DRESS REHEARSAL Shalom Orzach
Both Purim and Pesach invite us to party ! Yet there is a subtext which cannot be overlooked or mistaken . Purim initiates a period of ( soul ) searching . We seek to accomplish this through dressing up , where the real purpose and person is hidden and needs to be sought after , to reveal their true calling / identity . “ Lehitchapes ” to dress up is the reflexive form of “ lechapes ”, to search . The introspective period continues with Pesach where it is conveyed through the ritual of searching ( for the Chametz ). The ritual that is begun , ם י ש ו ל ש ג
ח ה ת ו כ ל ה ב ם י ש ר ו ד ו ם י ל א ו ש ג ח ה ם ד ו ק ם ו י
, thirty days before the Festival of Pesach , when one is invited or directed to delve into the practical , but more philosophical aspects of the Festival . Thirty days prior to Pesach is Purim .
There is a curious passage in Talmud Chulin , 139b where the following question is posed , ן י נ מ ה ר ו ת ה ן מ ן מ
ה How do we know that Haman is alluded to in the Torah ? The Talmud answers bringing a “ proof text ” from Bereishit 3:11 ץ ע ה ן מ ה
. From this tree , ( the tree of knowledge of good and bad ) which God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat from … they ate . The three lettered word heh , mem , nun , meaning something else entirely is brought to make the case . A similar exercise is carried out to show that Esther and Mordechai are also alluded to in the texts of the Torah . What is the purpose of this esoteric endeavor ?
Perhaps in seeking to clarify the status of the megillah , the Talmud is endorsing that in a sense this “ new ” addition to the Canon of the Tanakh is rooted in the Torah itself and thus its inclusion is sanctioned . But clearly the dilemma is more acute . It begs to grasp how it is conceivable that such abhorrent evil can be rooted in the Torah , that this possibility is given credence and sanction . The excruciating question then
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