פרשת תצוה וענייני פורים
This week’s Parsha ends off with the commandment to construct a golden alter in addition to the copper one which had already been commanded. This Golden Alter was to be placed inside the “Kodesh” directly opposite the Holy Arc. On this alter, God commanded us to offer up the incense on a daily basis, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The Zohar comments that this offering was extremely coveted by God and was the most essential task in the entire Mishkan! One can’t help but wonder at the incredible significance the Torah seems to place on this particular offering and additionally, why it needed its own alter and couldn’t be done on one of the already existing alters.
Perhaps we may begin by invoking the words of the כלי יקר on this week’s Parsha. The K’li Yakar explains why there needed to be two different alters and the reason for the specific placement of those alters. He introduces his piece by explaining that every sin has two different components to it. There is the first component of the sin which is committed by the body, such as forbidden food and drink, and then there is the more refined aspect of the sin which was committed by the mind and soul and the forbidden pleasure begot by those parts. For the animalistic aspect of the sin, it is sufficient to offer up an animal on the alter, as this is the most appropriate form of atonement which accurately represents this part of the sin. Additionally, this alter is located outside of the holy area because this facet of the sin did not really affect the deeper holier part of the human being. Whereas the component of the sin which is performed by the mind, and has a corrosive insidious affect on the most sacred part of a person, his very core, it would not be fitting to offer up an animal for atonement because an animal doesn’t even possess this module in its makeup. Instead, we offer up a sweet smelling incense, which is a more spiritual offering, as the Gemora ברכות, מ”ג explains, “What is an example of something spiritual which the Soul enjoys and not the body? This is a sense of smell!” For this reason, the incense is the only appropriate form of atonement for “spiritual” sins. Similarly, the incense was so far removed from the ‘animalistic’ offerings, that it could not even be offered on the same alter to achieve atonement. It needed its own alter, placed specifically in the holiest place on earth, directly facing the Holy Arc. Such is the nature of spiritual transgressions, and the requisite atonement therein!
Another interesting aspect which was unique to the incense is that the Torah commands that no one could be present during its offering. The Yerushalmi יומא כ”ז goes so far as to say that even the angels, who had a similar countenance of human beings, were forbidden from being in attendance during this holy ceremony. From these unusual demands for privacy, we can conclude that God intended the קטרת to be an extremely intimate time between Him and the Jewish people. Similarly, the very word קטרת is explained by חז”ל to mean a bond. In Aramaic, the ט’ is replaced with a ש and the word is קשרת – “you are bound”. Perhaps the reason why this moment is so binding is because just as we explained that the incense represents our inner selves, and one only shares his true inner self with one who he is very close to, similarly during this special time, it was only appropriate that we should be completely “alone” with God.
Truthfully, all that we have said is intimately connected with the upcoming holiday of Purim. Many people picture Purim as an “outgoing” holiday with all the inebriation and the festivities which take place, but this is far from the truth. The Gemorah in Chullin, (139) says that Mordechai is a contraction of the two words “Mory Dochya” which is the Aramaic translation of the main incense which represents the inner hidden connection between Hashem and the Jews, as we explained. We find that Mordechai, who was one of the main components of the Purim story, his very name demonstrates how the essence of Purim is about the “hidden” modest connection between God and the Jewish people. Similarly, the Gemorah in Megillah (13) says that because of King Saul’s remarkable modesty, he merited to have Queen Esther, who was the epitome of modesty, descend from him so many years later. Additionally, the Gemorah says that although the Jews sinned on Purim by bowing down to Haman’s idol, their sin was only an external sin, while in truth, they remained completely loyal to God in their hearts. The Sefas Emes derives from this that our main goal on Purim is to express that although many of us have trouble keeping the Torah during the year, our rebellion is only on an outward basis, whereas our “true” inner self always yearns to completely fulfill the will of our creator.
One might ask, if Purim is about our inner connection with God, and serving God in a modest fashion, why are there so many external expressions which are performed on Purim? If one examines the Mitzvos and customs of Purim closely, one sees that they are really about one’s inner “true” self. For example; one is commanded to become intoxicated on Purim (according to most Rishonim). The Gemora says, “when the wine goes in, the secrets come out”. The purpose of imbibing massive amounts of wine on Purim really is to get to one’s true self! The above mentioned Sefas Emes adds that the reason we dress up on Purim is to show that our “outer self” which is prone to sin is only a mask and our “true” self’s sole desire is to do the will of God. Similarly, there is a Mitzvah to support the poor on Purim. And we know that the proper way of giving charity is in a modest fashion where the one being given to is not aware of the charity.
Purim, and indeed the times that we are living in, are times of הסתר פנים where God remains hidden from us. We find that the most effective tool to wield during this time is the tool of modesty. The verse says, בהצנע לכת עם ה’ אלוקך – to walk with God in modesty. What does God really want from us? The Navi says that God doesn’t desire fatty sheep and oxen, but rather that we do his will modestly. God specifically looks to see that all of a Jew’s actions are done with modesty and without drawing attention to himself. Ironically, the more we “hide” ourselves and our good deeds, the more they are noticed and the closer we become to our creator!
May God help us to utilize this special time and come close to Him by emulating His ways of modesty!