TO RISE TO THE LEVEL OF “NOT KNOWING”

What is a Chassidic Purim about? What opportunities does it provide that we don’t find the rest of the year? * Mashke on Purim – allowed or not? How should a Chassid regard it on Purim? * How do we implant joy in our hearts even with worrisome things on our mind? * An enlightening talk about the inner dimension of Purim.

Bachurim in yeshiva were immersed in learning a maamer Chassidus for Purim; shluchim were occupied making arrangements for balabatim to visit army bases and hospitals, and speaking to mishloach manos suppliers; ladies of the house were busy preparing costumes and mishloach manos; Rabbi Moshe Orenstein, mashpia in the Chabad Yeshiva in Tzfas, and I, sat in one of the rooms of the yeshiva for a talk.

I had come to hear about a Chassidishe Purim, what “ad d’lo yada” is really about, and how to combine ad d’lo yada with keeping limits. We touched upon familiar Chassidic concepts such as simcha, hiskashrus, l’chaim, mivtzaim, and Ahavas Yisroel, and even ad d’lo yada, which all seemed to take on a new, fascinating and demanding perspective.

WHAT IS A CHASSIDISHE PURIM?

Purim is a day that is perceived as a happy, easy day and in some places it’s even “liberating.” The “V’Nahapoch Hu” sometimes takes on negative connotations. In Chabad, what’s emphasized in the Purim story is how, for an entire year, the Jewish people remained steadfast in their commitment to Torah and this is an auspicious time for t’shuva done with simcha. Please tell us what a Chassidishe Purim is all about.

To Chassidim, it was known what is said in Torah Ohr, quoting Tikkunei Zohar, that Yom HaKippurim is only like-Purim. The Rebbe explains that this concept is also understood in Nigleh of Torah:

At the end of Gemara Yoma, it says that there are four types of atonement. Three of them are discussed by the Alter Rebbe in Tanya: one who missed doing a positive mitzva and repented, he is forgiven; one who transgressed a prohibition and did t’shuva, his t’shuva “hangs” and Yom Kippur atones. As far as sins involving excision of the soul and the capital punishment of beis din for which someone did t’shuva, t’shuva and Yom Kippur “hang” and suffering scours him. As for the fourth category, Chilul Hashem, which the Alter Rebbe does not bring in Tanya, “one who has desecrated G-d’s name, there is no power in t’shuva to ‘hang,’ and not in Yom Kippur to atone, and not in suffering to scour, but they all remain ‘hanging’ and death scours.”

We see something astonishing here. The reason for the terrible decree of Purim “to annihilate and kill and destroy, children and women on one day” was apparently for the sin of Chilul Hashem. According to one opinion, it was because they had bowed to the statue, and according to another opinion, it was because they had enjoyed the party of that wicked man. As Chazal say, Achashverosh displayed the vessels of the Mikdash in order to show that according to his calculation, the Jewish people would not be redeemed and the Beis HaMikdash would not be rebuilt.

Participating in his party and flattering that evil man were a great Chilul Hashem. Yet we see, despite the terrible punishment of death which scours so that even Yom Kippur and suffering cannot atone, the Jewish people did t’shuva and it was accepted. For the entire year in which the decree hung over their heads, not one of them considered converting to save his life since the decree was only against Jews. We see that the miracle of their salvation was a “turnabout” that the Jews who were meant to die, which was all of them since they were all under the dominion of Achashverosh, prevailed over their enemies.

This tells us that Purim has tremendous power not just to erase and forgive sins or transform them into inadvertent sins, but even deliberate sins become merits.

We see that when Yom Kippur comes, Jews, even those quite distant, are inspired and become contemplative, while when Purim comes it doesn’t seem like people are particularly moved. How do you explain this?

True, but that is the special quality of Purim. On Yom Kippur we have potential mesirus nefesh, Jews are ready to be Moser Nefesh like angels, but on Purim actual mesirus nefesh is revealed.

