PESAH: Regular Matsa vs. Matsa Shemura

מצות אכילת מצה
Matsa (in English “Matzah”) is a special unleavened bread made of a flat dough. The dough is prepared with flour and water, without yeast. The flour normally comes from wheat, but technically, the Matsa could also be made from barley, oats, rye or spelt’s flour. The whole elaboration process from the time the flour gets in contact with water until the Matsa is baked must take less than 18 minutes.
There are different types of Matsot.
Today we will learn the differences between regular Matsa and Matsa Shemura
The difference between these two Matsot has to do with the level of supervision (shemira), more specifically, the point at which the supervision begins.
REGULAR MATSA
The supervision of the processing of this Matsa begins from the moment the flour is produced. It is necessary to ensure that the flour which will be used for the Matsot be kept in a dry place (humidity makes the flour Hamets). Furthermore, the water to be used to bake the dough should be at room temperature level. Warmer water, for example, would accelerate the process of fermentation. No dough, even a small piece, might be left unattended while baking the Matsot. Any piece of dough left for 18 minutes is Hamets mixed into the Matsot might affect the validity of the Matsot. The machines should be cleaned after each production from residues of dough, water, etc. These are some examples of the supervision of the Regular Matsa.
MATSA SHEMURA
In addition to all the rules for regular Matsa, in the elaboration of Matsa Shemura the grain is supervised from the time of harvesting. For example: the wheat kernels are carefully examined to make sure that there are no grains with a split or grains that are sprouting. In those cases the process of Himuts would be triggered by a minimum moisture.  The grain is also supervised when it is stored and transported, making sure that is not affected by humidity.
All this extra supervision process involves an increased need for labor, and this is why the Matsa Shemura is substantially more expensive than regular Matsa.
Certainly, both Matsot are Kasher for Pesah. But the use of Matsa Shemura is indicated particularly for the first two nights of Pesah (in Israel, the first night), when we say the Berakha ‘al akhilat Matsa. Why? Because having Matsa Shemura during the nights of the Seder is a practice that we do following the pasuq (Ex 12:17)  ושמרתם את המצות “and you shall guard (=supervise) the unleavened bread”.
During the other days of Pesah, technically, there is no obligation to eat Matsa Shemura, because during the rest of Pesah there is no formal commandment to eat Matsa, but only to refrain from eating Hamets

 

 

 



NON-EDIBLE HAMETS: Cosmetic, medication, pet food.

For Sephardim, it is allowed to keep in their possession or use during Pesah any product that is not edible, i.e., which is not normally consumed by humans or animals, even though these products may contain Hamets. For example: cosmetics, glues, shampoo, deodorants, soaps, detergents or other cleaning products, etc. In all these cases it will not be necessary to check the absence of Hamets on these products, nor need to have a special supervision for Pesah (Rabbi Obadia Yosef, Yosef Yalqut, 360 p. 31, 361: 68).
It is also allowed the use of medications that come in capsule or non-chewable tablets, that is,  pills or capsules that are swallowed with water. Why? Because when a medication comes in the form of a hard pill is considered “inedible”. Therefore, even if such medication had a Hamets element (which today is highly unlikely, as we will explain), it may be taken during Pesah (Yalqut Yosef Mo’adim, 362 p. 40).
It is advisable then, when necessary and possible, to ask your doctor to prescribe medication for Pesah in a form of non-chewable pill (obviously, in case of a serious medical condition, take any medications needed).
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, a recognized Ashkenazi rabbinical authority in Israel and author of the popular book Penine Halakha, says that today many Ashkenazi rabbis also follow a Halakhic criteria similar to Rabbi Obadia Yosef’s (see this, what Rabbi Melamed wrote on cosmetics, medicines, etc. Hebrew). On the subject of the non-chewable pills, Rabbi Melamed makes an important practical observation, noting that at present, virtually all medical hard pills are made with potato starch or corn starch, whose consumption would be allowed even to the strictest opinions, and not with wheat starch, among other reasons because the grain protein, gluten, is harmful to celiac patients.
 
