At a recent shalom zachor celebration, a man approached me and said, “Rabbi, Can I ask you a question? If someone does not believe in G-d, is he still Jewish?” I said, “Since Jews tend to answer a question with another question, I’ll ask you: Is your mother Jewish?” “Yes,” he replied. “Okay,” I said, “then you’re a thousand-percent Jewish, no matter what. Now, regarding the issue of belief, the Talmud says that all Jews are believers, children of believers. The Alter Rebbe writes in his book, the Tanya, that our forefathers passed on a ‘gene of faith’ to every one of their offspring. So even if you say you don’t believe in G-d, you really do believe.” “Rabbi,” the man exclaimed, “that’s unbelievable!”

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Tetzaveh: Making the Connection

The festival of Purim commemorates the miraculous salvation of the Jewish People during the Persian exile, as recorded in Megillas Ester. In the Megillah we find the word purim five times.[1] The commentaries[2] say this means that on Purim there are five special mitzvos that we should perform.[3] They are:

1. Hear the reading of the Megillah twice, once during the evening and once during the day of Purim.

2. Mishlo’ach manos (sending gifts): give two ready-to-eat foods (for example, a cupcake and an apple) to a friend or acquaintance.

3. Give charity to at least two poor people or charitable organizations. If for some reason this is impossible for you to do on Purim, write checks or set aside money to give later.

4. Feast royally and drink wine during the day of Purim. 5. Do not fast on the day of Purim.

Only two of the five mentions of the word purim are spelled with the letter Vav (, rather than ). What does this mean?

Though on some years (for example, 2011) it does not, Purim usually falls out on the week that we read the Torah portion of Tetzaveh (with the exception of a leap year). How do the above concepts relate to this parsha?

CONNECTION
The letter Vav () represents connection.

Meaning: Vav means ‘hook’, as in Parshas Terumah, where a hook for the pillars of the Tabernacle is called a vav.[4] Also, the letter Vav at the beginning of a word means “and”, connecting that word to a previous concept.

Graphic design: The letter Vav looks like a chute or hook that could connect two individual objects or spaces.

FIVE MITZVOS
Only two of the five mitzvos of Purim require connection with another person. This alludes to the two mentions of the word purim that have a letter Vav. The other three mitzvos could be done in solitude, if need be, alluding to the other three mentions of the word purim that are missing the letter Vav.

I. A person could read the Megillah without a minyan or another person, as long as he or she has a kosher Megillah written on parchment by a qualified scribe.[5]

II. The point of mishlo’ach manosis to create a connection between yourself and another person. According to halacha, during a year of mourning, a person may give gifts but not receive gifts. However, if there are only two Jews in a city and one is a mourner, one may send mishlo’ach manosto the mourner, in order to fulfil this mitzvah.

III. Charity requires a giver and a receiver. Even poor people are obligated to give charity on this day.

IV. Even though ‘the more, the merrier’, one could feast alone and still fulfill this mitzvah.

V. Obviously, the prohibition of fasting does not require another person.

FIVE LEVELS OF SOUL
The teachings of Kabbalah offer another allusion to the meaning of the missing Vav in purim. There are five levels of the soul. The lowest level is called nefesh. This is the power of action. Ruach is the power of speech. Neshamah is the power of thought. Chayah and yechidah are the power of self-sacrifice for the sake of G-d.

The Alter Rebbe teaches that on the levels of chayah and yechidah, a Jew will never allow him or herself to be severed from G-d, and actually, such a severance would be impossible. Historically, even non-observant Jews, when threatened, have spontaneously risen to the level of self-sacrifice and have chosen death over relinquishing Judaism.[6] This is because belief, on the level of chayah and yechidah, is unconditional. It transcends all logic and even the instinct to self-preservation.

On the three lower levels of the soul, however, a Jew is more vulnerable to confusion. It may seem “unbelievable” that the infinite G-d cares about finite things like giving tzedaka, eating kosher or studying Torah. The three missing Vavs allude to this potential for disconnection.

TWO LEVELS OF SELF-SACRIFICE
Furthermore, there are two levels of self-sacrifice.[7] One level corresponds to the chayah. This kind of self-sacrifice arises when a Jew is oppressed or forced to give up his religion and belief. Even when the evil Haman tried to kill every Jewish man woman and child, there was a way out: whoever bowed down to Haman could spare his or her own life. Yet, we find that no Jew bowed down to him. Similarly, throughout the seventy years of communism in Russia when Judaism was forbidden, many Jews exemplified self-sacrifice as they continued to practice and teach Judaism in secret.

The second, greater level of self-sacrifice is available today in America. We’re not forced into a ghetto and it seems we have the freedom to practice Judaism or not. Whereas the pressures of poverty and oppression have tended to strengthen our will and clarify our identity, we now live in relative ease and safety. Thus, there is a greater challenge to maintain a strong, clear connection to the mitzvos of the Torah. Meeting this challenge is exactly how we can reveal our yechidah.

These two levels of self-sacrifice correspond to the two times purim is spelled with a Vav.

JEWISH CONNECTION
‘Connection’ is a theme of Parshas Tetzaveh. It begins, “And you (Moses), tetzaveh, command the Jewish people” Chasidus explains that the word tetzaveh, ‘to command’, can also mean ‘to connect’.[8] In other words G-d tells Moses, ‘Your job is to reveal the inherent connection that every Jew has with Me.’ This is also the objective of Purim: to reveal our connection to the two levels of G-dly self-sacrifice and to draw them down into our thought, speech and action.

A STORY
George Rohr, the famous philanthropist living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, once came to the Lubavitcher Rebbe as he was handing out dollars and blessings. He told the Rebbe that on the past Rosh Hashana he had started a beginner’s service at K. J. Synagogue for 180 Jews without any Jewish background. The Rebbe responded quizzically, ‘Ah?’ Thinking that the Rebbe couldn’t hear him, he repeated himself. Again the Rebbe just said, ‘Ah?’ Mr. Rohr began to explain once again, but the Rebbe cut him off, like a father whose children had just been insulted, ‘Go back and tell those 180 people that they do have a Jewish background. Each one of them is intimately connected to their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rivka, Rachel and Leah.’

Belief is inherited, and it’s the ultimate connection.

ACTION: Perform the special mitzvos of Purim this year.

FOOTNOTES:
[1] Megillas Ester, 9:26, 9:28, 9:29, 9:31, and 9:32
[2] V’Dibarta Bam
[3] Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, Chapters 141, 142
[4] Exodus, 27:10, 11, 17
[5] One of my congregants accidentally purchased tickets for a flight to Israel that would require him to travel throughout the night of Purim. While travel on Purim is permissible, he would not be able to find a public Megillah reading in time. He asked me if there was any way he could use the tickets and still perform this important mitzvah. I told him that the only thing he could do was to purchase a kosher Megillah for a few hundred dollars and to read it himself. To my pleasant surprise, he did so.
[6] This phenomenon of instinctual self-sacrifice was revealed recently by Daniel Pearl, the moment before his anti-Semitic captors murdered him. Even though Daniel was not observant, and was assimilated to the point of being married to a non-Jew, he bore witness with his last utterance: “I am a Jew….”
[7] Maamar Purim Katan, 5752
[8] Ibid.