Because this day contains such greatness, the “other side” makes every effort to “put a costume” on the holiday so that it appears like a regular day. And often, the extraordinary day of Purim is missed because we are busy with nonsense and trivialities.

We can also explain the difference like this: that we prepare for Yom Kippur from Rosh Chodesh Elul, while Purim appears suddenly. But the truth is, although Purim has a hidden quality to it, and Hashem does not appear openly in the Megilla and we don’t seem to sense the preciousness of the day, this is so that we arouse ourselves through our own work. It is avoda such as this which can bring a turnabout in the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos, t’shuva, and hiskashrus to the Rebbe.

According to this, on Purim we should sit and daven at length, learn maamarim, make a cheshbon ha’nefesh (spiritual accounting) etc. Actually, people don’t have time for this. There are the mitzvos of the day and then mivtzaim and at the end of the day, ad d’lo yada. How do the mivtzaim and l’chaims fit the seriousness of the day?

I’ll never forget the farbrengen of Purim 5736/1976. The Rebbe spoke about this very point (later on it was printed in Likkutei Sichos vol. 16). The Rebbe asked: since according to Halacha, one is supposed to drink until he gets drunk and falls asleep, and drunkenness is an undesirable state, as the Rambam says elsewhere that gaiety and drunkenness are not simcha but wildness, so how is it allowed now?

The Rebbe explained that in the time of Mordechai and Esther the Jewish people accepted what they had accepted previously, i.e. it was the completion of Mattan Torah. The Torah is Hashem revealing His Will to us which is why the souls of the Jewish people flew out at Mattan Torah. In order to reach that level of Mattan Torah in the time of Mordechai and Esther, they were Moser Nefesh. Nowadays, said the Rebbe, the idea of transcending the material world on Purim is as the Rambam paskens, drinking until nodding off.

This means that the achievement of Purim is the idea of disengagement from the physical, similar to the way prophecy is described. As the Rambam writes, “All of them do not see…except in a night vision or by day after a deep sleep has fallen over them…and all of them when prophesying their limbs tremble, the strength of the body declines and their cognitive faculties become disoriented…” (This is a fairly close approximation of the condition of someone who is in an inebriated state.)

So, the obligation of simcha is in an unlimited way “until he drinks and falls asleep in his inebriation,” when his self-awareness and cognitive faculties are nullified.

Since we need to accept the Torah at this time, there needs to be a similar “departure from the body” in the form of unbridled simcha. A Jew dances and rejoices as though he is bringing his son to the chuppa. Nothing bothers him; he has no complaints against anyone. This is simcha in an unlimited way, when a Jew’s ego is absent, which is referred to as “going out of oneself.” He only thinks about what the Rebbe wants of him and how he can be a better Chassid and more mekushar.

I remember that when we heard this from the Rebbe, we were really astounded by it. But then, the Rebbe added, there is a deeper bittul, when a Jew does not think of himself at all and only thinks of others, for a person is closest to himself and the most important thing to him is his own joy. However, when he does not think about himself, about his personal joy or elevation, but completely devotes himself to another Jew, with material and spiritual tz’daka, bringing others the joy of the holiday, this is the way to achieve disengagement from the physical and to receive all the loftiest matters of Mattan Torah, even beyond the loftiest level of ad d’lo yada.

This is the reason for the change in the seventh generation as compared to previous generations when they were busy on Purim with learning, t’filla and avoda. In our generation, rather than sitting and being introspective, a Chassid goes and finds another Jew, on the kibbutzim, in the army, the police station, on the street, in his building, and he brings them the joy of the holiday. He gives more gifts to the poor and more mishloach manos and less ad d’lo yada.

We see throughout the years that the Rebbe’s Purim farbrengen took place at the end of Purim after everyone had finished with mivtzaim.

HOW SHOULD A CHASSID TREAT MASHKE?

You touched on the topic of drinking on Purim. I won’t get into a debate about whether the Rebbe’s decree regarding mashke is in force on Purim or not. I’d like to expand on the joy that mashke brings versus its negative aspects. How can it be that such a lofty day is characterized by drinking a lot?

