PUrim - Haman's Problem
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Mishloah Manot, Seudat Purim, paying attention to the reading of the Megillah twice; (at night after the Fast of Esther, in a regular year, but this year the fast is on Thursday March 9, and the reading of the Megillah is Saturday night,) and in the morning Sunday during Shahrit.
The main character of the Megillah on Purim is obviously Haman, the descendant of Amalek. There is a Mitzvah to eradicate the memory of Amalek in The Torah, who represents evil, and evil does exist and we are suppose to recognize it and defeat it.
Haman, as I am sure you all know, was a wicked man - a vicious, hate-ridden psychopath. He was the epitome of what we abhor in a human being; somebody who hates without cause, a person who would go to any length to concretize his hate. In fact, even when it hurt him he persisted and found devious ways to maim and kill, without even thinking of the consequences of his actions. His hate controlled him.
Our history has seen such archetype enemies in practically every generation. We celebrate G-d’s kindness to us for saving us from such horrible, diabolical and hateful enemies, guaranteeing their demise. This is why we celebrate Purim. It is also a reminder that in every generation there is always one, if not many, whose objective is equal to Haman’s evil. In school, children sing a song on Purim: “He was a wicked, wicked, wicked man and Haman was his name.” There is one moment during the reading of the Megillah when we discover Haman’s problem. I don’t feel sorry for him, but I do feel sorry for those who suffer from the same problem.
I feel no remorse for him when he had to parade Mordechai in the streets of the city of Shushan, declaring, “Thus shall be done to the one whom the King delights to honor!” He deserved that disgrace for being such a megalomaniac, for demanding so many honors for himself.
I don’t feel sorry for him when he was hung on the gallows he had prepared for Mordechai. He deserved to hang. He had it coming to him and got what he deserved.
But there is one moment in the story when I do feel sorry for anybody who suffers from the same ailment. That is the moment when Haman becomes Prime Minister, when he was honored by all, when the people of the land bowed down to him, and when he was invited to a private dinner with the King and the Queen and said to his wife: “vechol ze eno shove li” - all this that I have, this wealth, this power, this prestige, is worth nothing to me when I see that Mordechai is sitting in the gate of the King refusing to bow down to me! How can I enjoy what I have when I don’t have him?”
Isn’t that pathetic? Here is a man who has almost everything that a person could ever want in this world and yet he cannot enjoy what he has because there is one thing that he doesn’t have. He is unable to appreciate what he has because he could only focus on and brood upon the one thing that he did not have.
Do you know anyone like that? Do you sometimes feel that way? Do you know someone who has so many blessings and yet cannot enjoy them because of something that he does not have? I do, and I confess that sometimes I feel like that and I struggle with it. I feel good when I conquer those irrational feelings.
I have been to parties in which the hosts could have had so much pleasure. In one example - the wedding was wonderful. The bride and groom seemed so well matched and so deeply in love. The décor and the food were just right. Their families and closest friends were all there. And yet the hosts could not enjoy their event because of one minor misstep. It could’ve been that the ceremony started late, or that the entrée was cold, or the flowers were the wrong color, or someone else was wearing the same dress as the hostess, or any number of things. But the simha, the party, was spoiled because of the one thing that went wrong. And it didn’t matter that everything else went right. This one thing was the spoiler and it was all they could focus on. “Kol ze eno shove li.” Everything else that went right did not matter; all that mattered, all that they focused on, all that they could think about was the one thing that went wrong. How very sad. This was the sin of Haman. Unfortunately many examples like this one abound.
Why did Haman obsess so much over the fact that, even though he had everything, he did not have Mordechai? Who can say? I remember a suggestion I once heard that Haman was so obsessed with Mordechai because he was envious of him. He was envious of Mordechai’s courage. Imagine: the whole country bows down to him, and this man, Mordechai, is not afraid to refuse to bow down. How inwardly secure this man must be! Haman probably thought to himself: Could I do what this man does? Could I be so brave as to refuse to bow down to a ruler because it goes against my principles? I doubt it. My whole life is involved in being obsequious to those above me and crushing those below me. I don’t think I could do what this man, Mordechai, does, and that is why it drives me mad whenever I see him. Everything I have—all the power and prestige and wealth, health, status and honor that I have means nothing to me whenever I see Mordechai, for he has one thing I don’t have, the courage of his convictions and that drives me mad with envy.
This is a great lesson for all of us, we should be very grateful for all our blessings, and we should know that there will always be somebody out there better off than us, or are they?, it all depends on our attitude, we must always be positive and be thankful for our blessings, and that is always the source of our happiness or our misery.
