The Secret of Yishuv HaDaas on Purim: From the Light of the Tzaddik to Holy Joy
Class No. 84 | Motzaei Shabbos, 14 Adar II 5757 (The night of Purim for unwalled cities) - A class for the young men of the Chaburah (study group).
A deep discourse on the inner essence of the holiday of Purim. How the mitzvos of the holiday, the joy, and the dancing are designed to transform us from receivers to givers, to draw down upon us intellect and awareness, and to bring us to the peak of yishuv hadaas (a settled mind) for the entire year.
The mitzvah of Mishloach Manos (sending portions of food) to one another on Purim holds a tremendous secret. The portions of Purim are like the Manna that fell in the desert. Everything eaten on Purim is an aspect of Manna, because eating on Purim is holy eating, and all the abundance comes from the true tzaddik.
The goal of Mishloach Manos is to shine the light of the tzaddik from one person to another. In every generation, there is a tzaddik who is the aspect of Mordechai, who saves us from the kelipah (impure husk) of Haman and Amalek. When we send portions to one another, we pass the light of the tzaddik onward. There are people who are far from the tzaddik and do not receive the light of life from him, and therefore everyone must illuminate their friend with the illumination that they themselves receive. In this way, slowly but surely, everyone will receive the spirit of life of the tzaddik, until on Purim the light of the tzaddik shines with a wondrous illumination unparalleled throughout the entire year.
The Secret of Tzedakah (Charity): Transforming from a Receiver to a Giver
After Mishloach Manos, we fulfill the mitzvah of Matanos LaEvyonim (gifts to the poor). The purpose of the mitzvah is to create a connection between everyone, because everyone has a point from the true tzaddik. The more a person increases in giving tzedakah, the more capable they are of receiving the spirit of the tzaddik.
The tzaddik is named after tzedakah, because he serves as a conduit of abundance for the entire world. The tzaddik is gracious and gives; he takes nothing for himself, but rather descends to the world only to bestow upon everyone. As brought down in the book "Asarah Maamaros," Moshe Rabbeinu never received anything for free. Even for the three months that he nursed from his mother, he paid her, for initially it was a matter of saving a life for her, but afterward, he ensured she was paid for every single nursing.
The nature of man is to be a receiver; he demands all pleasures for himself. But through giving tzedakah, a person transforms from a receiver to a giver. Only when a person becomes a giver does a vessel form within him to receive the power of the tzaddik, who has no personal interest and no intention for himself.
Holy Joy Versus Foreign Fire
The main essence of Purim is "gladness and feasting and a good day." However, one must distinguish between the types of joy. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov explains (Likutey Moharan, Torah 41) that a person can dance and be enthusiastic, but this might be the enthusiasm of a "foreign fire," similar to the sin of Nadav and Avihu.
The true joy of Purim is holy enthusiasm. On Purim, we must feel the holiness within the joy. One who dances out of the enthusiasm of the evil inclination, thinking that Purim is a time for letting loose and wild behavior, is kindling a foreign fire that brings harsh judgments upon himself, Heaven forbid.
In contrast, holy dancing sweetens all the harsh judgments in the world. The external forces (kelipos) take hold of the feet, as it is written:
"Her feet go down to death" (Proverbs 5:5)
Therefore, when a person dances, he must intend to draw holiness and purity upon himself, and thereby he subdues the external forces and merits that his dancing becomes an aspect of "a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to Hashem."
With Resounding Music on the Harp: Dancing with Intellect
King David says:
"Upon a ten-stringed instrument and upon a lute, with resounding music on a harp" (Psalms 92:4)
Dancing and singing must be accompanied by logic, intellect, and awareness (sechel and daas). It is impossible to just dance aimlessly, without intellect. A person must see the intellect that is in everything, as Rebbe Nachman explains in Torah 1, that the intellect is a great light that illuminates a person in all his ways.
Through dancing and singing with awareness, one draws down tremendous intellect. Rebbe Nachman says (Torah 64) that every wisdom has a special melody, and all intellects come from melodies. The more a person plays music and sings in holiness, the more he can draw upon himself intellect and awareness, until he merits to see miracles every day and declare:
"Give thanks to Hashem, call upon His Name, make His deeds known among the nations" (Psalms 105:1)
The Ultimate Clarity of Mind of the Entire Year
Throughout the year, a person is liable to become "drunk" on negative things: drunk on heresy, on controversy, on lashon hara (evil speech), or on arrogance. The drunkenness of Purim comes to do exactly the opposite – to pull us out of all the toxic states of intoxication of the year.
When a person drinks on Purim in holiness, he reaches the ultimate *yishuv hadaas* (clarity of mind). There is no greater yishuv hadaas than what we merit on Purim. This is a clarity of mind that is difficult to attain even on Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, we sit confined to our places in the synagogue, but on Purim, specifically through the singing, dancing, and drinking, a person's true, inner yishuv hadaas is revealed.
This was the secret of Mordechai the Jew. The wicked Haman threatened to destroy and kill, but Mordechai "did not rise nor stir before him." He stood with absolute yishuv hadaas in the face of all the threats. Moharnat (Rebbe Nason of Breslov) explains (Hilchos Shluchin) that Mordechai merited this tremendous clarity of mind in the merit of his toil in Torah. The six garments in which Mordechai went forth:
"in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a wrap of fine linen and purple" (Esther 8:15)
symbolize the six orders of the Mishnah that Mordechai learned with wondrous depth, inside and out, until he merited to become the posek (halachic decisor) of the generation and one who "seeks the good of his people."
Part 1 of 4 — Lesson No. 84