We need to remember that the obligation to become intoxicated is brought in Shulchan Aruch as Halacha. The question is how to understand this and the Rebbe himself spoke several times about the inyan of drinking.

Furthermore, the Rebbe once spoke about how unlike other holidays, Purim is called a “day of feasting and rejoicing,” and not just one moment of the day or several moments. This is unlike the reading of the Megilla and mishloach manos and gifts to the poor which are done during a specified time period and you’ve fulfilled your obligation when the specific action is completed.

At the Purim farbrengen of 5749, the Rebbe said that one who fulfilled ad d’lo yada literally, “fortunate is he and fortune is his portion and great is his merit and people should see and do as he does.” But before rushing to fill our cups with mashke, we need to remember that even during those times that the Rebbe spoke about drinking a lot, he warned “not the bachurim.” On another occasion, Purim 5731, he said that the balabatim could fulfill the drinking obligation literally while the bachurim should become “intoxicated” in learning.

However, there were certain years in which the Rebbe said to drink to the point of intoxication, but apparently we cannot draw any conclusions since there were also times the Rebbe said to observe the “decree” on Purim too. As we said, the debate about the “decree” as it relates to Purim is too long to get into here.

(Smiling): A married man has a responsibility to his wife and children and so there is the idea that fear has a sobering effect.

As to your question, the topic is discussed at length in Chassidus and we don’t have time to get into it now, but I will try to explain it briefly. Throughout the year there is the level of yada-knowing, i.e. knowledge and apprehension of G-dliness, and this is through learning Chassidus. This is how we fulfill the mitzva of “know the G-d of your father and serve Him with a whole heart.” Once a year, a Jew reaches “above the natural order” through avoda that comes from the essence of his soul. There, in this lofty state, there needs to be “until he doesn’t know the difference between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordechai.” That doesn’t mean that a Chassid ought to drink until he screams “Blessed is Haman” in the street or the opposite.

Can we conclude from what you’ve said that one should drink a lot on Purim?

It’s an individual kind of thing. A person has to know himself. Will mashke on Purim bring him to Ahavas Yisroel, to achdus, to forget about himself in an uplifting manner, to strengthen himself, or the opposite? For those who aren’t sure, the rule is “when in doubt be stringent,” and he should consult with his mashpia.

I remember that the mashpia R’ Moshe Naparstek would say on Purim that someone who is on the level of yada throughout the year, i.e. he learns and delves into Chassidus, then on Purim he rises up to the level of lo yada. But someone who is on the level of lo yada all year needs to start with yada.

There is a unique sicha from the Rebbe in which he sharply addresses the inyan of mashke on Purim and the right attitude toward it.

On Shabbos Parshas Ki Sisa 5742, the Rebbe spoke at length about eradicating Amalek. The terminology there is unique and we won’t have time to get into that, but every Chassid should learn that sicha before Purim.

The Rebbe wonders how it is possible that there are Chassidim who don’t care about eradicating Amalek despite the many maamarim. He even said, “On Purim this Jew saw how his grandson stamps with his little feet and makes noise with a gragger when Haman’s name is mentioned and he yells to erase Haman. Despite this, he himself ‘doesn’t rise or budge’ when it comes to wiping out Haman!

“His little grandson wipes out Haman sincerely and enthusiastically and he tells his younger brother that now they need to yell ‘daloi galus,’ and when the grandfather sees his grandson’s behavior, he melts with pleasure, seeing that his grandson behaves as he (the grandfather) taught him. Despite all this, when it comes to him, he does not rise or budge, he doesn’t bend or bow. And when he asks why he should budge, he should be told that Amalek lives within him! It’s just that he does not feel that Amalek lives inside him. This is the greatest danger of all, for when he does not know or feel it, he thinks it is not Amalek and therefore does not fight against it.”

