Foolish Kings

Among the Arab nations, the mightiest despots, who have been ruling with an iron fist for 30, 40, or even 50 years, have overnight been stripped of their power. It just goes to show us how tenuous a grip these rulers really have.

Had this dream of democracy and freedom been envisioned in the days of Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s USSR, or Hussein’s Iraq, it might have had an equal chance of succeeding. Just imagine the world we would be living in now if the people killed by those regimes had had a chance to live, build families, and earn a living!

While it seems that more evil was perpetrated in the days of Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia, the real difference between them and the Arab rulers of today is that killing en masse is just not as in style today as it was back then. If not for the media’s obsession over Iran’s pursuit of nuclear independence, we would be hearing more about the hundreds of people being hanged on a regular basis by the rulers of that region.

There is little if any difference between the leaders of today and those of yesteryear. The will of the people has caused such a transformation in such a short period of time; the same could have been the reality back then.

The lesson that emerges is the fact that these so-called dictators have no real power. It was given to them from on high for a specific purpose. What bigger proof do we need than the story of the Megillah, where Haman had decreed annihilation and ended up being hanged on the same gallows on which he had planned to hang Mordechai?

The Megillah begins its narrative in a very curious fashion: “And it was in the days of Achashverosh…” The question we must ask is, why does the Megillah attribute that era to the evil Achashverosh? The same holds true regarding the narrative of Amrafel and the leaders of his day in the era of Avraham Avinu, where the Torah records, “And it was in the days of Amrafel.”

This question is asked by Reb Zev Wolf of Zhitomir, a disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch, in his Sefer Ohr HaMeir. The premise of his question is based on the statement of our sages that “the Jews arose in the thought process of G-d first,” that the world was created for the sake of the Jews. If so, it would make sense to attribute each era to the prominent Jews of that era. Instead of “And it was in the days of Achashverosh,” it should have been written, “And it was in the days of Mordechai and Esther,” and the same holds true for the era of Amrafel, where that era should have been attributed to Avraham.

However, it seems that more than the world being created for the sake of the Jews, it was created so the Jews should enlighten a dark world with the light of G-dliness. As long as people do not recognize clearly who is behind the running of the world, the purpose of creation has not been fulfilled. G-d is even willing to “transfer” some of His power to people who would threaten the Jews, in order to get us to react and begin following His will.

In relating the events of Yetzias Mitzrayim, the pasuk states, “U’Pharoh hikriv” (Sh’mos 14:10). The pasuk did not use the word “karav,” which would imply a physical closeness, but rather “hikriv,” “drew near,” implying that the Jews returned to G-d as a result of his rule. This too is what is meant by the opening of the Megillah, “And it was in the days of Achashverosh.” Since the Jews of that time were supposed to willingly accept the Torah (which was issued by force at Har Sinai), G-d distributed His power to Achashverosh, and he succeeded in bringing the Jews to that goal.

This sheds light on the second pasuk in the Megillah, “In those days, when King Achashverosh sat on the throne of his kingdom …” In other words, it was as if G-d had placed Achashverosh on His own throne in an attempt to compel the Jews of that time to return and begin fulfilling His will. Reb Zev Wolf concludes by writing that G-d resorts to this tactic from the beginning until the end of time in order to make His Honor known throughout the world.

In my last article, “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry … ,” I mentioned the famous Arizal that Purim is so sublime that Yom Kippur is compared to it. Essentially, what this means is that the sublimity of Purim is superior to that of Yom Kippur. Before Esther was going to enter the king’s chamber unannounced, she had instructed Mordechai to gather all the Jews to fast and pray on her behalf. She did this because there was a death sentence for anyone who would enter the king’s chambers without having been summoned.

The only power that we have to negate the dominance of the nations over us is prayer and Torah study. On the pasuk “The voice is the voice of Yaakov but the hands are the hands of Eisav,” our sages teach us that as long as the voice of Yaakov is active, the hands of Eisav have no power over us. If we feel threatened by the power of the kings of the world and we are unsure what each passing day will bring, that is a sign that we are not focusing enough on our prayer and Torah study. Perhaps we are giving more attention to the situation in the world and not realizing what is truly at play here.

It seems that there is an inherent connection between Purim and Yom Kippur. At the pinnacle of Yom Kippur, during the Ne’ilah prayer, we recite, “You give a hand to sinners …” On Purim we all know there is a law, “Anyone who stretches out his hand, give him.” While the prayer of Yom Kippur is referring to repentance and the law of Purim to charity, perhaps since charity relates to repentance we can exegetically correlate the law of Purim to the prayer of Yom Kippur, which would require the participation of all the Jews—as Esther said, “Go, gather all of the Jews.”

The late Lubavitcher Rebbe, in a farbrengen on Purim, stressed the importance of not being swayed by the influence of worldly rulers. In light of the Ohr HaMeir quoted, it is apparent that all seeming power that the nations of this world possess is a direct corollary to the actions, or perhaps inactions, of our collective people. As this Purim nears, we should reach out to each other in a gesture of unity and reaffirm our faith, love, and fear of G-d—and not be preoccupied with whether global harmony will be restored.

The Gemara in Megillah records that Achashverosh was a foolish king. In fact, the yetzer ha’ra, too, in the words of Chazal is referred to as an old and foolish king. They become so blinded by their power that they forget why they were given all this power in the first place. The secular kings as well as our evil inclination were given power only to make us stronger and reunite us with our Father in Heaven.

Politically speaking, the Jews in the days of Mordechai and Esther were on the brink of annihilation. The unrest becoming more and more widespread throughout the Middle East nowadays presents a precarious situation for the safety of Israel. But as Jews who look toward G-d in Heaven, what connection do we have to politics, and what significance do the powers of the world truly possess if we are performing the will of the true King?

This Purim, let us internalize the message of the Megillah and not feel intimidated by the foolish kings of the world. Let us instead place our hope in the King of all Kings and watch Him deliver our salvation. A freilichen Purim.