Dear OZ family,
Ramban begins his comments to Masechet Megillah with an observation that the last time that Haman is mentioned in Megillat Esther, he is referred to as the enemy of all the Jews, “Tzorer kol HaYehudim”. Earlier in the book, he had been called “Tzorer HaYehudim” and he was likely the leader of a group called “Tzarei Yehudah”, referenced in the books of Ezra and Nechemiah, who were active in preventing the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple. They did succeed for some time, as Ezra refers to a Persian king named Achashverosh who caused the rebuilding effort to cease. The Tzarei Yehudah claimed that they weren’t against all the Jews, just the bad ones who were more interested in Israel than in Persia. History rhymes again as many people claim not be against Jews per se, only against the Zionist Jews. Anti-Zionism has been the new Anti-Semitism for some time, but make no mistake, they hate us as much as the Tzarei Yehudah did so many years ago. Haman is called Tzorer Kol Hayehudim, in order to reveal the fallacy that haters will only hate some of us if the rest of us behave. That didn’t work in Germany last century, and it doesn’t work with Amnesty International today, which you’d see if you read their recent report about Israel.
But we have the antidote. Haman was defeated because we banded together. Esther felt strengthened that her plan would work because she knew she had Kol HaYehudim behind her. She appeared before Achashverosh, bolstered by the merit of the fasting and Teshuva of her people, who finally realized that enjoying the king’s festival, partaking fully in the trappings of Persian society, and outwardly showing that we are more Persian than Jewish, does not enamor us unto the haters. Let us prefer to join as one in kindness, in chesed, in prayer, and in Mitzvos. Surely this is much more powerful than the way our enemies join us as one in their hatred. We know the truth that the King before whom Esther appeared after fasting for 3 days was actually Hashem, who assured that the unity we demonstrated would defeat the evil plan that Haman had against Kol HaYehudim.
I’m so sorry to add to my message that we just heard that the Gadol Hador in Israel, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, passed away just before Shabbos in Israel, at the age of 94. He and his wife accepted visits from hundreds upon hundreds of people on a daily basis, who came to ask important questions, to receive a bracha, or advice. In between these visits, he finished Shas Bavli, Yerushalmi, Rambam and Shulchan Aruch on an annual basis and made a siyum on all that and more every Erev Pesach. He was larger than life for so many Israelis. I visited him on numerous occasions, and he wrote a haskama on my first book, and I saw the spectacle of people lining up for hundreds of yards to get to see him for a few moments, at all hours of the day. The Levaya will be after Shabbos in B’nei Brak. May his memory be a blessing for our people.
Stay well. Be healthy. Be excellent.
Rabbi Allen Schwartz
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Rabbi Allen Schwartz
Congregation Ohab Zedek
118 West 95th Street
New York, NY 10025-6604
Phone 212.749-5150, ext 200
E-mail ras@ozny.org
Website: www.ozny.org
