Parshas Tetzaveh

 

Hi again Junior Shluchim!
Well even the most absent-minded, forgetful and dozy Professor (by that I mean me), couldn’t possibly forget what is coming up this week. I must admit that in the past I have forgotten about some really important things like forgetting the day of my wedding, or forgetting to buy Getzel Junior tefillin for his bar mitzvah, or forgetting the speed limit when I was rushing to mivtzoyim (well, that’s what I told the patrolman who stopped me anyway...). But even with a scattered brain like mine, I could never forget about ……..   PURIM!!!
Yup, it’s that time of year again. When adults get to act like kids and kids get to act.... well pretty much however they want, because the adults are too busy acting like kids to notice what they are doing.
As a kid – and an adult who gets to act like a kid – one of my favorite parts of Purim was eating all the nosh that we used to get in mishloach monos. I used to sit down by my desk on Shushan Purim with my favorite volume of Likutei Sichos, and a pile almost to the sky of chocolates, candies and cookies, and work through them. ‘Them’ meaning the chocolates, candies and cookies, not just the sichos! Nowadays, I don’t get to eat anywhere near as much yummy stuff. Of course that is partly because Mrs Getzel and I now live in the cornfield state of Iowa, and so we don’t get anywhere near the amount of mishloach monos that we used to get when we lived in Crown Heights. Actually in the last couple of years, thanks to all those Purim Basket websites out there, we have been getting a few more mishloach monos. Although I think a lot of them are just coming to the wrong place, because they are addressed to Rabbi and Mrs Getzel.
The real reason that I had to stop my yearly Shushan Purim Feast – actually I always used to call it ‘Pesach Cleaning’, because that made me feel a bit less guilty – was because of my teeth. The ones I had left that is. Did you know that false teeth can’t get fillings? Not that the sugar used to do so much damage to them - it was only once a year after all – it was just that I used to like eating those extra hard candies and I cracked a few of my teeth! So now I am very careful, which is a shame, because I used to be really proud of the one bit of serious Pesach cleaning that I used to do.
So for all you young Shluchim who were thinking of sending me mishloach monos, a fruit basket will do. Make sure that there are two types of brochos though. Like a chocolate coated banana, and apple flavored marshmallows. Oh, and you’ll have to send the mishloach monos via the Shluchim Office – I can’t give my address out for security reasons. On second thoughts then, maybe stick to regular apples instead of the marshmallow ones – they’ll have a better chance of getting to me.

Have a really, truly, absolutely, completely and totally freilichen Purim!
Dr Getzel

 

 

When מרדכי told Queen אסתר about המן 's decree, she told him: "Go and gather together all the אידן and fast for me for three days." Why did she ask him to gather the אידן together? Why didn't she just tell him that the people should fast?

אסתר realized that there was a reason why המן was given the power to destroy the אידן . This could not have happened by itself. The Jewish people must have been doing something wrong if such a terrible גזירה was threatening them.

המן also knew this. He had seen the אידן 's weakness and planned to use this opportunity to destroy them.

What was that weakness? What were the אידן doing wrong?

If we look closely at what המן told King אחשורש , we can understand. He said: "There is one nation which is spread out and separate among the people. They do not keep the king's laws. They should be wiped out."

When המן said, "spread out and separate," he did not mean only that the אידן lived in different places throughout the empire. He meant that they were separate from each other. Instead of caring for others and showing אחדות , each person was concerned with his own affairs.

המן knew that when the Jewish people are united, they are strong. Since they were "spread out and separate," he figured that this was the right time to try to destroy them.

But the Jewish people really are a nation of אחדות and אהבת ישראל . We all have a נשמה that is part of ה‘ and that unites us.

This is what אסתר was thinking. She knew that it was necessary to bring the אידן together again and that is what she told מרדכי to do.

אסתר was right. The אידן gathered in תפילה and revealed the אהבת ישראל which makes us a strong nation. Now המן 's plan could no longer work. He suffered a well-deserved ending and the אידן celebrated this great נס by establishing the יום טוב of פורים .

