Parshas Tsav (Shushan Purim)
15 Adar II 5768
March 22, 2008
Daf Yomi: Nazir 2

Guest Author:
Rabbi Zvi Goldberg      

Kashrus Administrator, Star-K Kosher Certification

 

                                           

Sometimes we dismiss the groggers and dreidels as toys devised to keep the children interested.  A child spins a grogger to drown out Haman’s name and spins a dreidel to win a game. However, Judaism is so profound that even the toys have symbolic meaning, and there is more to these toys than meets the eye.

 

The Bnai Yissascher explains that there is a difference between the grogger and the dreidel. A grogger is twirled with one’s hand underneath the grogger, holding the stick while the body of the grogger twirls over the hand. A dreidel is spun with one’s hand on the top of the dreidel. He shows how this difference goes to the very roots of Purim and Chanuka.

 

On Purim, the Jews were in a desperate situation. Haman had arranged to destroy them. To avert the decree, Queen Esther commanded the Jews to fast for three days before she would go speak to the king and try to prevent the attacks. They fasted and repented their prior ways. They acknowledged that it was their own deeds, their joining Achashveirosh’s party, and not Mordechai’s refusal to bow, which brought them to the brink of destruction.

 

On Chanuka, the Jews were also in an extremely difficult and dangerous position. They were not being allowed to learn Torah, and the Beis Hamikdash was defiled.  Surely Klal Yisroel davened to Hashem to save them. We do not find, though, that there was a dedicated national effort towards teshuva. Rather, Hashem looked down and had pity on us as we are His children. As the  Rambam writes -- “ v’tzar lahem l’yisroel me’od mipneihem v’lachatzum lachatz gadol ad shericham aleihem elokei avoseinu v’hitzilam mi’yadam” –“Life was extremely harsh for the Jews because of the Greeks until G-d had pity on them and saved them.”

 

Thus, the difference between Purim and Chanuka becomes clear. The hisorerus, awakening and impetus, for Purim came from the Jews. Through our teshuva we influenced Hashem, so to speak, to save us. So the movement was an upward one—from us to Hashem. On Chanuka the influence came totally from Hashem. We were not necessarily deserving of being saved. It was a downward movement, as we were totally dependent on Hashem’s chesed and grace.

 

Therefore, on Purim we spin the grogger with our hands pointed upward to symbolize our teshuva and ‘influence’ on Hashem. On Chanuka we spin with our hands pointed downward to signify that the drive for salvation was from Above, as we did not truly merit salvation. 

 

In continuation of this train of thought, we could add that the grogger stops spinning as soon as the hand stops turning. The dreidel, of course, continues to spin long after the hand releases it. This could be seen as showing that our repentance throughout the ages has not been the main cause for our salvation.  Although we have done teshuva at times, the teshuva has not been either sufficiently sincere or often enough. We did not measure up to the standards required of us. It has rather been only the chesed of Hashem that has kept us going and going and going throughout the generations.

 

There is another lesson here. The Gemara states that if we want Hashem to act towards us with chesed, we ourselves must first practice chesed with the undeserving--mida k’neged mida.

 

To illustrate this point - there is a story told about Reb Aryeh Levin in the book “A Tzadik in Our Time.”  Once, Reb Aryeh was summoned to appear in court to pay for a debt for which he had co-signed and the borrower could not pay. Reb Aryeh was surprised as he did not recall signing any such document. Nevertheless, he went to court. As soon as he saw the signature, he realized that it had been forged. He saw the borrower in front of him, with his head lowered, unable to look at Reb Aryeh in the face. Apparently, the borrower had needed money, and figuring that he would be able pay back, forged Reb Aryeh’s signature. Now that he was unable to pay, the borrower was in a very tight spot.

 

The judge wanted to know if it was his signature. So as not to shame the borrower publicly, Reb Aryeh acknowledged that he owed the money, but asked the judge to allow him to pay off in installments, which the judge agreed to.

 

Was the borrower deserving of this kindness? Surely not. Nonetheless, chesed with the undeserving is a great kindness, and opens the Heavenly gates of chesed to us.

 

Gut Shabbos!

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