Parashat Tetzaveh - The Secret of Joy and Victory over the Internal Amalek

A person wakes up in the morning with such good aspirations, washes his hands and does what is necessary, and suddenly everything turns upside down—either we get angry or others get angry at us, neighbors, spouses, in every way and form.

But Hashem made the whole world this way from the start; we only need to remember one thing: to smile, to be in joy—that is what remains for us, that is what Hashem wants. That we, with our patience, with our smiles, with our faith.

Faith in the Vacated Space: Everything is Planned in Advance

What is faith? Where is there faith? When one understands? No! When one understands, there is no faith. There is faith in the Vacated Space (Chalal HaPanui). We don’t understand what it is, how it is, what happened, or why. Everything, everything is from the beginning; it was written in advance, from the six days of creation—this is the plan, this is the path.

No "puncture" (accident) happened to me; nothing happens to me that wasn't supposed to happen. Everything that happens with me, everything, everything, everything is the path through the minefield that I must cross with smiles, with joy, with love.

Do you want to wake up? Do you want to draw closer to Hashem? Learn to yield. Learn to judge favorably, learn to look with good eyes, to radiate a welcoming face. When do the "awakening from below" (itaruta d'letata) and the "awakening from above" (itaruta d'le'eila) meet? It happens through the simplest things.

Ein Od Milvado: Starting Anew Every Time

I ask Hashem to give me more attainment of "Ein Od Milvado" (There is none but Him). For the more a person understands "Ein Od Milvado," the better it is for him. Constantly check if I am on this path where I am walking with Hashem.

So I erred a bit, so I got a bit confused—Hashem knows that I can get confused! The main thing is that I want, the main thing is that I am happy, the main thing is that I don't look back, the main thing is that I continue. Rebbe Nachman said that he had at least 20 beginnings every day.

Hashem does not expect us to bring the complete tikkun (rectification). He wants from us our "awakening from below" towards Him; we want to be a dwelling for Your glory, a dwelling for the Divine light; we do not want our personal will.

Amalek is Us: The Internal War

Everyone knows that we must strike Amalek, eradicate Amalek, kill him—but who is Amalek? Amalek is us; within each and every person, there is an Amalek. As long as Amalek is within us, nothing will help.

As long as a person does not emerge from his blemishes of the Brit (covenant) and from his pride, then Haman lives. Haman is created from transgressions; from every transgression, a Haman is created. If I perform teshuvah (repentance), the terrorist will be burned, erased. And this is Purim—"v'nahafoch hu" (the opposite happened)—that everyone needs to transform themselves from one extreme to the other.

"Remember what Amalek did to you"

The "Kedushat Levi" says that the moment a person sees his own lowliness, he can fall into terrible despair. Therefore, on Purim, one must drink wine to elevate the mind (Da'at) and to sing and be happy. Specifically, one who knows he is Haman can merit "Blessed is Mordechai."

The Secret of Wine on Purim: Burning the Barriers of the Intellect

The holy Ari says that every Purim, the illumination of "Yesod Abba" shines upon us, which does not shine at any other time. This illumination is the faith that there is none but Him (Ein Od Milvado), that there is nothing besides Hashem. Purim is truly performing a very, very true teshuvah (repentance).

Reb Noson says that on Purim, one must "hold his head" (stay focused) even more than on Yom Kippur. On Purim, we must drink wine, and also be happy and sing and dance, yet still remain in a settled mind (Yishuv HaDa'at) and be attached to Hashem.

On Purim, we want to burn all the barriers of the intellect (Sechel) through the wine. The intellect limits, constricts, and guards the person, while the wine nullifies the barriers of the intellect. On Purim, wine does not harm a person if he drinks properly, because on Purim, "wine enters, the secret (Sod) emerges," and then the love of Hashem is revealed within the person.

Pearls and Stories for Parashat Tetzaveh

The Rema wrote in the Shulchan Aruch in the name of the "Abudraham" that the custom is to strike during the reading of the Megillah when Haman is mentioned:

"And it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten" (Deuteronomy 25:2)

"Ve-haya im bin" (And it shall be, if [he is] a son [of])—the final letters spell "Haman." The "Divrei Shmuel" says: "Tetzaveh" is an acronym for "The cry of the poor You shall hear and save" (Tza'akat HaDal Takshiv VeToshia). This hints that even the worst of all should never neglect to pray, for Hashem hears the prayer of every mouth.

It is told of the Gaon Rabbi Eisel Charif, of blessed memory, who was looking for a groom for his daughter and presented a massive difficulty (Kushya). No one succeeded in answering it, but one young man ran after his carriage just to know the answer. The Rabbi said to him: "I have chosen you! Your passion for the Torah shows your love for the Torah."

This is what Reish Lakish said:

"Adorn (rectify) yourself, and afterward adorn others!"

Prayer to Merit the Light of Purim

Please, Gracious and Merciful God, merit us through the joy of Purim, the Purim feast, and drinking on Purim, to attain the "Mohin d'Arich" (Higher Consciousness), until we merit the Supernal Will and reach the state of "not knowing" at all, in the aspect of "Mah" (What).

Merit us, by the power of the illumination of "Blessed is Mordechai," to clarify the sin of Saul, who needed to clarify all the sparks from the depths of the husks (Kelipot), and specifically from the husk of Haman-Amalek.