My apologies for the past two weeks. It’s been hectic here. My work has been going late into morning hours, my mother-in-law came, hosting the Purim meal, etc…
However, I feel that I owe a small dvar Torah for Purim.
There’s a famous concept on Purim, that a person should drink until he confuses “Blessed is Mordecai and Cursed is Haman” and starts saying “Blessed is Haman and Cursed is Mordecai”.
There are many reasons given for this peculiar “test” in one’s drunkenness. One of the more famous ones is that we “bless” Haman, because when we are drunk, we are able to realize that even the bad that happens in our lives, both as a nation, and as individuals, are really from Hashem and are all for our good. So, in the end, we are able to truly bless the bad, because it really was good.
However, that doesn’t explain the “Cursed Mordecai” bit.
Rav Shimshon Pincus wrote an amazing chapter in his book on Purim, and I wish I had the time to type it out. However, one of his main points was this. The Torah writes over and over again, if we do mitzvos, we are blessed. If we go against Hashem, we will be cursed. If we do tshuvah, we will be redeemed. Over and over, we see a “cause and effect” that Hashem put into place in the Grand Order of Things. Even Pesach, we needed “something” to give us merit to leave, so we were given the Pesach Offering to bring, and in that merit, we were pulled from Egypt.
Purim, however, is different. There was tshuvah involved, but we learn that it was done only AFTER the miracle took place. Beforehand, there was an outcry to Hashem, but that was all. On top of that, it wasn’t a matter of Hashem “simply” decreeing our destruction, but we learn from the Midrash that it was SEALED, which is no small thing to undo.
At this point, Hashem broke “all the rules”. He told the Jewish nation, “You just sit back, I’ll take care of things”. He didn’t ask for any merit as The Grand Order of Things demands, rather He told us to simply sit on the side, and He will fix things up.
The Arizal learns from the wording of the Megillah, that the power of Purim, did not just shower down on us on that particular day. But, every year on Purim, Hashem breaks the bonds of The Grand Order of Things, and helps the Jewish nation. NOW, is the time do daven for whatever you want or need!
Rav Pincus explains that when a person davens and davens, and sees that his prayers are not being accepted, he will naturally go to somebody “bigger” to ask him to daven on his behalf. Perhaps in HIS merit, HIS prayers will be answered. However, on Purim, we “curse” that idea with “Cursed is Mordecai”. On Purim, Hashem does not determine if we have merit or not. Hashem breaks down all the barriers purely for His love for us.
Purim is one of the very few times in our lives where we can be so close to Him in our davening.
May we use this Purim properly!