A paradox is a complete statement or scenario that seems self-contradictory but reveals a thought-provoking truth upon further examination (e.g., “The only constant in life is change”).
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein
A Day Like a Day Like Yom Kippur יום כ-פורים
(1) Wisdom has built her house. She has hewn her seven pillars. (2) She has prepared the feast, Mixed the wine, And also set the table.
ילקוט שמעוני על נ"ך 944:2
טבחה טבחה זו אסתר המלכה שבשעה שהגיע צער לישראל התקינה סעודה לאחשורוש ולהמן הרשע ושכרתו יין ביותר וכסבור היה המן בעצמו שחלקה לו כבוד והוא לא ידע שפרשה היא לו מצודה שמתוך ששכרה אותה יין קנתה לה אומתה לעולם, אף ערכה שלחנה בעולם הזה ובעולם הבא, אי אף ערכה שלחנה בעולם הזה ובעולם הבא, אי זה זה שם טוב שקנתה שכל המועדים עתידין ליבטל וימי הפורים אינן בטלים לעולם, א"ר אלעזר אף יום הכפורים לא יבטל לעולם שנאמר והיתה זאת לכם לחקת עולם.
Yalkut Shimoni on Proverbs 944:2
“She has prepared the feast”: this is referring to Queen Esther. For when she heard about the difficulties confronting Israel she prepared a feast for Ahasueros and for the wicked Haman, and gave them wine in excess… in giving them wine preserving her nation forever. How great is her table that it reached between this world and the world to come! So great is the name she made for herself that in the future all the holidays will be nullified, but the days of Purim will never be annulled.
Rabbi Eliza’s said: Yom Kippurim will never be nullified [either], as it is said: “And this [YK] shall be for you an eternal ordinance.” (Lev 16:34)
על שם יום הכפורים
דעתידין לאתענג׳ ביה
ולשנויי ליה מענוי לענג.
ומה דאיהי שכינתא
אסור ביה נעילת הסנדל.
She [the Shechina] is called Purim,
after Yom ha-Ki-PuRiM,
in which they are destined in future to have delight, and to change it from affliction to delight.
Eliyahu Kitov: The Book of Our Heritage - Adar
The Purim feast is especially significant in that it elevates the soul as it provides pleasure to the body. It is thus stated in the Zohar that on Purim one may accomplish through bodily pleasure what one can accomplish on Yom Kippur through bodily affliction.
If one attains holiness through affliction, and another attains holiness through pleasure - who is the greater of the two? It may be said that the one who attains holiness through pleasure is the greater, for the attainment of holiness through pleasure requires an infinitely greater degree of striving and effort.
Just as Yom Kippur has a scapegoat, similarly does Purim have one - the feast of Haman.
Just as Yom Kippur contains a mitzvah of eating and drinking which is followed by a mitzvah of fasting, similarly does Purim also contain these two mitzvot, except that their order is inverted. First there is the mitzvah of fasting, and then that of eating and drinking.
Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, opposite the gate of the house.
כְּתֹֽנֶת־בַּ֨ד קֹ֜דֶשׁ יִלְבָּ֗שׁ וּמִֽכְנְסֵי־בַד֮ יִהְי֣וּ עַל־בְּשָׂרוֹ֒ וּבְאַבְנֵ֥ט בַּד֙ יַחְגֹּ֔ר וּבְמִצְנֶ֥פֶת בַּ֖ד יִצְנֹ֑ף בִּגְדֵי־קֹ֣דֶשׁ הֵ֔ם וְרָחַ֥ץ בַּמַּ֛יִם אֶת־בְּשָׂר֖וֹ וּלְבֵשָֽׁם׃
…
וְכׇל־אָדָ֞ם לֹא־יִהְיֶ֣ה ׀ בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֗ד בְּבֹא֛וֹ לְכַפֵּ֥ר בַּקֹּ֖דֶשׁ עַד־צֵאת֑וֹ וְכִפֶּ֤ר בַּעֲדוֹ֙ וּבְעַ֣ד בֵּית֔וֹ וּבְעַ֖ד כׇּל־קְהַ֥ל יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he bathe his flesh in water, and so put them on. …
(16:17) And there shall be no man in the Tent of Meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, until he comes out, and have made atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Yisra᾽el.
