The Purim Secret to Invincibility - Ari Abramowitz: The Land of Israel Fellowship

this upcoming porm next week right now we're going to be reading our millas and this feels like a really meaningful porm a significant porm because you know the the historic essence of purm is the marking of a time in which the nation of Israel was facing an existential threat at the hands of a bloodthirsty murderous people it wasn't just hmon it was Hon's people he represented an entire people that were rooting him on it's not just sinir or Khia there's an entire Kamas there's ire Iran there's a bloodthirsty people that were just waiting to wipe out the nation of Israel and the rest of the world either gave their thumbs up or just sat by without really a word to say maybe throwing an occasional sanction at Mori and Esther in the nation of Israel just for having the audacity to exist anyways as we've said before our sages tell us that the only reason that the Book of Esther is included in the Tanakh which you know the Tanakh is the the Torah and the prophets and the writings um the reason the the Book of Esther is in there as opposed to let's say the book of mccabes which is not included that's in something called the Apocrypha it's really outside of the tan is because a book is only included when its prophecy is relevant to the Future and not just relegated to the past and so the day will come when we realize how perfect the events in Persia thousands of years were ago how perfect they were to lay the blueprint for the Redemption in the end of days but I've started see thinking that the holiday of porm is not just celebrated to give us an insight into how things will play out you know in the final showdown not just to ensure us that just as hymon was hanged on the very Gallows that he had just built to hang morai not just to ensure us that the modern day hymans the modern day irans will be undone by the very plans that they are hatching to wipe out Israel perhaps it will be their own nukes that will somehow fall on their own heads I tend to I've always felt like that may it may look something like that you know in some ways those thoughts are you know assuring and strengthening but I think that the Milla doesn't only foreshadow the way things will play out but perhaps even more importantly it tells us how we should be approaching these challenging times it tells us about our strengths and our weaknesses and as we've learned before we are uh we are facing amalik today just as we faced Amal at the very beginning you know it's not for nothing that Amal is called the first of the Nations RIT amim I think the words are and amalik has not really changed much you know they have the same pure unadulterated genocidal goals and desires that they've always had and they have the same exact grievances as well so we know that AMC's first attack on the nation was against the weak and the stragglers this is such an important piece of Torah we're going to do it again here's what it is Deuteronomy 25 uh 17- 18 remember what amalec did to you by the way when you came forth out of Egypt how he met you by the way and struck at your rear all who were weak behind you when you were faint and weary he did not fear God and from this we learn that if we were really fully United as one people under hashem's kingship and our fear was of Hashem and not of Amal of this fearsome Warrior Nation AMC if we feared Hashem more than them then there would have been no weak and weary straggling behind because we would have gone as slow as we needed to go to make sure that the weak aren't falling behind us but they're amongst us they're in our midst if that were the case if we were United in love for each other and with faith in Hashem we would have been invincible and so we see the same attacks throughout history let's look at purm right in his initial character assassination against the Jews to aash ham says that the Jews let's look inside 3: 8 and n and ham said to King aash there is a certain Nation who is scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom and their laws are different from those of every other people and they do not keep the king's laws therefore it is not for the king's profit to tolerate them if it please the king Let It Be decreed that they may be destroyed and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver to the hands of those who have the charge of the business to bring into the king's treasuries so that's the accusation we see that ham uses the words that seem to be repetive even um even redundant you know scattered and dispersed you know aren't those the same thing and so I believe the teaching here I couldn't find a source with such short time but it was just from within me but I'm sure I'm not the first uh there's a teaching here that they are scattered geographically and dispersed meur in Hebrew the word Mead comes from pude that they are divided spiritually and emotionally they're divided in their hearts Haman was saying that not only are we scattered throughout the kingdom geographically but we are a divided people and it seems that Haman was saying he was trying to convey his hope in his faith that due to our scatteredness and even more so our division within our hearts between each other that we are weak and vulnerable and that we can be destroyed you know like Kamas now it's not hopelessness that drives the Jihad that drives Hamas that drives Iran it's not hopelessness it's hope that's what Haman had then he had hope that he could Wipe Out the nation of Israel and the famous mitzvot that are built into the holiday of puram are made exactly for the purpose of remedying this blemish in the nation if we're spiritually vulnerable to Amal when we are divided then we are fortified even Invincible right when we're United and that is is why the Commandment of mish in which we commanded we have the Mitzvah to give packages gift packages it seems trit but it's really not it's quite profound these gift packages all sorts of yummies and treats or fruits if it was tahila fruits and Grains or whatever organic stuff that is what we give out on porum as a matter of fact many people myself actually included have the custom to give these gifts as an opportunity to give those that we may have had some tension with throughout the year and and in order to restore love and harmony to strained relationships right to further unify the nation that's what it's really about and we also have the gifts to the poor for exactly the same reason just as amalik attacked those weakest that struggled in the back behind the stragglers the weak onum we search out those who are weakest and most vulnerable to hold them up and support them and defend them