The Purim – Pesach Connection
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Loading ...The Purim- Pesach Connection
Rabbi of Belmont United Synagogue, London, U.K.
Well, as the song goes: ‘Happy days are here again.’ We are approaching quite a jovial time in our calendar. On the horizon are some of the most popular Jewish festivals: Purim and Pesach. For most of us this period of time can be tricky. We have to strategize how to best give and receive the most MiShaloch Manot (friendship food parcels traditionally given on Purim day) and still have all the chametz in them consumed before Pesach arrives. Talk about difficulties!
An interesting question which comes to mind based on this receive-consume dilemma is why exactly couldn’t there have been a healthier distance from Purim to Pesach? After all, there is only one month in between! Obviously, the straightforward approach is that we have no say in how any given epic period in our Jewish history will fall out. Therefore, wherever on our calendar these occasions occurred, will be commemorated as our Holiday and there is not much to do about it.
The truth is, there is very careful intent in what will happen and when, during our calendar year. We look at time as raw potential to be channelled. As we see in nature, there are seasons of growth and blossom as well as seasons of decline and wither. Similarly, throughout the year there are periods of positivity and emancipation as well as times of negativity and constraint. It seems that there must be some insight into why Purim and Pesach come one after the other. What exactly is there beneath the surface?
As with most aspects of Judaism, there is more than meets the eye. Let us take a brief glimpse into Purim. Besides being a great time for camaraderie and revelry, where friends and family get a chance to party in proper Jewish fashion, there is something special we are celebrating. The men and women of our nation were on the brink of annihilation. Haman had brought forth an edict which would have legalized our decimation. However, due to a string of ‘coincidental’ occurrences, the evil plans were thwarted and the very gallows which Haman built to hang our main protagonist Morderchai, were used for Haman instead. Yay, let’s celebrate!
We who have had the benefit of history can see things from such a rosy perspective. Back during the time of Purim though, it was relatively easy to say that all the events which were unravelling were happenstance, mere lucky circumstances which could have just happened. As they say with the New York Lotto ‘Hey you never know’.
Yet, we Jews decided to see things differently. We were looking for the hand of God and therefore we saw it. In fact, this is one of the reasons why there is a custom to drink intoxicating beverages on Purim. We need to see beyond our personal natural discomfort with anything paranormal existing in our world. So we drink until we can say ‘Yes, I am comfortable with a reality where God intervenes for me.’ (Each of us therefore requires a different inebriation to get us there.)
This sheds a whole new light on the purpose in placing Purim before Pesach. Sure, our exodus from Egypt was miraculous and God performed feats which may never be matched until the end of time. But, perhaps that type of intervention was unique to that time. Therefore, we need Pesach to come at the heels of Purim, where we ascertained for ourselves that God is always looking after us, even behind the scenes. Hence, we can now approach Pesach as a culmination of the expression of God’s love for us rather than just an exception.
May we all merit to see God in the small details in our own lives and may we always have positive opportunities to appreciate the ‘coincidences’ in the world we live in.
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Rabbi Elchonon Feldman has over 15 years experience at high level Yeshivos as both student and teacher where he gained the relevant Torah fundamentals and skills to lead and teach a congregation. This is complemented by a degree in Liberal Arts and a councellor’s license. He received semicha last year and recently completed a two year rabbinic training program at the Ohr Lagolah Leadership Institute. He is a talmid of mine, as well as the newly appointed rabbi of Belmont United Synagogue in London, U.K. He can be reached at rebelchb@gmail.com.
Categories: Hashkafah, Inspiration, Living Purim Every Day, Moadim / Tekufos, Pesach, Purim