(ד) ובג״ד אתמר
אשרי העם יודעי תרועה
יודעי בדעת
דאתמר ביה
בדעתו תהומות נבקעו.
ובדע׳ חדרים ימלאו.
(ה) איהי שופר
וקב״ה קול השופר
ובזמנא דהיא סלקא לגביה
בתלת קטרין אלין.
אתמר ביה ויהי קול השופר
הולך וחזק מאד.
הולך בתקיעה.
וחזק בשברים.
מאד בתרועה
(ו) ואיהי יום הכפורים.
וכד אתקשטת קדמיה בלבושין שפירין
דאינון לבושי כפרה:
אתקריאת ציץ דיליה.
מצנפת דיליה.
אבנט דיליה.
(ז) איהי כלילא מארבע בגדי לבן
מסטרא דימינא
ומארבע בגדי זהב
מסטרא דשמאלא.
(ח) בההוא זמנא
דאתקשטת באלין לבושין דכפרה.
אתמר בה ותלבש אסתר מלכות.
ובהון עאלת לפני לפנים
הה״ד
ותעמוד בחצר בית המלך הפנימית.
ובהון נשאה חן בעיניו.
(ט) ורזא דמלה
וראיתיה לזכור ברית עולם.
ומיד יי׳ שמעה יי׳ סלחה
יי׳ הקשיבה ועשה אל תאחר.
(י) פורים אתקריאת
על שם יום הכפורים
דעתידין לאתענג׳ ביה
ולשנויי ליה מענוי לענג.
ומה דאיהי שכינתא
אסור ביה נעילת הסנדל.
(4) And because of this, it is stated:
(Ps. 89:16) Happy are the people, knowers of te-ru’ah...
‘knowers’ – in knowledge,
of which it is stated:
(Prov. 3:20) With his knowledge, the depths are split,
(Prov. 24:4) And with knowledge, rooms are filled...
(5) She is shophar,
and the blessed Holy One is the ‘sound’ of the shophar.
And when She ascends towards Him,
with these three ‘bindings’,
it is stated of Him: (Ex. 19:19) And the sound of the shophar,
was continuing very strongly,
continuously going holekh – in te-qi’ah,
strongly ḥazeq – in she-varim,
very me-od – in te-ru’ah.
(6) And She is the Day of Atonements.
And when She is adorned before Him with beautiful garments,
– which are ‘the garments of atonement’ –
She is called His ‘diadem’,
His ‘turban’,
His ‘sash’.
(7) She is comprised of four garments of white,
from the right-hand side,
and of four garments of gold,
from the left-hand side.
(8) At that time,
when She is adorned with these ‘garments of atonement’, it is stated of Her: (Esth. 5:1) ... and Esther dressed regally...
And with them She enters the innermost place.
It is this that is written:
... and she stood in the inner courtyard of the house of the King...
And with them, She: (Esth. 5:2) ... won favour in his eyes...
(9) And the mystery of the matter:
(Gen. 9:16) ... and I shall see it to remember the eternal covenant...
And immediately: (Dan. 9:19) Y”Y’ hear! Y”Y’ forgive!
Y”Y’ listen! And act without delay!
(10) She is called Purim,
after Yom ha-Ki-PuRiM,
in which they are destined in the future to have delight, and to change it from affliction to delight.
(8) and Aaron shall place lots upon the two goats, one marked for ה׳ and the other marked for Azazel.
(ו) וַיִּ֣בֶז בְּעֵינָ֗יו לִשְׁלֹ֤חַ יָד֙ בְּמׇרְדֳּכַ֣י לְבַדּ֔וֹ כִּֽי־הִגִּ֥ידוּ ל֖וֹ אֶת־עַ֣ם מׇרְדֳּכָ֑י וַיְבַקֵּ֣שׁ הָמָ֗ן לְהַשְׁמִ֧יד אֶת־כׇּל־הַיְּהוּדִ֛ים אֲשֶׁ֛ר בְּכׇל־מַלְכ֥וּת אֲחַשְׁוֵר֖וֹשׁ עַ֥ם מׇרְדֳּכָֽי׃
(ז) בַּחֹ֤דֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן֙ הוּא־חֹ֣דֶשׁ נִיסָ֔ן בִּשְׁנַת֙ שְׁתֵּ֣ים עֶשְׂרֵ֔ה לַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֑וֹשׁ הִפִּ֣יל פּוּר֩ ה֨וּא הַגּוֹרָ֜ל לִפְנֵ֣י הָמָ֗ן מִיּ֧וֹם ׀ לְי֛וֹם וּמֵחֹ֛דֶשׁ לְחֹ֥דֶשׁ שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂ֖ר הוּא־חֹ֥דֶשׁ אֲדָֽר׃ {ס}
(6) But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone; having been told who Mordecai’s people were, Haman plotted to do away with all the Jews, Mordecai’s people, throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus.
