Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir
“Go gather together all the Jews” (Esther 4:16)
Esther asks Mordechai, “Go gather together all the Jews.” On the surface, Mordechai’s mission seems to be to gather together and unify all of the Jews, who appear to Haman as “a people scattered and dispersed among the nations” (Esther 3:8). This task seems impossible. Is it really possible to gather together and unify all the Jews? After all, there are so many differences and so many opinions, so many streams, and parties. How is it possible to gather together and unite them all? What is the secret of unity?
Where does one find the strength to gather together and unite the Jewish People? Is it only our fear of Haman’s decrees in the past, or threats to the Jewish People in the present, that can unite us all? The secret of uniting all of the Jews is to return to ourselves, to return to our roots. The root of a tree is where all the divergent branches unite, and so, too, in the roots of the Jewish People, we can find what unites and binds us. Surely we all possess one Father, and our whole nation has one destiny. It is just that the tree’s root is hiding in the ground, and only the branches are visible to the eye.
This is alluded to by the expression “Megilat Esther.” On the one hand, the word “megilah” is linked to the word “gilui,” meaning “revelation.” On the other hand, the word “Esther” is linked to the word “hester,” meaning “concealment.” It is the same with the human body, whose many limbs and organs are visible to the naked eye, whereas the soul, which is hidden, unites all the limbs and organs together. It is likewise the same with the Jewish People. All of us together possess one soul, down through the generations.
Right now, the more we delve and ponder and study, to clarify and know our roots, going back to our forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, the more we will find what unites us. We will find ourselves and our private and universal destiny, and we will march together up the winding path to complete redemption, as G-d promised Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation... You shall become a blessing.... All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Bereisheet 12:2). Then, all together, we will merit the “new light that will shine upon Tzion.”
Longing for redemption,
With the Love of Israel,
Shabbat Shalom,
Purim Sameach.
Esther asks Mordechai, “Go gather together all the Jews.” On the surface, Mordechai’s mission seems to be to gather together and unify all of the Jews, who appear to Haman as “a people scattered and dispersed among the nations” (Esther 3:8). This task seems impossible. Is it really possible to gather together and unify all the Jews? After all, there are so many differences and so many opinions, so many streams, and parties. How is it possible to gather together and unite them all? What is the secret of unity?
Where does one find the strength to gather together and unite the Jewish People? Is it only our fear of Haman’s decrees in the past, or threats to the Jewish People in the present, that can unite us all? The secret of uniting all of the Jews is to return to ourselves, to return to our roots. The root of a tree is where all the divergent branches unite, and so, too, in the roots of the Jewish People, we can find what unites and binds us. Surely we all possess one Father, and our whole nation has one destiny. It is just that the tree’s root is hiding in the ground, and only the branches are visible to the eye.
This is alluded to by the expression “Megilat Esther.” On the one hand, the word “megilah” is linked to the word “gilui,” meaning “revelation.” On the other hand, the word “Esther” is linked to the word “hester,” meaning “concealment.” It is the same with the human body, whose many limbs and organs are visible to the naked eye, whereas the soul, which is hidden, unites all the limbs and organs together. It is likewise the same with the Jewish People. All of us together possess one soul, down through the generations.
Right now, the more we delve and ponder and study, to clarify and know our roots, going back to our forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, the more we will find what unites us. We will find ourselves and our private and universal destiny, and we will march together up the winding path to complete redemption, as G-d promised Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation... You shall become a blessing.... All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Bereisheet 12:2). Then, all together, we will merit the “new light that will shine upon Tzion.”
Longing for redemption,
With the Love of Israel,
Shabbat Shalom,
Purim Sameach.
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