STRICTER OPINIONS 
Rabbi Gedaliah Schwartz who chairs the Bet Din of Chicago, (CRC), a respected Halakhic authority of the Ashkenazi community, also says that any non-chewable medication would be permitted for Pesah. However, he clarifies that vitamins are not part of this category. In other words, in his opinion vitamins, even in the form of a capsule or a non chewable tablet, cannot be used on Pesah unless one verifies first that it does not contain Hamets. Some Sephardic Rabbis (Rabbi Eliyahu Ben Hayim, for example) also agree with this view. Consult your community Rabbi.
There are some other differences between Sephardim and Ashkenazim. Rabbi Schwartz and many other Ashkenazi rabbis adopt a stricter stance also on the consumption of non-edible Hamets (perfumes made from denatured alcohol, for example). See this  letter written by Rabbi Schwartz.
LIQUID OR CHEWABLE VITAMINS or MEDICATIONS
Chewable tablets, medical syrups, nutritional supplements, vitamins powders or any other medicines or vitamins with pleasant flavor, and/or drinkable must bear a “kosher for Pesah” certification, or one should make sure that they do not contain any Hamets ingredient in their composition.
According to many Ashkenazi and Sephardic rabbis, the same criteria should be applied to some personal hygiene articles (usually oral hygiene) which have a pleasant taste: for example, toothpaste, or flavored lip balms, etc. In these cases, one should also verify that they do not contain any Hamets element.
As the reader will appreciate, in all these Halakhot there are different customs and criteria. For your final verdict (pesaq), consult your community Rabbi.
PET FOOD
You may not use or keep for Pesah animal food containing Hamets. Most dogs, cats, birds and fish food DO contain Hamets. If you have an animal or pet, you should look for animal food products which contain no Hamets. Read here a list with food products for pets approved for Pesah.

 



PESAH: What is (and what is NOT) Hamets, and what is seor or natural yeast?

 איסור החמץ ואיסור השאור שבו מחמצין, אחד הוא
מ”ת הלכות חמץ ומצה א: ב
Out of the eight Mitsvot of Pesah we mentioned yesterday (see below), six relate to Hamets. During Pesah we are  not allowed to eat, benefit from or even possess Hamets.
Today we will explain what is Hamets and what is seor.
THE FIVE GRAINS
Hamets (aka chametz) is any fermented substance, solid or liquid, which comes from one of the following five grains: wheat, rye, spelt, barley and oats. These are also the five grains which are generally used to make bread. Our sages established that only for a bread made from one of these five grains we say the berakha “HaMotzi” and  “Birkat Hamazon”. If a bread is made, for example, from soy flour or rice or corn, it is not considered real “bread”.
The fermentation process does not only occur with flour that comes from these grains. Beer for example, is made from barley grains, which are soaked and then fermented. Beer (like whiskey) is Hamets, although the grain was never converted into flour.
A fermented food which does not come from or does not contain any of these five grains cannot become Hamets, even if it underwent a fermentation process. For example, wine goes through a fermentation process, but it is made from grapes. The same applies to other alcoholic beverages such as sake, which is made from fermented rice.
Not everything that comes from these five grains is hamets. In fact Matsa can only be made from one of these five grains. Matsa is also a kind of “bread”. In Hebrew it is called the bread of poverty or לחם עוני, and in English is called “unleavened bread”
What is the difference then between bread and Matsa?
TIME
The fundamental difference between bread and Matsa is time.
Bread and Matsa are made with the same basic ingredients: flour and water. The difference is: when preparing Matsa, once the flour is mixed with water, you cannot leave the dough to rest. The dough must be kneaded and baked in less than 18 minutes. Because if left idle for 18 minutes or more, from the time the flour got in contact with water, that dough is considered fermented. This fermentation is called in Hebrew “Himuts”, and the product of this fermentation is called “Hamets”.
Normal bread is made with flour and water, but the dough is deliberately left to rest. When fermented, the dough is enlarged and the bread crumb, i.e., the soft, inner part of bread, is formed.
WATER
If the flour from one of the five grains is mixed “exclusively” with fruit juice, or honey or eggs without any water, the fermentation or Himuts will not take place. Technically, if I make a dough by mixing wheat flour with pure fruit juice, with no water, and I bake the dough after it rested for more than 18 minutes, this will be called Matsa Ashira, and it is not considered Hamets.
SEOR
In all these examples, we have not talked yet about yeast, or שאור in Hebrew.
The prohibition of Hamets includes also the banning of the use of yeast. Yeast is not an edible element, but an additive. Until a century ago yeast was produced at home. How was yeast prepared? Flour and water are mixed and kept for a period of four days. That sour dough, which smells like alcohol, is known as  “natural yeast” (or”sourdough”) and it is used as a catalyst in the process of fermentation. In other words, once flour and water are mixed, if we introduce some yeast into the dough, the fermentation process will accelerate, the dough will grow bigger and produce a spongious and tasty bread.
All Hamets restrictions (use, possession, benefit) also apply to se-or, natural or commercial yeast


