Tag Archives: Megillat Esther

Iran, Mossad, and Mashiach

This week’s parasha, Shlach, begins with the infamous episode of the Spies. Moses sends a dozen spies to scout the Holy Land in preparation for the Israelite conquest. Of the twelve, ten return frightened and pessimistic, convincing their fellow Israelites to abandon any hopes of settling in God’s Promised Land. The result is a delay in the Redemption, and forty years in the Wilderness. After this failure in espionage, one would think we wouldn’t hear of spies in the Torah anymore. Yet, there are at least five more cases of Israelite espionage in Tanakh including, amazingly, one just a few chapters later:

Amidst a series of Israelite conquests on the east side of the Jordan River, we read how Moses himself sends another set of spies in preparation for the capture of Ya’azer (Numbers 21:32). Here, the spies not only do their job properly, but engage in battle behind enemy lines, conquering the city all on their own! Rashi comments here that they did this deliberately to not falter like the previous spies. The Maskil LeDavid (Rabbi David Pardo of Venice, 1719-1792) adds that the spies here did a genuine tikkun, a spiritual rectification, for the sin of the previous spies.

I believe that tradition has continued into the present day, with the incredible work of Israel’s secret service, the Mossad. The operations they have been able to accomplish in recent years in particular have been mind-blowing, whether the Hezbollah pagers last year or the current set of events in the war with Iran. Over the past three years, Mossad agents covertly smuggled into Iran a variety of drones and precision weapons, secretly stationing them near key Iranian military sites and air defense systems. Last week, they were finally activated, knocking out Iran’s ability to defend itself from the air, and laying the stage for Israel’s complete air superiority over the country. Like the spies in Ya’azer, one might similarly see the work of Mossad today as something of a rectification for the old Sin of the Spies. While the first spies in parashat Shlach failed to do what it took to inspire, settle, and protect the people of Israel in their own land, today’s Mossad spies are doing just that. It is therefore quite fitting that the founder of Mossad and its first spy chief was Reuven Shiloach (שילוח‎) whose name shares a root with this week’s parasha (שלח) of spies!

Reuben Shiloach

Reuven Shiloach (1909-1959) was born Reuven Zaslansky in Jerusalem, the son of a Haredi rabbi from Lithuania. In his teenage years, he was drawn to secular Zionism, learned Arabic, and went to teacher’s college. He joined the Haganah and soon started to work for its nascent intelligence service. He was given the code name “Shiloach” and was sent on his first mission in 1932 to Iraq, where he enrolled as a student at the University of Baghdad. After several Iraq missions, he was stationed in Lebanon and Syria, and later assisted British Intelligence and the CIA’s precursor, the OSS, during World War II.

Soon after the State of Israel was established, David Ben-Gurion sought to create an official intelligence agency, and tasked Shiloach with the job. Shiloach put together a plan for a “Coordination Bureau” to work together with Shin Bet and Aman (the IDF’s intelligence unit). It soon evolved into its own distinct institution, one that reports only to the Prime Minister of Israel. The Mossad’s original motto was drawn from King Solomon’s wise words in Proverbs 24:6, “For by stratagems you wage war.” It was later changed to Proverbs 11:14, “Without stratagems, an army falls; but victory comes with much planning.” Indeed, the Mossad’s work has been absolutely instrumental in Israel’s many victories.

Mossad’s logo, with motto from Proverbs.

Remembering Amalek

It’s not only the beginning of this week’s parasha that informs present-day events, but the last passage, too. Here we read of the mitzvah of tzitzit, and the necessity of including a blue thread of tekhelet. The Torah says “and you shall see it, and remember all of God’s commandments” (Numbers 15:39). The Zohar (III, 175b) points out that the same language is used in another place, when the Torah tell us to “remember what Amalek did to you” (Deuteronomy 25:17). What’s the connection?

The Zohar teaches that it is when we do not observe God’s commandments, and break His “fences”, that retribution comes by way of Amalek. Indeed, we read in this week’s parasha that in the immediate aftermath of the Sin of the Spies, “Amalekites and Canaanites, who were dwelling on the mountain, came down and smote them and crushed them, pursuing them until Chormah.” (Numbers 14:45) Failing to heed Hashem led directly to being attacked by Amalek!

Amalek appears several more times in Tanakh, the last and most famous of which is the Purim account. Here, the villain is Haman the Agagite, a direct descendant of Amalek, who takes control of the Persian Empire and seeks to destroy the Jews. We find ourselves in the same situation today, where it is a corrupt, totalitarian Persian government once again seeking the destruction of Israel. Haman, Khameini—even the names haven’t changed much. In the Purim story, everything turned on its head quite suddenly, v’nahafokh hu. And we are on the cusp of the same now. In the Megillah (8:9), we read that it was on the 23rd of Sivan that Mordechai wrote new directives to all the Persian provinces, calling for everyone to rise up against the wicked followers of Haman. In our case, the 23rd of Sivan begins tonight, with reports of Khameini having already fled and in hiding.