We celebrate פורים in the spirit of אהבת ישראל . We send משלוח מנות to our friends and give מתנות לאביונים to the poor. Just as in the time of פורים , so too today, by gathering together and performing these מצוות , ה‘ will give us "אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר ."

 

(Adapted from Sichos Purim 5722; Sichos Purim 5727)

‘Please Tell Me What the Rebbe Said’

 

Since this is a story about a gragger, it is of course a פורים story.

One פורים many, many years ago, in the little town of Vardik, in far-off Russia, everyone was very sad and worried. Instead of looking forward to the happiness of the יום טוב , they were afraid that their entire Jewish community would be destroyed. It almost seemed like the times of the first פורים - that's how great the danger was.

The son of the great powerful Czar had gone hunting in the woods with a group of friends. They had lost their way and by chance arrived in the town of Vardik. All the people were excited to have this distinguished visitor in their midst. They gave him the finest room in the local inn, the finest food, and delicious cakes.

The next day, the prince suddenly became very ill and was unable to return home. Messengers were sent to the Czar to report the bad news. In a very short time, the Czar and several important ministers arrived in Vardik.

They had brought several doctors with them who immediately began to examine the prince. Each one tried to cure him, but none was successful. The prince was moaning in pain. His face was flushed, and he was burning with fever. Most of the time he slept. He refused all food and drink. His very life was in danger.

And then one of the ministers said that it was the fault of the אידן that the prince was sick, because they gave him bad food. This was of course ridiculous and untrue, but everyone was so worried about the sickness of the prince that they believed him. Unfortunately, many times in history, when there was any kind of trouble, evil men placed the blame on innocent אידן .

And so the אידן of Vardik were very frightened, for they knew that their lives might be in danger.

On the day before פורים , two notices were put on trees. They said that if the prince did not recover by the end of the next day, all the אידן in Vardik would be held responsible. Also, since the prince was very weak, everyone had to be very quiet.

But the מגילה had to be read. The אידן gathered silently in the little שול on the main street, right near the inn where the prince lay gravely ill. Everyone in שול was told to sit absolutely still, for the Rabbi would read in a soft, low voice. The children had been told to leave their graggers home, for the notice had requested silence.

The fathers looked very serious and sad. The mothers in the women's section were crying. There was no feeling of פורים in the air, that's for sure.

Suddenly, there was an awful noise. The name of המן had been read, and a little boy called יעקב was swinging his gragger with all his might. Happily, with a big smile on his face, he was swinging that gragger.

Everyone became very frightened. The Rabbi continued reading. People were shaking their heads. They made signs to יעקב that he must be quiet. One man wanted to take the gragger away from him, but יעקב would not even let him touch it. Everyone was afraid that יעקב would scream and make a lot of noise if he was forced to give up his gragger. So he was allowed to keep it. No one could tell him to stop using the gragger, for during the reading of the מגילה it is forbidden to speak. They were hoping that יעקב would understand and put the gragger away.

The windows to the prince's room were open to let in some fresh air. Gathered around his bed were the ministers, the doctors and the Czar. There was total silence in the room. The prince was pale and weak. He had no strength left. His eyes were closed and he seemed not even to be breathing.

What was that? Who dared to break the rule of silence? All the people in the room ran to the window to see who the guilty one was. The next moment they jumped in fright, for they heard a voice behind them asking for some water.

There was the prince, sitting up in bed, wide awake. "What a cheerful noise I hear! What is it? Please bring me some water. I have never been so thirsty in my whole life. Hurry, please. I feel so dry." The noise of the gragger had awakened the prince.

In a few days he was well, and the whole company returned in peace to the palace. The אידן in the town were saved, and they had the happiest פורים day you could ever imagine.

יעקב was the hero of the day. People hugged him and kissed him. They gave him so much nash that he had enough to eat till פסח .

‘The Secret of Success’

 

We'd love to hear your feedback! Send us your comments, ideas and suggestions to: connections@shluchim.org
 

Click here for a printable version of Connections in PDF format