Jewish Holidays

The Joy of Purim possesses two central aspects: Firstly, because even what had initially been evil was transformed into good, the joy of Purim is limitless; secondly, on Purim the Jewish people received the Torah through free will.

The half-shekel hints at the fact that every human being is half empty, and is able to attain completeness only after joining forces with another. Furthermore, it is impossible for the Jewish people to attain unity without being connected to God.

The Tree of Knowledge contained a mixture of elements - both good and evil. This, then, was Adam's sin: He ate from the tree, and this caused existence to fall to a level whereupon there existed a mixture of both good and evil.