Dr. Victor H. Sasson, President Adar5778/ Feb-Mar 2018

All Bad – Always Bad

"YOU SHALL SURELY OBLITERATE THE MEMORY OF AMALEK FROM UNDER THE HEAVENS"

One of the 613 commandments of the Torah is called "Zakhor" - that is, to mention and thereby remember what Amalek did when the Jewish people left Egypt and crossed safely through the sea. Hashem also commanded that we physically annihilate the nation and all its possessions completely.

What makes this nation so different from all our other enemies that they were singled out for destruction? Our Rabbis explain that although the rule is that even a bad person is not completely wicked – the people of Amalek were totally evil – they were the essence of evil in the world.

After Shaul was anointed as King of the Jews, the prophet Shemuel instructed him to carry out this commandment. He gathered his troops and fought a successful battle but stopped short of completing the task. He did not kill the cattle and left Agag, the King, alive. His misplaced mercy resulted in the birth of Haman – the villain of the Megillah, many centuries later.

Why did Shaul, who was the most righteous Jew, disobey the direct command of Hashem through His prophet? Our sages teach that he questioned the validity of totally wiping out everybody. He had doubts as to whether to destroy healthy sheep. He made calculations that lead him to the wrong conclusions. The lesson is that one should accept the word of Hashem regardless of whether one understands or agrees with the instruction. The numerical value of the letters of the word Amalek is equal to the numerical value of “safek” – doubt. The technique used by one’s evil inclination to get one to violate the Torah is to inject a little question into one’s good sense and slowly build a strong case against the performance of a misvah or for the violation of a restriction. Sin begins with doubt.

The unique treatment of this essentially wicked nation was not meant to be limited to a time when we could identify and destroy the bodies of their people. Even had Shaul destroyed them completely we would still have an eternal command to obliterate Amalek from under the Heavens. How is one to do that today? We don’t know who they are?

A person must realize that evil is manifest in different forms throughout history. One must decipher and identify evil in the world and work to obliterate it. If one were standing in a dark room it would be impossible to physically defeat the darkness or to push it out of the room. To rid oneself of the dark one could, however, light a candle, and the black would be driven away.

On the holiday of Purim, the people reaccepted the Torah with joy. We too have a chance in every generation to recommit to the Torah through study and performance of its misvot. Every word studied and every commandment that is kept lights another candle of truth and drives back the evil from another spot in our World.

That is our task at hand on Purim. Accept Torah joyously. Commit to learn more and at set times. Accept the Word of Hashem without doubt and bring a salvation that is final. The erasure of evil is accomplished by the performance of good.

Happy Purim to all!

Rabbi Raymond Beyda

The custom is to give a Mahasit Hashekel to Sedaka during the month of Adar, or during the second Adar in a leap year. This is to commemorate the half shekel coins that were given during the time of the Bet Hamikdash, towards the purchase of the Korbanot. Although the whole month is acceptable, many have the custom to give the Mahasit Hashekel right before the reading of the Megillah at night. The reason for this is that the Gemara tells us that thezechut of the Mahasit Hashekel protected us from the money that Haman offered Ahashverosh. It is customary to give three half dollar coins to commemorate the three times the word Terumah is mentioned in the chapter dealing with the Mahasit Hashekel.

Parashat Zachor

The Torah commands us to remember what Amalek did to us when he attacked us on our way out of Egypt. This commandment must be fulfilled by reading the Parasha of Zachor from a Sefer Torah. We fulfill this Misvah on Parashat Zachor,the Shabbat before Purim. One should make certain to attend the synagogue that Shabbat and to pay careful attention to this most important reading.

This year Parashat Zachor falls out onFebruary 24th 2018.

Ta’anit Esther

Ta’anit Esther this year falls out on Wednesday, February 28th. The fast begins at 5:20A.M. and ends at 6:15 P.M.We fast to remember that Hashem answers us in the time of our sorrow if we cry out to Him and repent. All healthy adults must fast. Pregnant and nursing women are exempt.

Reading of the Megillah

We read the Megillah twice on Purim, once at night and once in the day.

Men and women are obligated to hear the Megillah.

One should not eat a meal before hearing the reading of the Megillah.

The Megillah must be read from a kosher Megillah scroll.

If the reader is reading from a kosher Megillah, all those listening are yoseh(fulfilling their obligation), even if they do not have a kosher Megillah.

One must listen to every word of the Megillah. If one is unable to hear a word or two he can read it himself, even if he does not have a kosher Megillah in his hand.

One should not talk during the reading of the Megillah.

At night three Berachot are recited before reading the Megillah:

Al Mikrah Megillah

Sheasah Nissim

Sheheheyanu

On Purim day Sheheheyanu is omitted.

One should have in mind that the Beracha of Sheheheyanu is also going on the Misvot of the day such as Mishloah Manot and Matanot Laebyonim.

When reading with a minyan, we recite the beracha ofHarab EtReebenu…etc, after the reading.

Misvot of Purim

Besides the reading of the Megillah, there are three other Misvot we are obligated to do on Purim:Matanot La’ebyonim,Mishloah Manot and Seudat Purim.

Matanot La’ebyonim-one is obligated to give two presents to two poor people(one to each.) The minimum is even a perutah(a few cents) however one should try to give a nice size gift. Our Rabbis suggest the value of a meal.

Mishloah Manot -one is obligated to give two gifts of food to one person. One reason given for this Misvah is that Haman accused the Jewish people of being separate, meaning not united. Mordechai went and gathered all the Jews to bring unity among them. Therefore, on Purim we give presents to promote unity and love among Bene Yisrael. Another reason given is so that there will be a lot of food available for the Purim meal.

Seudat Purim -one is obligated to eat a festive holiday meal on the day of Purim. One does not fulfill his obligation by eating at night.

One should try to eat the Seudat Purim together with family and friends.

HaRambam writes that it is preferable to do more Matanot La’ebyonim than Mishloah Manot,as there is no greater Simha than to make the poor happy. For in doing so, we emulate the Shechina.