A Taste of Torah in honor of Shabbat
from Rabbi Avi Weiss
Parshat Vayikra
March 17-18, 2000 / 11 Adar II 5760
A Purim Reflection
THE CAPACITY TO CHANGE IN THE FACE
OF POWERFUL ODDS
Fundamental to the idea of the korban, which we
begin reading about this week, is the power to change oneself. After
all the term korban come from the word karov, meaning coming closer
to God. Yet change is not easily accomplished. On its
most basic level, the process involves a belief that one has the capacity
to transform.
This capacity is implicit in the Purim story. Note how Queen Esther
undergoes a fundamental metamorphosis in chapter four of the Megillah.
When told that Mordechai was in sack cloth, she wonders why. (Esther
4:4-5) At that point, Esther does not even know that the Jewish
people had been threatened. She had become so insulated in the
palace of the King that she did not feel the plight of her fellow Jew.
Furthermore, when asked by Mordechai to intercede on behalf of the Jewish
people, she refuses, claiming that the rules of the palace did not allow
her to come before the King. (Esther 4:7-11)
Yet, when Mordechai rebukes her, declaring that she too would not be able
to escape the evil decree, perhaps the most powerful moment of the
Megillah takes place. Esther courageously declares that she would
come before the King, even if it means that she would perish. (Esther
4:13-16)
Esther's Hebrew name was Hadassah. Once she
becomes Queen, she adopts the Persian name Esther. This name, which
means "hidden," reminds us that at the outset of her rulership,
she abides by Mordechai's request to hide her Jewish identity. (Esther
2:20) But, as the narrative in chapter four reveals, she returns to
her roots. At a key moment she is ready to speak out
powerfully on behalf of her people. Esther provides an important
example of how change is possible.
Rabbi David Silber notes that one of the smallest words found in the
Megillah, dat, is used often and teaches an important lesson about Purim.
Dat means law. In Persia, the law was immutable, it could never
change. And so, when Vashti refused to come before the King,
Ahaveirosh asks, "according to the law (dat) what shall be done to
Queen Vashti. (Megillah 1:15) And when it is decided that a
new Queen be selected, the Megillah once again uses the term dat-the law
of selection. (Megillah 2:8) And when Haman accuses the Jews
of not keeping the King's laws, again the word dat is used. (Megillah 3:8)
Indeed, the decree that the Jews be killed is also referred to as dat. (Megillah
3:14-15)
Even when told of Haman's plan to destroy the Jews, Ahaveirosh declares
that he cannot change the prior decree that the Jews be killed. (Megillah
8:8) The law, must remain. All Ahaveirosh could do is allow
the introduction of a new dat, a new law that stands in contradiction to,
but cannot take the place of the first. (Megillah 8:13)
Rabbi Silber points out that not coincidentally, when Esther agreed to
come before Ahaveirosh, she declares, "I will go to the king contrary
to the law (lo khe-dat)." (Esther 4:16) Esther had been so
transformed that she is prepared to defy the immutable law of Persia.
The confluence of this week's portion and the Megillah reminds all of us
of capacity to forge a new destiny even in the face of seemingly
impossible obstacles.
Shabbat Shalom
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Rabbi Avi Weiss, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale
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