Purim – The Drunken Torah of Amalek

Download as Word

Purim is in general a day of the world turned upside down. One of the themes of the Megilah is , “And it was turned upside down, that the Jews ruled over their enemies.” This idea extends to many of the Halachos and ideas of the day.
Among the more unusual Halachos that portray this, is the obligation to drink. How much to drink, how drunk to become, is a discussion among the Poskim. But the thought, that the Torah could command such an out-of-character act, is difficult to many of the Poskim. (See the Biur Halacha at the beginning of Siman 695.)
The Gemarra phrases it in the following manner . Says Rava, a person is obligated (Chayav) to become inebriated with wine till he does not know the difference between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordechai.
But the Gemarra then illustrates how far this obligation goes. Rabbah and Rav Zeira made a Purim feast together and became drunk. Rabbah arose and slaughtered Rav Zeira. The next day he realized what he had done. He then davened for mercy and brought Rav Zeira back to life. The next year he invited Rav Zeira again. Rav Zeira responded that not every day does a miracle take place, and refused the invitation.
This Gemarra seems to be beyond the realm of the imaginable. Great Amoraim so drunk that they harm each other? And Rabbah really wants to reenact it? What is this teaching us? Some Rishonim learn that the story is to tell us that we are not obligated to drink and not permitted to get drunk, since a tragedy might happen. The Shulchan Aruch does not Pasken that way, but that shows how difficult this is.
There is another unusual incident recounted about the protagonists in the Megillah . Surprisingly the descendants of Haman are found years later as teachers of Torah in Bnei Brak. In one Girsa in the Gemarra, it is the Amora from the first generation, Rav Shmuel the son of Shilas. How can that be? Firstly, they are from Amalek. And in addition, what good could be found by descendants Haman and Amalek? If HaShem commands that they should be completely wiped out, how can they enter Klal Yisroel? (See another essay I wrote https://rabbirudman.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/the-descendants-of-haman/ )
I would like to try to explain both ideas with the idea of the upside-down aspect of Purim.
The fact that Haman’s descendants became teachers of Torah seems to be contradicted by a Mechilta. The Mechilta says that HaShem swears by his Heavenly Throne that if someone from Amalek comes to convert he will not be accepted. If so how can there be a Ger from Amalek?
(The phrase ‘swears by His Heavenly Throne’ is very specific. Chazal say that Amalek damaged HaShem’s Throne and diminished it.)
Rav Hutner among others explains that there are is a special Haslacha about the Geirus of Amalek. The prohibition on accepting Amalek is only on the original act of conversion by Bais Din. But if they convert and Beis Dis is unaware that they are from Amalek, then the Geirus remains accepted . That is how there were descendants of Haman who were Geirim.
This idea is mentioned in the Megilah. The Pasuk says many of the people were becoming Jews . The word that is used is difficult. Among the explanations is that they converted in a semi-official way. That Geirus is contingent and only when they live as Jews is their Geirus accepted. This seems to be the Geirus of the descendants of Haman. It looks insincere. But it can be accepted outside the realm of the regular Bais Din. (For a longer discussion see https://rabbirudman.wordpress.com/2017/03/12/purim-the-geirus-in-the-time-of-mordechai/ )
Rav Hutner says that this is a hint to the words of Davening on Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, we ask that the sins that we do not know should be forgiven. There is a way by which HaShem works without us knowing. Amalek can not be accepted if Bais Din is aware. But there is a method of accepting Teshuva that is above knowledge. There is a way by which Hashem in His ways beyond human understanding can allow our sins to be forgiven. We do as much as we can, and then Hashem does the rest. This is so powerful that even Amalek can enter Klal Yisroel.
That is the Teshuva of Purim. It is from a place of knowing we do not know. That is what we connect to on Purim. We acknowledge that we do not know and that Hashem accepts us in ways beyond human understanding and forgiveness.
Haman is hung on a tree fifty Amos tall. That is the gate of the fiftieth level of Tumah from where no one can return. But his children come from the other gate of the fifty, the one of Kedusha. The first forty-nine gates of Kedusha are the gates of rational acceptance of the Torah. But his children from Bnei-Brak have to be above the regular gates of acceptance. The Tree of Life, the gate of fifty that transcends the world. That is where there is no sin, no death, and complete connection to HaShem. There Haman’s descendants can be connected to Klal Yisroel.
