22 Mar Purim Series; Who Are You ? Finding our true authentic self.

Purim Series
Who Are You ?
Finding our true authentic self.

Inspired by the teachings of Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh and Rabbi Moshe Genuth  

 

 

Purim can be a day of sanctification or a day of sacrilege if a person gets intoxicated for self pleasure.  

 

One should never lose sight of the purpose of Purim which is to ascend to then return with  spiritual insights to help refine our character (midos).  

 

There are 3 mitzvahs for Purim;

  1. .Hearing the Magillah (2x)
  2. Gifts to the Poor ;Every person is obligated to give on Purim day at least two presents (food or money) to two poor people (i.e. one to each).
  3. Sending of Edibles Every person is obligated to send on Purim day, at least two portions of foods e.g. cake and wine, to at least one other person. A man should send to another man, and a woman should send to another woman.

Nowhere is it commanded to become intoxicated.

To be intoxicated on or as it may be translated as ‘with’ Purim is understood broadly as to be ‘intoxicated with wine’ . But, it may also be understood as ‘spiritually intoxicated ‘ with the kiddusha as in the  levity of the chag (festival) itself. The idea of drinking more than usual on Purim comes from the source in the Talmud tractate Megillah 7b. From this source, there has been varied understandings as follows
:“Raba [Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama born 270] said: It is the duty of a man 1) to mellow himself [with wine] on Purim between cursed be Haman’ and blessed be Mordechai’.”   until he cannot tell the difference between cursed be Haman’ and blessed be Mordechai’.”

This is also read as;

1)…to mellow himself [with wine] on Purim

2) …to become drunk on Purim or

There are opposing opinions to Raba (2nd-3rd century) that are found at the end of this article.

 

The idea of ‘becoming intoxicated on, or with the spiritual joy of Purim  looks to elevate himself with this holy and  very difficult sensitive mechanism. One who becomes intoxicated for the sake of immediate pleasure will not have appropriately practiced the mitzvah in fact may have conducted himself  in a transgressive manner as a chilul Hashem, a desecration of G-ds Name.

 

Klipot
A Klipot is the ‘shell or husk’ of the heart that is an obstacle for our souls ability to ‘ascend.. and descend (run and return)’.  It is with the use of wine only on this day to break through the klipot with the might-gevurah of red wine in order to better receive, capture and come to  ignite and elevate the essence of the soul.

It is by the careful preparation of being immersed in Torah study and an ongoing program of deep introspection (cheshbon hanefesh) that will allow our ‘run and return ‘ to be safe, holy and fruitful. It is the spiritual insights we may ‘receive and return’  form our ascent that we may then put into practice to refine our character (midos).  So even though a person may be intoxicated with wine or ‘the spiritual joy of Purim’, he must still have the clarity of mind to obtain-to-integrate a spiritual insight.

 

Truth  
Truth as an absolute does not exist in our world other than concept of G-d
as the absolute One True G-d.  

 

We may have heard the popular phrase ‘to be our true authentic self’. But who or what is our true authentic self?  

 

The concept of truth or ‘absolute truth’  is something we cannot comprehend as we exist as Man, a pluralistic being, The concept of  truth as absolute truth is a concept that exists in  singular infinite dimension and accordingly transcends our ability to comprehend.

 

Truth or as absolute, exits solely in G-ds Highest infinite spiritual realm known as Ein Sof;  The Single Infinite Light from where all creation flows.  His Divine Infinite Light that emanates from the realm of  Ein Sof is far too powerful to exist in creation and must pass through a contraction (tsimsum).  This spiritual light eventually becomes the physical and spiritual mixture of the created pluralistic world we live in.

 

We may not able to understand the infinite, but we can begin to understand the attributes of the infinite as they are revealed in creation.    

 

Many times a day when we pray or say a blessing we refer to G-d as ‘You’; Boruch Atah Ad.., Blessed are You G-d. This refers to G-d in a way that even is higher than His Name (Y*V*) expressing the essence of G-d from highest Infinite Light, Ein Sof.

 

Ein Sof and ‘YOU…G-D’
The Highest Spiritual Real Ein Sof, a ‘Single Infinite Light’ that cannot be comprehended as it lacks ‘dimension’.  In this realm there is no plurality, no opposing forces, no paradox exists.  It is the realm of Oneness-Yichud-Unity. It is from here, Ein Sof , that the essence of all souls descend.

The created universe however is in a state plurality, paradox, opposing forces…A mixture of good and evil.  Man is such a creation.

