The Power of Purim
As we fly through this whirlwind of a day, let us take a moment to focus on the true meaning and purpose of Hashem’s Hester Panim, His hidden face. The story of Purim is the quintessential example of Hester Panim. This, despite the fact that it led to one of the greatest salvations of our history! This is because when Hashem hides His face from us, He does so with the goal of the salvation that will follow! Many are of the notion that when we go through tazros and things seem dark, it is because Hashem has left us. Because of our sins, or for some other reason we cannot fathom, Hashem removes His presence from us and allows punishment and evil to reign free. This is not the case. The true meaning of Hester Panim is when Hashem hides Himself from our view so that we will work to repair that connection, and bring it back to the forefront once more. He has not left us, but merely hidden from us to bring out our inner strengths and to solidify our faith. The story of Purim is thus actually the greatest way to show the potential madreigah that can come from Hester Panim. In Parshas Tetzaveh we learn of the stones that would adorn the shoulders of the Kohen Gadol to be present before Hashem always. As the Torah states, …shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Yisroel; encircled with settings of gold shall you make them. The Torah requires the names of the twelve sons of Yaakov specifically on these stones. One may ask, were there no greater people in history? Perhaps the Avos should be the ones remembered on these stones for our merit? I would like to suggest that perhaps there was one key element that the Shivtei Ka demonstrated which stands as a merit for us; one that was unique to them. The mistakes of these great men were well documented, which served to display their humanity, and at the same time, the dangers presented by the evil inclination. And then, then came roaring back. They would not let their mistakes define them, but rather they pushed past these pitfalls and became among the greatest of men! It is specifically these people that Hashem wants to always remember, and whose remembrance stands as an eternal merit before him. People who are forever loyal, and do not give up or despair, but continue to yearn for righteousness and growth; these people represent the greatness of Klal Yisroel. And perhaps we can now blend the lessons of Purim and Parshas Tetzaveh together. Purim shows us that Hashem is here with us in the tzarah wishing for us to come back, and Tetzaveh shows us the unbelievably high regard Hashem has for the attitude of perseverance and repentance. We live now in a period of great Hester Panim. But Hashem has not left us; rather, He is right here with us, bringing the tzarah! Do you know why? So that we will raise our voices up to Him, and believe in Him. He wants us to daven to Him to stop the pain, because we believe that only He can bring pain and only He can heal us from it! Hashem wants us not to despair, and not to be tied down by our mistakes, but to push onward and bring the yeshuah. It is all in our hands, all in how we daven and in how we believe. Let us try and use this day of Purim to reveal the presence of Hashem once and for all! A gut Shabbos! A Project of the YSI Alumni Association Written by R’ Moshe Weiss