PESAH 5776: The eight Mitsvot of Pesah

Pesah is less than a month away. The first Pesah Seder will be held B’H Friday night, April 22, 2016. The laws and customs of Pesah are so many and diverse that our rabbis indicated that 30 days before Pesah we should start studying the laws and customs of Pesah.  So, we’re already a little bit behind schedule
Today we are going to review the “Biblical” Mitsvot of Pesah. That is, the seminal laws of this festival, from which all other details and Halakhot of Pesah emerge.
In his introduction to Hilkhot Pesah, Maimonides describes one by one the commandments of the festival, listing a total of 8 biblical Mitsvot related to Pesah. It is important to note that this list does NOT include the Mitsvot related to the Pesah sacrifice (qorban Pesah).
There are 3 positive commandments and five prohibitions related to Pesah.
THE THREE POSITIVE COMMANDMENTS
אכילת מצה 1. Eating matsa on the first night of Pesah (in the Diaspora, it automatically becomes the obligation to eat matsa during the first two nights of the festival). For the rest of Pesah, it is forbidden to eat hamets, but there is no formal obligation to eat matsa.
2 והגדת לבנך. Tell our children during the first night of Pesah (in the Diaspora, the first two nights) the story of our slavery in Egypt and our miraculous redemption. This story is narrated in the Haggada of Pesah. This Mitsva includes many other Mitsvot and traditions, such as drinking the four cups of wine, eating the maror, etc.
3 השבתת חמץ. Renounce to the possession of our hamets on the eve of Passover, that is the 14th of Nisan  (Friday April 22nd) before noon. In the coming days we will explain this Mitsva in detail.
THE FIVE PROHIBITIONS OF PESAH
4 איסור אכילת חמץ. The prohibition of eating hamets during Pesah. This prohibition also includes se-or, or natural yeast.
5 איסור אכילת תערובת חמץ. The prohibition against eating any food containing hamets during Pesah. The Gemara cites as examples of food containing hamets the Kutah haBabli, a type of cottage cheese (cottage= כותח?) which contained bits of bread, and shekhar haMadi, an alcoholic beverage made from grain, possibly beer.
6 בל-יראה. The prohibition of owning hamets during Pesah, regardless of where that hamets is found.
7 בל -ימצא. The prohibition of owning hamets during Pesah. As the reader can see, these two Mitsvot, 6 and 7 are in fact identical, there is no difference between them and they apply exactly in the same way. This is an exceptional case in the entire Tora.
8 איסור אכילת חמץ ערב פסח אחר חצות היום. The prohibition of eating hamets on Pesah eve from noon. The rabbis extended this prohibition to two hours before noon. So on Friday, April 22nd hamets can be consumed only until the end of the fourth hour of the day. It is important mentioning that these “hours” are not fixed 60 minutes hours, but “daylight hours” which are obtained by dividing by twelve the daylight period of the day (from dawn to dusk).
In the coming days B’H we will have the opportunity to define and explain in depth each one of the eight Mitsvot of Pesah


