of mind that is divinely imposed upon us - with or without our consent - or is there some secret to attaining this gift of joy?
Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Adar I 21 5782