The Rebbe then notes the irony of the “great care” taken regarding the Halacha of drinking:

“When speaking about the general meaning of Purim, the eradication of Amalek, avoda in a manner that transcends limitations, ad d’lo yada – he knows nothing about what these mean! He learns in Chassidus about the etzem ha’nefesh, that which transcends reason and limitations, but he has no idea what these are about. They certainly don’t move him. But when you talk to him about ad d’lo yada, this he fulfills by getting drunk and then going to sleep in a comfortable bed and this is how he fulfills his obligation of ad d’lo yada. These are very lofty matters that are connected to the etzem ha’nefesh etc, but he twists it around in the aforementioned manner!”

These are indeed unusual expressions, but according to Halacha the Rambam paskens that one should drink until he becomes inebriated and falls asleep in his drunkenness….

Indeed, and we’ve already touched upon the Rebbe’s explanation of the significance of sleep. Still, if Purim reminds someone of songs he sang in kindergarten, costumes and masks, then there is reason to fear that the mashke will bring him to letting loose. Whereas a Chassid, who throughout the year has more kabbalas ol and bittul, can attain heights on Purim and it is not possible that he will stumble with mockery or insulting people. It is not possible that due to the drinking he will miss Maariv or Birkas HaMazon.

A PURIM FARBRENGEN WITH THE REBBE IS THE DIAMOND IN THE CROWN

At Purim farbrengens over the years, there were miracles and revelations. Please tell us about Purim with the Rebbe.

I spent five Purims with the Rebbe. Relative to other holidays, it’s few, but the special character of the Purim farbrengen is etched in my mind.

In general, it is known that on Purim there were open miracles like in 5713 when the Rebbe said two maamarim and “killed” Stalin. On Purim 5715 the Rebbe announced that whoever wants wealth should raise his hand. But the truth is, every Purim farbrengen with the Rebbe was unusual. We all felt that the Purim farbrengen is the diamond in the crown.

Unlike Poilishe Admurim who have a Purim shpiel, by the Rebbe there were many sichos and maamarim. The Purim farbrengens took hours, sometimes eight hours, in the course of which people saw special giluyim in Chassidus. It’s not always possible to sum up this incredible feeling in words and quotes.

We arrived at the Rebbe’s farbrengen at the end of a busy day of mivtzaim and hearing the Megilla read in the Rebbe’s presence. When we went to the Purim farbrengen, we felt that the Rebbe was raising us up above the ground. “Elokus b’peshitus” was so tangible that you had to be “mechadesh” that there was also your own existence and the existence of the world. And all this was with the enormous simcha we saw on the Rebbe’s face. It is hard to describe to someone who never experienced Purim with the Rebbe.

In general, every utterance of the Rebbe at these farbrengens was overflowing with an inner sense of Ahavas Yisroel, love for Torah, and love for Hashem. In between, there were joyous niggunim.

Do you have an anecdote for us that is not well known?

I did not attend the Purim farbrengen 5715, but I recently read a description of it which was written by R’ Yoel Kahn.

Back then, during the niggunim between the sichos, people went over to the Rebbe and asked for brachos. In the early years, a line would actually form to get to the Rebbe’s place. You could see that the Rebbe wasn’t entirely pleased by this, for there is a time for everything and a farbrengen is a time for spiritual elevation. If a person is sitting during the sicha and thinking about what he wants to ask, he is not focusing on what is being said.

In later years, the Rebbe asked that this “minhag” be stopped except for exceptional cases of pikuach nefesh and urgency. The Rebbe said there was a time to ask for brachos.

That year, 5715, at the end of a long line, the Rebbe spoke emotionally about how people were asked at least once a year, on Purim, to not think about themselves and about what they want and need, but only about what Hashem needs of them. The Rebbe said that still, people are not able to forget about themselves. This one can’t forget about an operation and that one can’t forget about the deficit in his bank account and still another one wants to be rid of his yetzer ha’ra.