ESTHER 5:13 Haman’s downfall

וכל זה איננו שוה לי
The villain of the Purim story is Haman ben Hamedata, a descendant of Amaleq. King Ahashverosh appointed Haman as his “Grand Vizier” (or prime minister) and, as explained yesterday, issued the order (Esther 3: 2) that all court officials should kneel before Haman. Everyone followed the king’s order, except for one man: Mordekhai. And when Haman learned that Mordekhai did not bow before him, he decided to eliminate all the people of Mordekhai: the Jewish nation.
Haman was evil, but he was not foolish. Actually, it seems that he was an evil genius. Take, for example, the way he managed to carry out his version of “the final solution”. First, he had to persuade Ahashverosh. To do this, he presented his plan as something that benefited the King, and not as his personal vendetta(Ch. 3: 8). Persuading the King was not very difficult. Among other things, because Haman presented a plan with “zero” operating costs. What’s more: in exchange for the executive order of the King, Haman offered a lot of money for the royal treasury (3: 9).
Now, how did Haman plan to recruit tens of thousands of soldiers to find and execute hundreds of thousands of Jews, scattered throughout the Persian Empire, from Turkey to China?
Haman devised an evil plan, which is briefly described in the Megilla with just two words: ושללם לבוז ( “and their belongings will be for plunder”). Haman’s decree said something like this: “On the 13th of Adar, every subject of the Persian empire will be allowed to kill Jews. Police would not oppose, and nobody will be prosecuted for this. And what’s more: whoever kills a Jew ,  can keep his or her money, property, valuables, etc. ”   With his “genius” plan, there was no need to distract the army from its obligations, and there was no need to pay for costly transportation to take the Jews to concentration camps, or operating the gas chambers.
Our Rabbis explain that there was no shortage of volunteers. Many people, especially those who did not like Jews, were fighting against each other so that when the day comes, they would be the first to kill the Jews, and keeping their goods ….
If Haman had succeeded (and he was very close!) It would have been the end of our people ח”ו ….
In the end, as we all know, with the help of HaShem, Queen Esther and Mordekhai were able to  disrupt the evil plan of Haman, who ended up paying his evil intentions with his own life.
The Megilla also provides us a glimpse into the psychological profile of Haman. In chapter 5, verse 13, when Hamas is at home with his wife and friends, after attending as a guest of honor at a special dinner with the King and Queen, and without suspecting that Esther is designing a plan to counter his, we witness an unusual dialogue, almost a monologue, in which Haman makes a kind of catharsis of his feelings. First, Haman acknowledged his immense power, his incredible wealth and honor, etc. What follows is really surprising. Haman, amazingly admits that (Esther 5:13): “And all this [my power, my wealth, my family]  has no value for me, when I see Mordekhai the Jew,”sitting” on the gate of the royal court [ i.e., and he does not kneel before me].”
Haman,  was probably one of the most powerful men in the history of mankind. Even his personal life was very successful. He had a wife who supported him and a lot of children. And yet, it took one person, Mordekhai, who did not bow down in front of him, to make his ego collapse, exposing the emotional fragility of this powerful man.
Haman suffered from a high dose of ga-ava, arrogance, at the level of megalomania: the obsession with the exercise of power, especially for dominance and control over others.
Haman’s endless arrogance led to his own downfall.