Purim Allegre para todos “Purim Sameach”
The main character of the Megillah on Purim is obviously Haman, the descendant of Amalek. There is a Mitzvah to eradicate the memory of Amalek in The Torah, who represents evil, and evil does exist and we are suppose to recognize it and defeat it.
Haman, as I am sure you all know, was a wicked man - a vicious, hate-ridden psychopath. He was the epitome of what we abhor in a human being; somebody who hates without cause, a person who would go to any length to concretize his hate. In fact, even when it hurt him he persisted and found devious ways to maim and kill, without even thinking of the consequences of his actions. His hate controlled him.
Our history has seen such archetype enemies in practically every generation. We celebrate G-d’s kindness to us for saving us from such horrible, diabolical and hateful enemies, guaranteeing their demise. This is why we celebrate Purim. It is also a reminder that in every generation there is always one, if not many, whose objective is equal to Haman’s evil. In school, children sing a song on Purim: “He was a wicked, wicked, wicked man and Haman was his name.” There is one moment during the reading of the Megillah when we discover Haman’s problem. I don’t feel sorry for him, but I do feel sorry for those who suffer from the same problem.
I feel no remorse for him when he had to parade Mordechai in the streets of the city of Shushan, declaring, “Thus shall be done to the one whom the King delights to honor!” He deserved that disgrace for being such a megalomaniac, for demanding so many honors for himself.
I don’t feel sorry for him when he was hung on the gallows he had prepared for Mordechai. He deserved to hang. He had it coming to him and got what he deserved.
But there is one moment in the story when I do feel sorry for anybody who suffers from the same ailment. That is the moment when Haman becomes Prime Minister, when he was honored by all, when the people of the land bowed down to him, and when he was invited to a private dinner with the King and the Queen and said to his wife: “vechol ze eno shove li” - all this that I have, this wealth, this power, this prestige, is worth nothing to me when I see that Mordechai is sitting in the gate of the King refusing to bow down to me! How can I enjoy what I have when I don’t have him?”
Isn’t that pathetic? Here is a man who has almost everything that a person could ever want in this world and yet he cannot enjoy what he has because there is one thing that he doesn’t have. He is unable to appreciate what he has because he could only focus on and brood upon the one thing that he did not have.
Do you know anyone like that? Do you sometimes feel that way? Do you know someone who has so many blessings and yet cannot enjoy them because of something that he does not have? I do, and I confess that sometimes I feel like that and I struggle with it. I feel good when I conquer those irrational feelings.
I have been to parties in which the hosts could have had so much pleasure. In one example - the wedding was wonderful. The bride and groom seemed so well matched and so deeply in love. The décor and the food were just right. Their families and closest friends were all there. And yet the hosts could not enjoy their event because of one minor misstep. It could’ve been that the ceremony started late, or that the entrée was cold, or the flowers were the wrong color, or someone else was wearing the same dress as the hostess, or any number of things. But the simha, the party, was spoiled because of the one thing that went wrong. And it didn’t matter that everything else went right. This one thing was the spoiler and it was all they could focus on. “Kol ze eno shove li.” Everything else that went right did not matter; all that mattered, all that they focused on, all that they could think about was the one thing that went wrong. How very sad. This was the sin of Haman. Unfortunately many examples like this one abound.
Why did Haman obsess so much over the fact that, even though he had everything, he did not have Mordechai? Who can say? I remember a suggestion I once heard that Haman was so obsessed with Mordechai because he was envious of him. He was envious of Mordechai’s courage. Imagine: the whole country bows down to him, and this man, Mordechai, is not afraid to refuse to bow down. How inwardly secure this man must be! Haman probably thought to himself: Could I do what this man does? Could I be so brave as to refuse to bow down to a ruler because it goes against my principles? I doubt it. My whole life is involved in being obsequious to those above me and crushing those below me. I don’t think I could do what this man, Mordechai, does, and that is why it drives me mad whenever I see him. Everything I have—all the power and prestige and wealth, health, status and honor that I have means nothing to me whenever I see Mordechai, for he has one thing I don’t have, the courage of his convictions and that drives me mad with envy.
This is a great lesson for all of us, we should be very grateful for all our blessings, and we should know that there will always be somebody out there better off than us, or are they?, it all depends on our attitude, we must always be positive and be thankful for our blessings, and that is always the source of our happiness or our misery.
Purim Allegre para todos “Purim Sameach”