“If only there was one day on which people abandoned everything,” said the Rebbe. “Although each person knows his standing and situation, still and all, on Purim one can attain the ultimate elevation. This is Hashem’s request of the Jewish people [and the Rebbe said the following statement in a loud voice from the depths of his pure heart] that every one of you work on himself so that at least on the days of Purim there will be a few moments that he forgets about himself and consequently about his household and consequently about what he is lacking…” and then the Rebbe started a niggun d’veikus.

SERIOUS PURIM HISKASHRUS

Purim connects us, Chassidim of the 7th generation, with the maamer V’Ata Tetzaveh, the last one we received from the Rebbe. It explains that the Nasi HaDor is one who nourishes the faith of the Jewish people in his generation. When you connect with Mordechai, it strengthens your emuna. How are we to understand and learn the maamer in connection to us and our Rebbe?

Generally speaking, the concept of hiskashrus is very broad and requires tremendous work. We cannot fool ourselves! Hiskashrus is avoda! To be devoted to the Rebbe means to be devoted to Hashem. You cannot separate it and say I’m fine with the Rebbe, but with Hashem it’s a bit hard for me. Tzaddikim are like their Creator and you cannot separate them.

We need to invest, to work hard, in order to see results. Even when the Rebbe demands something from a Tamim, he needs to think: What will give the Rebbe nachas? What does the Rebbe want of me? Not, “What do I feel will strengthen my hiskashrus?”

The mashpia R’ Zushe Silberstein gave an example that makes it clear. There was once a mekurav who wanted to make the Rebbe happy and give him something special. He decided he would give the Rebbe a gold ring. What’s wrong with that? Yosef HaTzaddik and Mordechai HaYehudi also had rings from the king.

When he went to the Rebbe, the Rebbe tried to explain to him that he wouldn’t use it, but the man didn’t get it. Finally, the Rebbe offered to sell the ring and give the money to tz’daka. The man said: Okay, I’ll give its cost to tz’daka and the ring to the Rebbe. So the Rebbe motioned to him “double,” that he should give twice its worth to tz’daka.

A similar thing happened when they changed the Rebbe’s car without consulting him. Whoever did this certainly did it with love for the Rebbe. The Nasi HaDor definitely deserves a nice car. But what happened was that the Rebbe left 770 and was entirely unimpressed. He said he would continue traveling in the previous car. When they told the Rebbe that the previous car was at a distance from 770, the Rebbe began walking in that direction.

Hiskashrus is not a question of how will I express my creativity. It’s about what does the Rebbe expect of me.

I remember what the Chassid R’ Eliyahu Friedman a”h, who started our yeshiva in Tzfas, once spoke about the letter from the Rebbe regarding the customs of Yud Shvat in which the Rebbe writes “to all mekusharim and those connected to the Rebbe, my father-in-law.” We see that even for those who did not see the Rebbe Rayatz and were born after his passing there is a zealousness to fulfill the horaa of getting an aliya to the Torah on the Shabbos before Yud Shvat. But for the other horaa, to address the youth and inspire them to Ahavas Yisroel and to tell them about the Rebbe, we need volunteers …

If we take for example what the Rebbe said to the bachurim about the prohibition to drink mashke, a bachur who cares deeply about hiskashrus needs to be shaken by this: Gevald! I just learned what the Rebbe said about getting drunk on Purim and it’s talking to me!

This is the point of V’Ata Tetzaveh, to see what the Rebbe, Mordechai HaYehudi of our generation, the one who nourishes the faith of the Chassidim by way of our cleaving to his commands, demands of us.

How do we invest in hiskashrus?

If we take for example what is happening in the world, we can understand it. A young man wants to be a doctor, for example. He spends years studying, spends a fortune, and he works as a waiter to cover his living expenses. He has no life, no money, not a minute to himself, but he knows that this is all for the cause, for his life’s ambition.

Why shouldn’t that kind of work and effort be found among our ranks? Where does the mistake come from that something as precious as hiskashrus will come to us for free?!