Rabbi Shelomo Oliveyra (1635-1708) and the importance of learning Hebrew

Amsterdam Synagogue
Rabbi Shlomo ben David de Oliveyra haLevy, came from Lisbon, Portugal, from a family of anusim, converts in Spain, whose original name was Benveniste. The Oliveyra surname was adopted by the family after the Inquisition, and it was chosen because according to their family tradition they were descendants of Yitshar, the son of Qehat, (Shemot 6:16) of the Tribe of Levi. Yitshar means, “fine olive oil.”
Rabbi Oliveyra served as teacher in Yeshibat Keter Tora in Amsterdam. In 1698, after the death of rab Ya’aqob Sasportas, he was appointed in his place as Ab Bet Din, Senior Rabbi of the Rabbinical Court of Amsterdam, which later on included all the Sephardic communities in Europe.
The signature and haskamot (rabbinic authorizations and introductions to Jewish books) of Rabbi Oliveyra are found in dozens of books published at that time.
Rabbi Oliveyra was a prolific author. And while he wrote several books that are no longer in our hands, such as a commentary on Maimonides’ Mishne Torah, we now have access, thanks to the magic of the Internet, to most of his writings.
Here are some of them.
DARKHE NOAM (Hebrew): A student’s guide of the Talmud. It analyzes many Aramaic terms and especially Talmudic technical expressions. This book is an indispensable tool for beginners who want to study Gemara. And it is based on two previous books, which record the way Gemara was studied in Spain: mebo haTalmud, by Rabbi Shemuel haNagid, and  Darkhe haTalmud, by the famous Rab Isaac Canpanton.
DARKHE HASHEM (Hebrew) is a compendium of the 613 mitzvot, biblical commandments, arranged in alphabetical order.
Before describing the next books, I would like to explain that Sephardic communities had a very specific order in terms of Tora studying, which today many communities have lost. Along with the intensive study of Tanakh (the 24 book of the Hebrew Bible) one of the first disciplines to which the student was exposed, during elementary school, was the study of diqduq, or Hebrew Biblical grammar.
This includes, first, learning to pronounce correctly the Hebrew constants and also know how and when to pronounce the Hebrew vowels (as sheva, qamets qatan), which is not always evident from the visible text.
This knowledge must also include a total mastering of the te’amim, what is known as musical notes, but which really are firstly tonic accents and punctuation marks. If a student did not have a complete mastery of Biblical pronunciation, he was not considered to be yet “literate”.
Only then, once he had learned the precise pronunciation of the words, he would proceed to study Hebrew semantics, that is,  theunderstanding of words.
The same happened with the Aramaic language: for a beginner student, to understand all the books of the Tanakh (including Daniel Ezra and Nehemiah) it was necessary to know Biblical Aramaic. Which was also a prerequisite to move into the next level of Aramaic: Talmudic and Rabbinical Aramaic.
Without these basic intellectual tools, Tora study would be deficient. And the student would always be depending on a teacher to translate the basic texts.
A deep and solid knowledge of the Hebrew language was considered a prerequisite for the serious learning of any other Tora discipline, such as Mishna, Gemara, Halakha, etc.
Now, we can proceed to present the literary production of Rabbi Oliveyra, who was literally “a master of the Hebrew language”.
Among his many books we can mention:
ZAYIT RA’ANAN: An alphabetical Glossary and explanations in Portuguese of many difficult words of the Mishna, Gemara and medieval philosophical books.
TE’AME HATE’AMIM (Hebrew): Explanation of the te’amim, the biblical accents and punctuation marks, especially the te’ame emet, that is, Yiob, Mishle and Tehilim, which are different from the rest of Tanakh. This book is mentioned by the Hida in his book Shem haGuedolim.
YAD LASHON: A treaty of Hebrew grammar, explained in Portuguese.
ETS HAYIM: A book of Hebrew semantics, which includes a glossary presented in alphabetical order, with words in Hebrew and Aramaic (translated into Portuguese).
DAL SEFATAYIM: A book that explains the principles Aramaic grammar in Portuguese.
SHARSHOT GABLUT: Another book of Hebrew and Aramaic semantics, presenting the roots of the words in alphabetical order. This was an essential tool for writing poetry in Hebrew (learning rhyme and metrics), an  area in which Rabbi Oliveyra excelled.
AYELET AHABIM: A long poetic and philosophical composition on Aqedat Ytshaq, that is, the sacrifice of Isaac.
Rabbi Oliveyra also translated parts of the book Shene Luhot haBerit by Rabbi Yesha’ayahu Rabbi Horowitz (the Shela”h haQadosh, 1565-1630).
He also translated from Arabic to Portuguese the famous Canon of Medicine by the Persian physician Avicenna.
Min HaShamayim (=providentially) I found a link in Googlebooks with almost all the books of Rab Oliveyra in a very clear and readable digital edition. The book is called in the original Portuguese: “Livro da gramatica Hebrayca and Chaldayca”. (Amsterdam 5449.1682) and HERE is the link. The reader will note that after the first book, the others were scanned backward. Therefore, I recommend to start from the end, with the book Darkhe No’am, the guide for studying Gemara.

 



ESTHER 1:11: Ahashverosh: money or ego?