Each time we say a brucha is an intimate moment with G-d as we say ‘Boruch Atah, Blessed are YOU…G-D’. We may then pause in focused thought when addressing G-d as’ YOU, and  can meditate at that moment as we address G-d in the highest realm ‘personally as YOU, G-D’. It is this highest realm we hope to access, and experience a most personal and intimate relationship with G-d.  It is in that highest realm where our soul emanates from and from where we can find insights to our true authentic self and what we need to do to rectify our character.

 

 

Moses sees the back of G-d
Moses ascended Mt Sinai and G-d placed him in the crevice of a rock to protect Moses as G-d passed over him so Moses could ‘see’ him. But Moses was only able to see G-d’s ‘back’.

 

It would be too dangerous for Moses to see the powerful front side of  G-d’s  as he would have been  exposed to the incredible infinite realm of Ein Sof,  the powerful infinite spiritual realm where  there is no sense of self and nothing could be seen or comprehended. The  experience of the realm of Ein Sof would be all too powerful and totally consuming.

 

Seeing G-d’s  ‘Back’ however is described as a ‘translucent pane’ where there exists then a degree if separation… a  ‘contraction -tsimsum’’ of G-d’s most powerful Light thus allowing Moses  to relate to a meaningful experience. He was then able as a man with a body and soul, existing in pluralistic world , to  return with  the experience to be shared. Following this experience of being exposed to G-d, Moses face became hard for others to look at as it had become illuminated with G-d’s Light

 

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Nadav and Avihu
Nadav and Avihu  were brothers, sons of Aaron and students of their Uncle Moses. They were very dedicated to the pursuit of ascension. So much so that they were known to pursue it in a ‘unique’ way. One such way was to have drunk wine, entered the Holy of Holy’s and ascended to such a lofty level that they did not return. There body was left in this world intact but their soul had been taken in a manner much like a holy Korbon (sacrifice). As a Fire came down it entered their nose and removed their breath. It may be said that they attained a spiritual level of Ein Sof and never returned?

It was from that event that there is a commandment that one who is intoxicated may not enter the Holy of Holy’s. This commandment also serve for others to not try such an ascension for if one succeeds he will merit to leave this world, but moreover to deter others from trying and failing facing  possible death or being  Chilul Hashem, a desecration of G-ds Name.

 

The Paradox of 502
There is a well know discussion of a resolve of the paradox of 2 verses that have an equal gematria ; ‘Blessed is Mordechai..Cursed is Haman’. It  relates to Purim and the ‘elevating and rectifying of opposites’.

 

All of Creation is a mixture of Good and Evil. In order for evil to exist it only needs a drop of good. In order to defeat evil we need to remove and cut off its supply of good. We do that through or service to G-d, the elevation of our character and mitzvoth.

 

We understand that Mordechai represent Good,  and Haman represents Evil, we can then understand that when the drop of goodness that is fuelling the evil in Haman is removed and cut off (described as circumcised)  all that remains is Good. There no longer exists a mixture of good and evil, there no longer exist the paradox. The resolve of the paradox is in the highest realm.. All is Good…All is One.

Machlokas- Controversy

  • “Rava said: It is one’s duty to make oneself fragrant [with wine] on Purim until one cannot tell the difference between cursed be Haman) and blessed be Mordecai” (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 7b).It should be noted that this was opined 2nd-3rd C).
  • Hagaon Harav Shmuel Kamenetzky of the Yeshivah Gedola of Philadelphia made the bold statement that “Getting drunk on Purim is an aveirah, (transgression) …NOT A MITZVAH. (1924- ) 
  • In the Sefer Hameorot it is written that making oneself drunk is not the Torah’s idea of joy: “It is only an act of foolishness.” Rabbenu Efraim of the Gemara ruled that the Talmud rejected the obligation to drink wine on Purim

 

The Rebbe shares the following regarding a person who is unable or challenged  to ascend; ‘ A person who cannot “get drunk,” i.e., spiritually ascend

with a single drop of alcohol will also not ascend with a whole barrel full of alcohol’. (1902-1994)

 

Purim is a unique day where we can access truth of self actualization from the Highest Realm from where the soul exists…. your true authentic self.  

 

There is no mitzvah for drinking on Purim and the spiritual reason for the chag for some may have taken a back seat to the enjoyment of physical pleasure making Purim for individuals and a Nation perhaps the most desecrated day on the Jewish calendar.  
It is recommended that those with medical, psychological or addiction issues should always avoid intoxicating substances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leib Getzel (Lawrence) Lax

Addictions and Counseling
lawrencelax.com (Counceling Site)
lawrenceJlax@gmail.com 

 

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