Today, people want everything instantly, without effort. We are the generation of the Schottenstein Gemaras, Kehati Mishnayos, Shaarei Tos’fos and even a translated Zohar. In the same way we try to come up with hiskashrus shortcuts, to be mekushar to the Rebbe without work and effort. We need to remember that the payment for the precious commodity called “hiskashrus to the Rebbe” is worth all the costs and effort, and the price is: toil of the soul and toil of the flesh, a broken heart, work and toil.

As a child, I wondered about the story about Hillel who went up on the roof to be able to learn Torah. A Jew comes along who can barely earn enough to support his family, and yet he divides his earnings and uses half to pay to enter the beis midrash. One time, when he doesn’t have enough money, not even for food for his family, and he asks to be allowed into the beis midrash, he is refused. What was he asking for already?!

Apparently, it was his mesirus nefesh that made him into Hillel HaZakein, Nasi in Israel. When you pay the price, when you are willing to make an effort for something important, that shows it’s really important to you and then you can be very successful. As they say, easy come easy go.

What should we do when it’s not as it should be? Purim is around the corner – should we be happy or sad?

Sad? G-d forbid. Of course, happy. Purim is the right time. Even if up until now things were not as they should have been, it’s the time to make hachlatos and to receive kochos, to make a turnabout. “These days are remembered and done.” At the time of the Purim story, the Jewish people were on a low level, materially and spiritually. Materially – since every Jew in the world, without exception, was under threat of annihilation. Spiritually – they bowed to the statue and made a Chilul Hashem. And yet, “they fulfilled and accepted” the Torah, which had been given at Mattan Torah, with joy.

We need to remember what the Rebbe says in the D’var Malchus of Truma, “When a Jew contemplates this [that when Adar enters it has the power to transform even the level of darkness of ‘minimizing simcha’] it brings him to even greater joy, joy that can even change the material circumstances of a person living in this world within the parameters of the nature of the world.

“The nature of simcha is that it impacts and permeates all aspects of a person. When a person is happy, he lives a happy life, with joy which affects everything he does and everything he comes in contact with and not just him but he brings joy to others. This simcha brings more success in all his activities and his entire life as we readily see.”

A Chassid who wrote to the Tzemach Tzedek received this response: “A person must guard his thoughts and think only happy thoughts. He must be careful not to say sad, gloomy things. On the contrary, he must always display joyous movements as though his heart is full of simcha, even though this is not so, and in the end, it will be so, truly so.”

This is precisely what we are told in the Megilla, as an eternal and encouraging instruction, that even if one’s situation is not as it should be, then “thus I will come to the king – not according to protocol.” Even if the situation is not as it should be, Purim is the time to “come to the king,” to connect to the Rebbe with great love.

THE REBBE GAVE US A BANK CHECK

The Rebbe spoke about simcha as a way to hasten the Geula and also as a taste of the Geula. How do you connect simcha in general and Purim in particular to anticipating the Geula?

The difference between a happy person and one who is not happy is that an unhappy person looks at what he doesn’t have, at what he wants and still doesn’t have. A happy person is happy with what he has already.

Picture a person who received a certified check for a million dollars, but he doesn’t even have money to take the bus to get to the bank to cash the check. He decides to walk, and after a long walk he finds out that the bank is closed. The next day he goes back, but the teller tells him he cannot cash his check because he needs approval from the bank manager, from the tax authority, etc.

On the one hand, he is a wealthy man because he has a million dollars. On the other hand, he is extremely poor for he doesn’t even have money to ride the bus. What is up to him is how he looks at his situation, whether positive or negative, and not to despair until he gets the money.

So too with us, and far more. The Rebbe gave us a certified check, a promise and prophecy that Moshiach is coming. Yet, we look around and see galus. Now it depends on what we choose to focus on, the galus and hardships or on the imminent Geula “which is already in our hands.” That’s what makes a Chassid happy or not.

So what a person doesn’t have does not disturb him. He looks at the final moments of galus from the perspective of true happiness with what he already has and because the Rebbe will immediately appear and the entire world will proclaim, “Yechi Adoneinu Moreinu v’Rabbeinu Melech HaMoshiach L’olam Va’ed!”