להראות העמים והשרים את יופיה
Yesterday, we began to analyze the dysfunctional character of King Ahashverosh and how his psychological problems affected the decisions, that almost lead to the annihilation of the Jewish people.
King Ahashverosh’s emotional insecurity made him needy of the applause of others. And since his material resources were unlimited, the King decided to invest a fortune in throwing a mega-party that lasts 187 days.
It is very interesting that when the Megillah explains why King Ahashverosh made this party, it says literally: “to show (בהראותו, to display, exhibit or show off) his wealth and the glory of his kingdom.” In other words, this party was not an act of charity for the poor. The King did not distribute bread, but crazy amounts of alcohol. This was a feast that he made for himself. To show off and exhibit his greatness and wealth.
Rabbi Almosnino, an expert in musar (Jewish psychology of human behavior) explains that there are two elements that might drive the behavior of a dysfunctional ruler or leader: money and image (ego). For some politicians, money is priority. These people will try to get to power only to accumulate money, and they would be willing even to sacrifice their image in order to get more money. For other leaders, image and ego are above money. These people, unlike the first, will be willing to sacrifice all their money in order to achieve a positive image that would make them feeling good about themselves. Ahashverosh, says Rabbi Almosnino, belonged to this second category. He squandered an enormous fortune with a single purpose in mind: to improve his image in the eyes of all his subjects, and thus, boosting his own ego.
Why is it important to know that for Ahashverosh his ego was more important than his money? Rabbi Almosnino said that when the reader reaches the most dramatic part of the Purim story, when King Ahashverosh approves Haman’s plan to eliminate the Jewish people, one would think that perhaps it would be possible to bribe the King, offering him more money than what Haman offered him in order to cancel this terrible edict. However, once we know that for this King his ego is more important than his money, we realize that there was not an option to bribe the King. Not because this king is very honest and incorruptible. But because this king is so insecure that he cannot backtrack on something he already decreed.
Arrogant people, explains Rabbi Abraham Twersky, suffer from low self-esteem. This emotional insecurity leads to arrogance, an unconscious compensatory attitude. Arrogance prevents a person from saying, “I was wrong”. Admitting a mistake is virtually impossible for an arrogant person, because the insecurity of that arrogant individual. Acknowledging a mistake would imply the recognition that one is not so great and perfect as he wants to “show off”. Admitting a mistake would go against the psychological pretension of perfection. And the social mask of  flawlessnessless will collapse.  Only a wise and humble person, that is, an individual who has a healthy dose of self-esteem, is able to admit making mistakes. Since there is no inflated ego to be deflated ….
The insecure Ahashverosh admitted no mistakes. (as we will see later on, in Esther 8: 8, the original decree to kill the Jews was never repealed: Mordekhai and Esther had to write a completely new decree, allowing the Jews to defend themselves)
One more thing: at the end of the party, the King wanted to continue “showing” more. And once he had shown all his wealth, his royal wine, his golden bowls, his garden, etc. there was only one more thing for him to display: his trophy wife Vashti. The Megilla (1:11) using explicitly the same verb as before: להראות (to show off), says that Ahashverosh summoned “Queen Vashti to show her beauty to the subjects of the kingdom and to the ministers, because she was very beautiful.” Our Hakhamim explained that Ahashverosh intended to exhibit his wife without clothes, and she obviously refused.
This party, as we will explain BH tomorrow, ended very badly for Ahashverosh.
The message is very clear and very strong. Vanity and ostentation leads to self-destruction. This infinitely rich, but miserably insecure and arrogant, King cannot control his exhibitionist impulses. And at the end of the party, in which he invested so much to boost his ego, he ends up dishonored and humiliated by all (היה אחשורוש שחוק לכל העולם).
To be continued…


ESTHER 1:5: Ahashverosh’s dangerous vulnerability

ובמלאת הימים האלה עשה המלך לכל העם
In the coming days we will concentrate on the King Ahashverosh, who was not a paragon of virtue, and see how important is to know his psychological profile 1. to better understand how the story of Megillat Esther unfolds and 2. for our own moral education.
The first chapter of the Megilla describes two major parties. A first celebration which lasted 180 days, and the second, which lasted seven days. In this second fest, the Persian emperor showed all his “kindness” handing out free and unlimited wine for a week, to all the people of Shushan. Giving free stuff to people was, and remains to this day, the favorite way demagogues and populist leaders use to increase their popularity.
But Ahashverosh had deeper personal and emotional needs, to act the way he acted.
To discover the psychological profile of Ahashverosh no better commentary than that of Rabbi Moshe Almosnino (1515-1580). Rabbi Almosnino wrote a wonderful book “Yede Moshe” where similarly to the way a psychoanalyst examines the profile of her patient from therapy sessions, Rabbi Almosnino examines the personality of Ahashverosh from a deep “psychoanalysis” of the the text of the Megilla (it is important to note that following a long tradition of Hakhamim Sephardim, Rabbi Almosnino was able to analyze the text, Peshat, also independently from the Midrash).
I will summarize his words:
King Ahashverosh was a great soldier, a great strategist and an eximious “Conquistador”. But unlike Cyrus and Darius, who besides being great fighters were also admired rulers, King Ahashverosh did not have many virtues as monarch. And when he was not on the battlefield, sheathing a sword and mercilessly killing the enemy, he did not know how to act. The main ambition of this great “conqueror of lands” was to “conquer” his own people. And in this business, probably due to his lacking of social skills, he was not very successful. And that is why outside the battlefield, the great Ahashverosh was a very insecure man.
Rabbi Almosnino says that “the king made a feast for all his subjects” because the King became a people pleaser. It was so much his desperation to be liked, loved and admired by all (in order to feel good about himself) that he who was willing to throw the biggest and most lavish parties to do so.
Why is it important for us to know this? Rabbi Almosnino asks. And he explains that the Megilla here anticipates to us that this insecure King was not going to make decisions that will necessarily be good for his Empire or his subjects. This Emperor’s decisions will be made based mainly on how those decisions would affect his need to be loved by his people, and especially by his closest advisers, those who most flattered him.
This psychological weakness of the King will be exploited to the maximum by his advisers. The machiavellian advisors of the King, always looking for their own benefit, knew that a king who does not enjoy a healthy dose of self-esteem, is an easy prey to their maneuvers. They just have to praise him enough for the King to become emotionally dependent on their approval. And the man who better exploited this vulnerability of the King was the evil Haman.
The Megilla tells us in detail how Haman presented to the King his plan to eliminate the Jews. For Haman, as we all know, it was a personal mega-vendetta against  Mordekhai. But Haman described his plan to the King not in terms of his own interest but disguised as the interests and personal benefit of the King and his image. “These people [the Jews] do not follow your orders … It is not in the interest of the King that these people would be left alive”. Ahashverosh would do anything that would improve his image, and vice versa. That’s why the King did not ask Haman who this people are,  what benefits or detriments this decision would bring for the empire, etc. Incredibly Ahashverosh accepts Haman’s request at face value without questioning him, just in order to please his favorite sycophant. On the other hand, Haman, very cleverly, did not reveal the name of the people he wanted to eliminate. Haman suggests the king to get rid of an anonymous “people”, “distant”, mostly unknown and, above all, disobedient. As if this decision was not going to hurt at all to the image of Ahashverosh. Quite the opposite.
A King with infinite power over the lives of his subjects, who suffers from such deep psychological vulnerabilities, is a dangerous ticking bomb. And we, the Yehudim, were about to be the main victims of the King’s tragic dysfunctions.
Tomorrow, BH, we will see how Ahashverosh ‘s insecurity unfolded into an extreme need of showing-off his wealth.  


