Rav Avigdor Miller on Purim

Q: 
The Rav spoke tonight about the lesson of Purim being the internalizing of how much Hashem loves us and our responsibility to love Him and to love the Am Yisroel. But isn’t it possible to say that the Simchas Purim is because of קיימו וקיבלו, that the Jewish Nation accepted the Torah again after the witnessing the neis of Purim?

A:
I want to explain something to you. Ezra Hasofer came along and the gemara says about him that ראוי היה עזרא שתנתן התורה לישראל על ידו – “Ezra was big enough that the Torah could have been given to us through him.” I’ll explain that. Ezra  made a tremendous change in the Klal Yisroel. Before Ezra, you didn’t have to daven shachris, mincha and ma’ariv. You didn’t have to make a bracha either. A בורא פרי העץ or המוציא לחם מין הארץ wasn’t a requirement. Of course, people were mispallel to Hashem. And people thanked Him for the food, absolutely. But there was no chiyuv to daven three times a day or to make brachos. And muktzeh as well. Many types of muktzeh were permitted.

And Ezra came along with the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah and they made a whole list of takanos chachomim. He changed the entire tzura of being a Jew. Ezra changed everything because he saw that with the Jews being in golus, they needed a סייג לתורה, a fence around the Torah; otherwise who knows what’s going to happen to us. And so he made fences around the Torah. So Ezra actually came with a new Torah for Klal Yisroel. Now, it wasn’t actually new. It’s ossur to be mosif, to add on, but he made issurei d’rabanan. He said that it’s all m’dirabanan, but it’s a סייג, a fence, to protect the Torah – to protect the Am Yisroel.

Now, how could he get the Klal Yisroel to accept that? You think it’s easy?! We’re a stubborn nation. And we’re talking now about a tremendous change! How did Ezra succeed? And the answer is that Purim came along! The miracle of Purim came along and there was such a love for Hashem, that קיימו וקיבלו, they accepted the Torah again. Not only did they accept the old Torah again, but they accepted it with such a willingness that they now took upon themselves all the new takanos of Ezra, to be mikayeim them too. So on Purim the takanos of Ezra were finally given the chizuk needed to remain with the Klal Yisroel forever.

So you’re asking if we celebrate that? Absolutely we celebrate that. No question about it. But you have to know, that that’s only agav urcha. That’s not the main idea of Purim. That’s not an open possuk. That idea of קיימו וקיבלו is not the plain pshat. The pshat in that possuk doesn’t mean that they accepted to fulfill the Torah. It’s a good drash and it’s true, but it’s not the original pshat of the possuk. 

And therefore the most important lesson of Purim is something else: that Hakodosh Boruch Hu is oheiv amo Yisroel. That is the lesson of Purim! That Hakodosh Boruch Hu loves the Am Yisroel more than anything else, that’s the main lesson of Purim! Other things, what you hear in other places, it’s true also. Could be. But the main lesson of Purim is that Hakodosh Boruch Hu is oiheiv amo Yisroel. 

Of course, as a result of that we’re more loyal to Him. We’re mikabeil to do everything now, because He saved us. Of course, that was a result of the simcha that we had when we saw how much He loves us. But the great lesson of Purim is just that. That He loves us.

And the lesson that we have to learn is that we have to love the Am Yisroel the same way Hakodosh Boruch Hu does. Hashem made a public demonstration on Purim; He demonstrated His love for us. And He wants us to follow His lesson and love His people like He does. We love the Am Yisroel because Hashem loves the Am Yisroel. It’s a way of us demonstrating our love for Hashem. And on Purim we have to start on our own, to fulfill what Hakodosh Boruch Hu showed us as an example by means of the neis of Purim.
TAPE # E-225 (March 2000)