VOLUME 114 NUMBER 8
Adar 7, 5785
March 7, 2025
Parshas Tetzaveh/Parshas Zachor
Candlelighting Time 5:41
The Shabbos preceding Purim which falls out at the end of next week, Friday is auspicious. Although in the Haftarah we remind ourselves of King Saul’s failure to eradicate Amalek, we read the special parsha urging and motivating us to fulfill the obligation to destroy any remnant of that evil nation. One may assume that of course we alert ourselves to our responsibility since Mordechai and Esther eliminated Haman a descendant of Amalek at this time of the year during the Purim story. Surely it is appropriate to assess this mitzvah within the context of this historical period. But it is actually valid to wonder why indeed the episode of the demise of Haman and his henchmen occurred now and not sometime other during the year.
We read in Megilas Esther that the name Purim is derived from the draw that Haman arranged to figure out the best time to kill the Jews. Besides the fact the month he chose was when Moshe was born, a boost for our nation, additionally, the month of Adar is well known to be a time of simcha and good luck for us. Therefore, if at any time we had extra merit to fight and win against Amalek/Haman, now was that time. S’fas Emes points out that Edom, from where Amalek is descended cannot coexist with the Jewish people. Either we are on top or they are. Subsequently, since Adar is the most favorable time for our nation, essentially we had an advantage against Amalek and now is the time to encourage our nation to continue its mission to demolish and eliminate Amalek. Therefore, to inspire us with that said task, we again read that parsha in the Torah that spurs us on.
Our level of simcha is such that as we proceed into the month of Nisan, we long for and desire to be able to draw near to Hashem which in turn leads to the eradication of Amalek. They were an impediment to achieving our very important goal in life to uplift and elevate ourselves. The closer we come to Hashem the more we actually destroy Amalek, the antithesis to our nation’s achieving perfection and excellence. Therefore, the mitzvah to inspire us to destroy Amalek is read on Shabbos. Shabbos is the ultimate day of impetus as we dwell only on the spiritual aspects of our lives further distancing ourselves from the physical realm where in which Amalek actually thrives.
S’fas Emes adds an incredible insight stating that every Shabbos we truly accomplish somewhat an eradication of Amalek. Shabbos gives us a taste of the World to Come and in that dimension Amalek with its minions of impurity does not exist. As we observe Shabbos not only in a superficial sense but accessing the depths of spirituality that Shabbos offers us to partake of, we are exalted and enriched and at that height the forces of the contaminant Amalek have no domination.
With this strength of mind and conviction we approach the Yom Tov of Purim geared and ready to draw from its deep wealth of bolstering and inducement to reach the true heights of sanctity that Purim comprises.
A BYTE FOR SHABBOS
The parsha of the Menorah is next to the mitzvah of the garments that the Kohanim wore. Is there a connection between the two? Actually, the garments of the Kohanim exerted an influence of rectification upon the individual and the oil used in the Menorah was very pure. The influence of the integrity of the oil combined with the sanctity of the garments gave the entire nation an impetus to struggle to attain those levels of spirituality so needed by our people. S’FAS EMES
GOOD SHABBOS