ESTHER 1:1-3: Who was Ahashverosh?

To appreciate a little better the story of Megillat Esther, we are analyzing some historical data that will help us understand the events recounted in this wonderful book.
First, we will focus on identifying Ahashverosh, which is also the intention of the first pasuq (biblical verse) of the Megilla. With this data, I think we will better realize the magnitude of the miracle of Purim.
The ancient tradition of the Jews of Iran is that King Ahashverosh was the emperor who in Persian language is known as “Khashayarsha”. And Khashayarsha is none other than the famous King Xerxes (also known among Gentiles as “Ahasuerus”), who reigned from 486-465, before the common era.
Cyrus (reigned 559-529 BCE) was the first Persian emperor. Then followed his son Cambyses (528-521 BCE), and then the famous Darius (521-486 BCE), the predecessor of Ahashverosh. Already at the time of Cyrus, the Persian Empire was huge and reached all the way to India (in Hebrew “Hoddu”). But Darius expanded it further, conquering several civilizations of North Africa: Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and Ethiopia (in Hebrew “Kush”). This was the huge empire inherited by Ahashverosh.
 The Megilla begins with this description. The first pasuq of the Megilla reads:
ESTHER 1: 1 “And it came to pass in the days of Ahashverosh, the Ahashverosh who reigned from India to Ethiopia, a total of 127 provinces.”
Rabbi Moshe Almosnino, in his extraordinary book on the Megillot “Yede Moshe” explains why the Megilla started with this information, which might seem superfluous. As discussed yesterday, the Persian Empire was the largest known to humankind, and it was never larger than in the times of Ahashverosh. This information is relevant to the story of Purim. Because now we know that ALL the Jews of that time lived under the Persian empire. And when Haman decreed the elimination of the “Persian Jews”, he did not target just the Jews of Shushan,  but absolutely all the Jewish people. As this pasuq says, the Kingdom of Ahashverosh extended to Israel and it even included Egypt, where it is estimated that there were some Jewish colonies. IN THE TIME OF AHASHVEROSH  THERE WERE NO JEWS LIVING OUTSIDE THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. That gives us an idea first, of the magnitude of the danger experienced by the Jewish people during Purim: I think that with the exception of the Shoah, there was never a time the Jewish people were so close to an impending and total elimination. Second, as Rabbi Almosnino says, this fact helps us to appreciate even more the “godel hanes”, i.e., the extraordinary Providential protection HaShem granted us, saving us from total extermination.
ESTHER 1: 3. “In the third year of his reign, [Ahashverosh] made a feast for all his nobles and officials:  all the army officers of Persia and Media, and the princes and nobles of the provinces”
Although the Kingdom of Ahashverosh was very large, for the emperors it was never enough. Darius had left an incomplete mission: to conquer Europe. And the gateway to the conquest of Europe was Greece. Darius died before he could conquer Greece. Ahashverosh then, had as the main goal of his life to conquer Greece.
Ahashverosh or Xerxes is known in world history for leading the largest military expedition in the history of mankind. According to Herodotus, who is considered the father of modern history (and who began his career with the story of Xerxes) the Persian emperor prepared an army of 5 million (to be more precise: 5,283,220 men) between soldiers and auxiliaries, to conquer Greece (He ultimately failed!).
In its third pasuq the Megilla tells us that Ahashverosh made a feast which lasted for six months, and then he threw another party that lasted for seven days. Some say that the first party was actually a “smokescreen” to bring together all the rulers and the generals of the Empire, and spend together six months organizing the army of 5 million soldiers.
There are two facts in the Megilla that seem to corroborate this theory.
1.The first guests mentioned in this pasuq are indeed the Military chiefs of Persia and Media (the Medes were allies of the Persians).
2. This would also explain why Ahashverosh, who was very fond of alcohol, got drunk only on the last day of the second party: as if during the first six months Ahashverosh, the commander in chief of the army, had to be sober and lucid not to lose any detail of the preparation of this monumental military expedition. After six months of intensive work, the monarch allowed himself to celebrate for seven days, without any limitations.  Historical data also seems to confirm the theory of the smokescreen, as it is estimated that Ahashverosh began preparing his expedition in 483 BC (see this), that is the third year of his reign, as it is mentioned with exquisite precision in our Megilla .
To be continued…