(7) In the first month, that is, the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, pur—which means “the lot”—was cast before Haman concerning every day and every month, [until it fell on] the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar.
Haman - Portal to Possibilities - המן
(11) “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?”
״וְהָיָה טַעְמוֹ כְּטַעַם לְשַׁד הַשָּׁמֶן״. אָמַר רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ: מָה שַׁד זֶה תִּינוֹק טוֹעֵם בָּהּ כַּמָּה טְעָמִים, אַף הַמָּן, כׇּל זְמַן שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל אוֹכְלִין אוֹתוֹ מוֹצְאִין בּוֹ כַּמָּה טְעָמִים.
It was also said with regard to the manna: “And its taste was as the taste of a cake [shad] baked with oil [hashamen]” (Numbers 11:8). Rabbi Abbahu said: Shad means breast. Just as a baby tastes different flavors from the breast, since the taste of the milk changes somewhat depending on what foods his mother eats, so too with the manna, every time that the Jewish people ate the manna, they found in it many different flavors, based on their preferences.
Rabbi Dovber Pinson:
The Month of Adar: Transformation Through Laughter and Holy Doubt
“They cast a pur for Haman” (Esth 3:7) - this wording stresses the point that Haman surrendered and transcended his power of choice, and allowed it to simply happen. It is as if he even had others throw the lot for him - a ‘concealment within a concealment’ of his ability to choose. By using a random throw of dice to determine his day of destruction, Haman was hoping to tap into the place of Keter, a place that is ‘above good and evil’ and above volition and causality; and from that place draw down evil upon a people who ‘deserved’ good. …
The reality beyond all of this is called Radla, Absolute Unknowability in which Infinity does not even know Itself, as it were. This is the Keter of Keter.
Here, in utter innocence, the way of righteousness, goodness, life and affirmation of life, are spontaneously chosen. And that is the essential reality wherein our souls are rooted.
Sacred Uncertainty
פורים = 336 = שאלה
Purim = question
(ב) וָֽאֶרְאֶה֮ בֶּחָזוֹן֒ וַֽיְהִי֙ בִּרְאֹתִ֔י וַאֲנִי֙ בְּשׁוּשַׁ֣ן הַבִּירָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּעֵילָ֣ם הַמְּדִינָ֑ה וָאֶרְאֶה֙ בֶּֽחָז֔וֹן וַאֲנִ֥י הָיִ֖יתִי עַל־אוּבַ֥ל אוּלָֽי׃
(2) I saw in the vision—at the time I saw it I was in the fortress of Shushan, in the province of Elam—I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai River.
כִּ֣י אִם־הַחֲרֵ֣שׁ תַּחֲרִ֘ישִׁי֮ בָּעֵ֣ת הַזֹּאת֒ רֶ֣וַח וְהַצָּלָ֞ה יַעֲמ֤וֹד לַיְּהוּדִים֙ מִמָּק֣וֹם אַחֵ֔ר וְאַ֥תְּ וּבֵית־אָבִ֖יךְ תֹּאבֵ֑דוּ וּמִ֣י יוֹדֵ֔עַ אִם־לְעֵ֣ת כָּזֹ֔את הִגַּ֖עַתְּ לַמַּלְכֽוּת׃
For if you remain silent at this time, then relief and deliverance shall arise to the Jews from elsewhere; but you and your father’s house will perish: and who knows whether you are not come to royal estate for such a time as this?
