Between Purim And Pessah

Written by Aliza of Torah Topics
http://torahtopics.blogspot.com

Purim is a holiday all about the hidden miracles in life – Hashem was hidden in the story of Purim, and His name is not mentioned once throughout Megillat Esther.

As the name alludes to, megilla comes from the Hebrew word “L’galot,” to reveal or uncover, and Esther comes from the word “Hester,” hidden or covered. Thus, Purim is viewed as a Holiday where Hashem’s guiding hand was hidden, but we look through to see that now and commemorate His presence in our lives, though seemingly hidden.

Pesach, on the other hand, was a time when Hashem’s miracles were ever-present, and so obvious to all. They were great in quantity and in quality, even more so than any other time in Jewish history. Pesach is thus a time for looking at the miracles which are obvious.

The time in between Purim and Pesach should then be a time where we go from not being able to see Hashem or His miracles to being able to see Him everywhere in everything. This time should a growth period where we work on seeing His hand in everything; such as the fact that we breathe and walk, that the snow melts and that the sun shines, that a baby is born and that an old man dies…



As Pesach then approaches we have prepared ourselves to commemorate His hand in the Pesach story more so than we would have been able to otherwise, and that is really what this time should be used for. We can’t just jump straight into Pesach and the remembering of the redemption from Egypt.

Remembrance days are often used as just that; days for remembrance. However there’s no internalizing these things we remember or growth from what we have learned. This is where Pesach differs from any American or Canadian remembrance holidays. This Yom Tov is for remembering the story through the reading of the Haggadah and constant reminders throughout the year during our prayers and such, but we don’t just remember. We also learn lessons and open our eyes to the miracles Hashem has given us.

My bracha to you all is that you be able to recognize the hand of Hashem in everything in your lives, in the good times and the ‘bad,’ and in the mundane and extraordinary. Hashem is always there to guide us, but it is up to us whether we open our eyes to His presence or not.