Persia in Prophecy

It is worth remembering a couple of ancient prophecies about the Final Redemption: One is Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s statement that “when you see Persian horses tied to graves in Israel, expect the footsteps of Mashiach.” (Shir haShirim Rabbah 8:9) In other words, when Persian weaponry is causing deaths in Israel, God forbid, one should know the Geulah is near. And another, more specific and detailed Midrash (explored in a number of shiurim in the past, such as this one), which says that “in the year that the King Mashiach will come” there will be conflict between Persia and Arabia, and then Persia will unleash its forces in an attempt to destroy Israel (Yalkut Shimoni II, 499). The Midrash describes that things will unfortunately get quite terrible, and Israel will cry out to God: “where do we go from here?” But then God will comfort us and remind us that all that happens is part of His master plan, and He did it all for us. The Geulah is indeed right around the corner.

In light of these prophecies being realized right before our eyes, what is there left for us to do, besides strengthening our faith and resolve? First, let us not fail like they did with the Spies in this week’s parasha; let us remain united as a people and take care of each other, with a clear and singular vision. Let us reinforce settlement of our Promised Land, and fully support our brave soldiers, spies, and air force pilots who guarantee it. There is nothing to fear, and things will shift very quickly for the better, as they did with Persia over two millennia ago.

We can draw a few more pieces of advice from this week’s parasha: First is the significance of Shabbat, as we read about the grave consequences of violating God’s holy day.  Second is the mitzvah of challah, introduced in this week’s parasha. While in ancient times, challah was specifically a gift to the kohanim who served in the Temple, today we associate “challah” bread with Shabbat, too. Our Sages famously tell us (Shabbat 118b) that if the entire Jewish people kept just one Shabbat collectively, all of Israel’s oppressors would be gone; and if we kept two consecutive Shabbats together, the Final Redemption would come immediately. In fact, the Talmud here echoes the Zohar in pointing out that as soon as Shabbat was first breached in Exodus 16:27, the very next thing is “And Amalek came and fought with Israel…” in Exodus 17:8. We mustn’t forget that our covenant with God is tied directly to Shabbat, so now is the best time to reinforce our commitment to observing Hashem’s holy day. Just one proper Shabbat and Amalek will be defeated for good.

Finally, for those who have not yet taken on wearing tzitzit with tekhelet, now is the opportune time to do so, and to remember daily not only God’s mitzvot but also, as the Zohar says, the tekhelet of God’s sapphire throne, and of King David’s throne, and the throne of Mashiach whom we will hopefully greet very soon.

Queen Esther’s Kabbalah

Revealing the hidden wisdom in the Book of Esther. Along the way, we explore the Seven Prophetess of Israel, the Ten Sefirot, the mysterious “Erev Rav”, and Esther’s incredible prophecy of the Nuremberg Trials. Plus: why is the number three so important in Judaism, and what is the deeper meaning behind the triangle and the Star of David?

For the previous class on ‘King Solomon’s Kabbalah’, see here.
For more ‘Secrets of Purim’, see here.

Seven Prophetesses of Israel

‘Deborah’ by Gustav Doré

This week’s parasha, Tetzave, continues with the description of the construction of the Mishkan and its holy vessels. The walls of the Mishkan were held up by 48 pillars of acacia wood, plus 7 lintel beams. The Ba’al haTurim (Rabbi Yakov ben Asher, 1269-1343) comments on Exodus 26:15 that the 48 pillars correspond to the 48 male prophets named in Tanakh. The 7 lintels, meanwhile, correspond to the seven generations between Abraham and Moses. This second comment is strange since we would expect the Ba’al haTurim to instead say that the 48 pillars correspond to the 48 male prophets while the 7 lintels correspond to the 7 female prophetess, as enumerated by our Sages. We are taught in the Talmud (Megillah 14a) that the Seven Prophetesses of Israel were Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther. Of course, there were other female prophetesses in ancient Israel, just as there were many more than 48 male prophets. These 55 are specifically mentioned because we actually have their prophecies recorded, or because they are explicitly referred to as “prophets” in Tanakh (as Miriam is in Exodus 15:20).

The Seven Prophetesses are particularly special because they are sometimes described as being even greater than their male counterparts. For instance, when Abraham turned to God concerned about Sarah’s plans, God told him to listen to Sarah and do as she says (Genesis 21:12). Deborah is described as being greater than Barak, and Hannah more in tune than Eli the kohen gadol. Amazingly, Rav Yitzchak Ginsburgh points out that when the Torah says there will be more great prophets in the future like Moses to lead the people (Deuteronomy 18:15), the gematria of that entire phrase (נָבִיא מִקִּרְבְּךָ מֵאַחֶיךָ כָּמֹנִי יָקִים לְךָ יהוה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֵלָיו תִּשְׁמָעוּן) is 1839, exactly equal to the value of the names of the Seven Prophetesses! (שָׂרָה מִרְיָם דְּבוֹרָה חַנָּה אֲבִיגַיִל חֻלְדָּה אֶסְתֵּר) That might explain why the 7 lintels lie “above” the 48 pillars, as if implying that the female prophetess were greater than the male ones. What exactly was so great about them?