Bechinat Olam 13:4
“The ultimate purpose of knowing is not to know” תכלית הידיעה שלא נדע
(א) וּבִשְׁנֵים֩ עָשָׂ֨ר חֹ֜דֶשׁ הוּא־חֹ֣דֶשׁ אֲדָ֗ר בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁ֨ה עָשָׂ֥ר יוֹם֙ בּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִגִּ֧יעַ דְּבַר־הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וְדָת֖וֹ לְהֵעָשׂ֑וֹת בַּיּ֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֨ר שִׂבְּר֜וּ אֹיְבֵ֤י הַיְּהוּדִים֙ לִשְׁל֣וֹט בָּהֶ֔ם וְנַהֲפ֣וֹךְ ה֔וּא אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׁלְט֧וּ הַיְּהוּדִ֛ים הֵ֖מָּה בְּשֹׂנְאֵיהֶֽם׃
(1) And so, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month—that is, the month of Adar—when the king’s command and decree were to be executed, the very day on which the enemies of the Jews had expected to get them in their power, the opposite happened v’nahafoch hu, and the Jews got their enemies in their power.
(טז) לַיְּהוּדִ֕ים הָֽיְתָ֥ה אוֹרָ֖ה וְשִׂמְחָ֑ה וְשָׂשֹׂ֖ן וִיקָֽר׃
A transformation of doubt into certainty is not an actual reversal within the same phenomenon, but rather a replacement with its opposite. Venahafoch hu / complete reversal, means turning negative doubt into positive doubt. The same is possible with the phenomenon of Karcha / happenstance / chance.
… [ie it’s all synchronicity rather than all chance - SB]
The climax of the Purim story is their attainment of yekar, a holy, constructive, life-affirming, positive sense of surprise, in which every aspect of life becomes glorious. This comes about precisely through their sense of the unexpected, and their understanding that everything which arises is infinitely yakar, precious.
R’ Pinson:The Month of Adar: Transformation Through Laughter and Holy Doubt
אָרוּר הָמָן = בָרוּךְ מָרְדֳּכַי = 502
Blessed is Mordechai = 502 = Cursed is Haman
On Purim we reach a positive, holy ‘lack’ of Daas, the Essence-consciousness of lo yada [not knowing]… in which we can reveal our point of indestructible faith in boundless possibility through our unity with the Source of All. Here, answers are fluid and open-ended; they open us up to deeper questions, to higher states of wonder and in turn to ever deeper answers. The unknown of yesterday becomes the known of today, but today there is a deeper unknown, a deeper hiddenness that we recognize to be lying behind our present knowledge.
R’ Pinson:The Month of Adar: Transformation Through Laughter and Holy Doubt
A final word from Rabbi Pinson:
As a microcosmic reflection of Radla [the Unknowable Head], in a glimpse of unknowability, we celebrate Purim. On Purim there is a mtizva to drink until we reach a state of lo yada / not-knowing. Because our not-knowing is rooted in Hashem’s own not-knowing (so to speak), we are spiritually strengthened during this month, rather than weakened. Moshe, who represents our higher spiritual da’at / knowing passed away during this month, and thus we too pass beyond knowing. But Moshe was also born, or ‘sourced’ in this month of Divine not-knowing, so our knowing is intimately connected to our not-knowing.
As mentioned, Adar is an adir / strong and powerful month to plant and be grounded. Paradoxically, our not-knowing does not leave us in nihilistic despair, dis-attachment or disinterest in life, nor are we drawn to death, evil or destruction. Rather the opposite, it leads to an ever-deeper re-acceptance of Torah, greater responsibility, fantastic achievement, and pure joy.
Normally when a person drinks a little too much they enter a place of forgetfulness, and sadly, they ‘forget’ their inner goodness and make bad choices. On Purim, we drink and tap into the Keter of all Ketarim and ‘forget’ the bad; we forget Haman and the world of curses, and enter into the world of total goodness, above and beyond all reason. On Purim we drink and reveal our deepest sense of compulsion within, beyond the world of strict reason, which is the holy compulsion to serve Hashem and choose goodness always.
The Above reflects the below; as we forget the bad, in Heaven there is also a cosmic forgetfulness of the bad. Purim in this way is akin to the day of atonement, Yom Kippur (Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 21). Yet whereas on Yom Kippur we ask forgiveness, on Purim there is not even any ‘bad’ to be forgiven.
The best reason for love and joy is for no reason. That which is not dependent on anything is sourced in the Divine and is free.
Melinda Ribner: Living in the Divine Flow: Monthly Spiritual Gifts and Blessings