Wake Up

King Solomon says that “as water reflects a face, so does the heart of man to man”.  

As much as we attempt to run away from it, the truth comes back; how you approach others and your attitude towards others comes back to you.  

If it is true with fellow Human beings it is even more so with Hashem.  How we approach Hashem, our attitude towards Him comes back to us.  If you haven’t seen this in your life, perhaps you need to open your eyes wider.

In the Purim story (which we will read and celebrate next Monday evening and Tuesday day) at the beginning of Chapter 6, the reader raises his voice and reads of the fitful sleep of King Achashveirosh.  Our Sages say that this is where the miracle really took root and began.  

The Megillah is the only book in Jewish Scripture that doesn’t have mention of Hashem’s name.  The reason for this is that the entire story of Purim is a depiction and a lesson for the Human journey.  The journey where the Divine is not obvious in our lives and we need to search to uncover it.

And so the story of the Megillah must be read on a deeper level to extract the real message.

When the king was approached by Haman to destroy the Jews he said “Yeshno am echad”.  There is one nation.  He then proceeds to say that the Jewish people have strange practices and they don’t integrate with the populace.  The kings fitful sleep in Hebrew is “Nadidah Shnas Hamelech”.  You’ll notice the common root word. 

Our Sages say that the Jews were sleeping in their spiritual service to Hashem.  As such, the reflection from above symbolized by the king – in this case the King Above – was that He was sleeping – like water reflects a face…

The Jewish People had immense self sacrifice not to capitulate to Haman’s terms of integration and idol worship.  This awakening of the Jewish heart caused an awakening by Hashem, the King of all Kings as reflected in the king below.

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The Jewish G-d is a very personal G-d.  Like any other relationship, when we invest in it we reap the rewards and the response we year for.  Our relationship with Hashem is the same.  When we are awake in our relationship with Hashem, He responds with love and an awakened response.

This Purim, let’s wake up together, a little bit more Mitzvah, a little bit more Torah, a little bit more Jewish community unity.  Hashem will surely respond as the heart of man to man.

Good Shabbos and Happy Purim! Hope to celebrate with you!