Sarah’s prophecies ensured that Isaac would inherit the covenant and continue the divine line started by Abraham. Miriam inspired her parents to reunite after their separation, resulting in the birth of Moses. She later guided baby Moses in the river and ensured his survival. There would be no Moses without Miriam! Deborah saved Israel from the cruel subjugation of Sisera, and composed one of history’s ten divine songs. From Hannah we learn how to pray (Berakhot 30b-31b), and Abigail taught us about the afterlife (including terms like kaf hakelah and tzror hachayim). Huldah foresaw the destruction of Judah at the time of King Yoshiyahu (and it is possible this prophecy resulted in the pre-emptive move to save the Ark of the Covenant and hide it for the distant future). Esther saved the Jewish people from near-extinction, and produced one of the 24 books of Tanakh.

The Sefirot of “Mochin” above (in blue) and the Sefirot of the “Middot” below (in red).

We can further parallel the Seven Prophetesses to each of the seven lower Sefirot (as all things seven in Creation are connected, and emerge from the lower Seven). Miriam embodied the waters of Chessed, taking care of her little brother, nurturing him as an infant, and later providing all the Israelites with water in the Wilderness through her miraculous well. It is specifically by the waters of the Red Sea that the Torah calls her a prophetess. Sarah, on the other hand, was Gevurah, representing severity and judgement. She made the tough call to expel Hagar and Ishmael. While Abraham was the man of Chessed, Sarah was clearly his Gevurah counterpart. (In the next generation it was flipped, with Isaac embodying Gevurah and his wife Rebecca representing Chessed—introduced in the Torah as carrying a water jug on her shoulders and kindly providing abundant waters to the camels of Eliezer.) Deborah was the judge and Torah scholar, the greatest halakhic authority of her day, personifying Tiferet, the source of Torah and emet, “truth”.

Abigail taught us about eternal life—the eternity of Netzach. She introduces us to the transmigrations of the soul following death, calling it kaf hakelah, which the Zohar (II, 99b) explains means that the soul is flung from one body to another, from one reincarnation to another, like a stone flung from a sling. The Arizal (Rabbi Itzhak Luria, 1534-1572) gives the same explanation for kaf hakelah in Sha’ar haGilgulgim (Ch. 22). Incredibly, he reveals that Abigail was herself a reincarnation of Leah! (Ch. 36) Her original husband Naval was a reincarnation of Lavan, while David had a spark of Jacob. Just as Jacob worked for Lavan, David worked for Naval. And just as Lavan cheated Jacob out of his wages, Naval did the same to David. The tikkun here was that Jacob did not wish to marry Leah, and she always felt secondary and unloved. This was rectified with Abigail, as David did indeed wish to marry her and gave her the attention she deserved. Nor was there any trick in getting David to marry Abigail, which is what had happened previously with Lavan tricking Jacob into marrying Leah.

Hannah taught us lehodot, to acknowledge Hashem and to be grateful. She sang a majestic prayer-song of thanksgiving. This is, of course, the Sefirah of Hod. The result of her prayers was Samuel, who went on to anoint the first kings of Israel. Huldah foresaw the destruction of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Judah due to the violation of the covenant, the brit associated with foundational Yesod. She lived in Jerusalem (II Kings 22:14), the place of the “Foundation Stone”, even hashetiyah. In fact, the southern wall of the Temple Mount has an ancient gate referred to as the “Huldah Gate”. Huldah also relayed to King Yoshiyahu that he will be spared destruction and die in peace (II Kings 22:20) because of his genuine teshuvah and rectification of his brit. The Talmud (Megillah 14b) says Huldah was a descendant of Rahav, who had an immoral past and rectified her own sphere of Yesod, meriting to marry Joshua and become the mother of many great prophets and figures, including Jeremiah and Neriah.

Finally, Esther is the embodiment of a queen, the final “feminine” Sefirah of Malkhut. In fact, the word “Malkhut” appears ten times in the Megillah, more than in any other book of Tanakh! And we read in Esther 2:17 that “The king loved Esther more than all the other women… so he set a royal crown [keter malkhut] on her head and made her queen…” Recall the teaching of our Sages that when the Megillah mentions “the king” without a name or qualifier, it can also be read as referring to The King, to Hashem. And so, it is as if God Himself crowned Esther with Malkhut.

In these ways, the seven lower Sefirot parallel the Seven Prophetesses, who attained divine inspiration on the highest levels, and ensured the survival of Israel and Judaism throughout the centuries.