That is through wine. The need to be inebriated is to reach a place where there is no rational understanding. It is a connection to the Torah beyond reason. When wine enters the secret leaves. This is in the realm of a secret. That is a level of Torah that cannot be understood in the regular realm of Bais Din. The acceptance of Amalek is beyond the Pshat, Drush, and Remez of the Torah. It is only found in the Sod, which can come out with wine.
There is a similar Gemmara where wine is used to bring out secrets of the Torah . There was a Seudah before Rabbi Yehudah. The sons of Rav Chiya were sitting quietly and not saying Torah. Rabbi said to give them wine so the Torah will come out from them. When they were inebriated, they started discussing when Moshiach will arrive. I am conjecturing, but maybe this was a Purim Seudah?
That is why on Purim we are to reach the level of ‘Till we do not the difference..’. This shows that we are operating in a different realm. That is a deeper meaning of not knowing the difference between the curse of Haman and Mordechai. Usually, Bais Din can tell that difference. But on Purim, we reach a level above that. That is the part of Amalek that does join Klal Yisroel and on that part that we say, Baruch Haman.
This understanding can explain some of the difficulties of the incident with Rabbah and Rav Zeira which immediately follows the Chiyuv to drink wine.
Both times we accept the Torah, it is preceded by a battle and victory over Amalek. This could be a result of what Rivkah is told when pregnant with Yakov and Eisav . “When one falls the other arises.” The greatest heights of the Jewish people is to accept the Torah. Therefore, before that Amalek needs to descend to its greatest depth.
Amalek comes from Edom, the one called by his reddish and ruddy tendencies. We find that Rabbah of the above incident says that he comes from the Mazal of red, and yet he is not a murderer. Abaye says to him that you also have these tendencies just you utilize them as a judge to punish and execute the guilty. The Chasam Sofer uses this idea to explain the Gemarra there. As opposed to what we said earlier that this incident is to prove to not drink, it is the opposite. Only someone like Ravvah who had the tendencies of Eisav should be concerned, but everyone else can drink.
But there is another level. At Matan Torah, by each one of the Dibros, the Jewish people went beyond their physical boundaries. Chazal describe this as ‘Their Neshama flew up’. As a result, they left their body behind and needed to be resurrected. This type of going beyond the physical boundaries is what happened here . But it was done in the following manner.
In the Pri Etz Chaim , it says that one should not get drunk but become ‘fragrant’ with wine. This is because on Purim one is drinking from the wine that is hidden from the days of creation. That wine cannot cause any harm. What about Rabbah and Rav Zeira?
Rav Zeira was known as ‘The short one, whose feet were scorched’ . Why this unusual nickname?
Rav Zeira was a tremendous Anav. When he came to Eretz Yisroel and wanted some meat, the butcher tricked him into letting him give Rav Zeira lashes. The Gemarra says that did not try to punish the butcher .
He treated the ruffians in his neighborhood with love, that when he died, they so missed his affection that they did Teshuva. That is why he is called the short one, he lowered himself .
The scorched feet refer to that he would go stand in an oven every thirty days to see if the fire could harm him. When it didn’t, he knew that he was a Tzadik that would not go to Gehinom. The only reason his feet were once scorched is that the other Chochomim heard about it and were jealous. Because he caused this, his feet were singed that one time.
Rabbah here represents Edom. Rav Zeirah is the person who lives in this world above nature. Even in this world, he is untouched by the fires of Gehinnom. On Purim, it seems that they reach the level of complete inebriation that they can accept the Torah anew . But then Ravvah who is Edom seems to kill Rav Zeira, who is the person above the natural world. How can that be?
This is exactly the battle against Amalek. On the first day, they seem to be winning. But on the second day, we win. That is what happens before Matan Torah. That is also by Purim. There are two days. By Purim, we win on both days, but there is still a two-day process. The second day is relevant to Eretz Yisroel and Yerushalayim.
But the next day Rabbah resurrects him. That is a new and higher level of the Torah that the descendants of Edom and Haman can bring. That is what the ARIZ”L says that Rav Zeira can annul the punishment of Gehinnom. His Kabbals HaTorah is above the natural world.
And possibly Rabbah and Rav Zeira were celebrating the fourteenth of Adar. But it was Shushan Purim when Rabbah resurrected him. That is still Purim and has another level of Kabbalas HaTorah.
When we enter the world of Purim, we enter a place of acceptance of the Torah and Hashem’s acceptance of us, that allows everyone to be connected to HaShem.