Close To Torah

(ונהפוך הוא אשר ישלטו היהודים המה בשנאיהם (אסתר ט:א

“…There was a reversal and the Jews overcame their enemies (Esther 9:1)”.

The absence of Hashem’s name throughout the entire scroll of Esther has been amply noted. The great salvation which Hashem performed for us certainly dictates that He should be acknowledged and mentioned in the narrative. Why then is His Name omitted? Many answers have been offered. I would like to share one that I believe is a synthesis of many great ideas combined together to bring out what could be the most fundamental theme of the entire Megillah.

Thinking About Him

The Gemara in Berachos (63a) teaches us that there is one short verse which encapsulates the great foundation of the Jewish program and goal. Mishley (3:6) states, “In all of your ways, know Him, and He will guide your path”. This verse teaches us to strive to include Hashem in our everyday life. What is perplexing is the exact problem mentioned above. All it does is use pronouns, Him and He, but never states Hashem’s name explicitly?! What is going on here?

The Answer

There is one answer for both of these questions. “Knowing Him” means to include Hashem in our every action. Serving Hashem does not just dictate that we daven and learn His Torah. Indeed, these are the means for achieving closeness and the lifeblood of our relationship. However, serving Him means much more that. It means including Hashem in our everyday life!

When we eat sleep and perform our bodily functions we can do so in one of two general ways. We can do them as obligatory bodily acts. Or we can do them as service as Hashem as well. When one eats something delicious or takes a refreshing slumber, he can savor the pleasure and take it for himself, or he can elevate the act. He can use the pleasure to grow closer to Hashem and to stir in his heart feelings of appreciation and love towards Hashem the One providing him with all of the pleasure. This is how to know Him in all of your ways. This is why it is such a fundamental exercise.

Yaakov’s Feat

Yaakov Avenu learned Torah diligently for many years before coming to the house of Lavan. Once there his mission was totally different. Now he had to build Klal Yisrael. He worked, got married and raised his kids. This was his job at the time. He is called the most chosen of the Avos. He achieved this because he so beautifully blended his Torah and its application while building the Jewish home. He himself expressed the fact that he managed to live with Lavan but still keep the 613 Mitzvos (See Rashi Bereishis 32:5). He taught his children to know Hashem in everyday life.

Indeed Rabbi Chaim Lowy (Igeres HaTiyul) writes that the word “Emes, ALef, Mem, Tuf” stands for Alef- Isha, Mem- Mamon and Tuf- Torah, a wife, money and Torah study. I believe that the explanation for this is because a person’s true essence comes out specifically regarding these three things. Will the person bring Hashem into his life revolving around his family life, business life and learning? This expresses his essence.

The verse that advises us to know Hashem even in a mundane setting specifically omits His name in order to emphasize this lesson. Stating Hashem’s name would imply that we are to strive to closeness through spiritual means. However, this is not the point. The idea is to train ourselves to bring Hashem into our mundane experiences, to elevate the physical and bring out its spirituality. This is the deeper explanation of the verse “V’Nahapoch Hu, it was reversed.” This verse hints to the fact that all of physicality can be reversed and turned into spirituality.

Illustrative Story

I was once shopping in a Jewish store, surrounded by many fellow Jewish shoppers. Suddenly we heard the radio of a Hatzalah member go off. The alarm sounded followed by the dispatcher’s announcement, “Any units available in the area…?” As the Hatzalah member ran out the door into his ambulance, we heard something about a male child who had fallen and was unconscious. As I looked around the store, I watched how every mother and every father present instinctively picked up their cell phone to call home and make sure that their son was okay. This is human nature. The moment that someone hears that a child got hurt, all parents need to know that their children are safe. At the end, the Hatzalah member returned and stated that the boy was thank God fine. The parents instinctively thought of their own child when they heard that a boy was in distress. So too, the goal of “knowing Hashem” means to instinctively think of Hashem in all situations in life.

Deeper Observation

There are only two Books in the entire twenty-four books of Tanach that do not contain Hashem’s name. The most obvious one is Megillas Esther and the other one is Shir HaShirim, King Shlomo’s love-song to Hashem. This is understood in a most beautiful and profound way based upon what we have explained. The depth of love is connection and thought about the beloved. The beloved holds such a special place in the heart that he or she is the first one that we think of when we think of someone else. Megillas Esther recognizes that the “Melech, King” that was running the show was Hashem, our King. That is why Chazal tell us that every time that the word Melech is found in the Megillah it is referring to Hashem, the Ultimate King. Shir HaShirim talks about a mysterious “Dodi, beloved” and “Him” but never says Hashem’s name. This is because when we think of love, our first though goes towards Hashem, our Creator and the One whom we are passionately in love with.

Summary

The verse specifically does not say Hashem’s name but rather states, “Know Him” to illustrate to us that the moment that we hear the word “Him,” our mind should immediately think of Hashem. Just as when we hear the word ‘child’ or ‘man’ or ‘woman,’ we immediately think of our loved ones, so too, Hashem’s existence and presence should be foremost on our minds.

Hashem’s name is omitted from the Megillah for this exact reason. We are meant to instinctively recognize and understand that Hashem is the One Who brought the salvation. This should be deeply rooted and etched in our hearts. Whenever we think about miracles, salvation and getting our needs fulfilled, we think of Hashem.

May we merit to get close to Him and have Him answer all of our prayers!

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