TEHILIM 20: When a King of Israel goes to war

PASUQ 1: To the director, Psalm for David.
According to several commentators, including Eben Ezra and RaDaQ, this psalm of Tehilim  was not written “by” King David, but “for” King David. And it was a Tefila, a prayer, to ask HaShem to protect and grant victory to King David and his army, when he was about to go to battle, against his enemies.
PASUQ 2: “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble, May the Name of the God of Ya’aqob, protect you”
This is the prayer that the people ask for the welbeing of their king: “If you find yourself in a moment of distress, when you pray to HaShem for your life, may He  answer your prayer.” The commentators explain that this Psalm only mentions Ya’aqob (God of Ya’aqob) because Ya’aqob suffered more and received more help from HaShem, than our other two patriarchs.
PASUQ 3: “May HaShem send you help from His sanctuary, may He sustain you from Zion.”
According to some commentators, this psalm was said as a prayer in the Miqdash, right before going to war, at the time the king offered sacrifices to God. This verse means: “May your prayers, O king, rise to HaShem from His sanctuary,” since that is the place from which the prayers of the people of Israel would reach heaven. From this expression we also see the tremendous  importance of prayer in Jerusalem, near the Bet haMiqdash (or its ruins, like the Kotel haMa’arabí). And this is also why Jews, wherever we are, we always pray toward the place of the Bet haMiqdash.
PASUQ 4: “HaShem will remember all your offerings, and the ashes of your sacrifices.”
From Zion HaShem will receive all your prayers, even the prayers you will pronounce on the battlefield. And HaShem will remember all the offerings that you offered him. It refers here to the offerings in times of peace and prosperity, when the King, as any Jew, approaches HaShem not to ask but mainly to thank Him. This pasuq is a wish that in the same way HaShem received your offerings when you thanked Him, may He now listen to your prayer and protect you.
PASUQ 5: “May HaShem answer everything your heart wants,  and make all your plans succeed.”
Let us remember that King David is about to go to war. The King and his army have already discussed and determined their plans and military strategies, but they know that to succeed on the battlefield, they totally depend on the help of HaShem, .
PASUQ 6: “We will rejoice with your success,  and we will raise a banner [of gratitude to] HaShem, once HaShem has fulfilled all your desires.”
The people and / or the Priests who recite this prayer are now sowing optimism and EMUNA (faith) in the heart of the King and his army, by visualizing the victorious return of King David and his men. And by declaring that when that time comes, we will all celebrate your triumph thanking HaShem for His salvation.
PASUQ 7: “Now I know that Hashem saved His anointed [= His King, i.e., David],  he answered him from the heights of His sanctuary, and awarded his victory through the power of His right hand.”
This is the beginning of the prayer of gratitude to HaShem that the people will recite when King David would return victorious from the battle. The main part of the Tefila, of this or of any other prayer, is “attribution to God”, in this particular case, the recognition that it is HaShem Who granted the King and his army their triumph.
PASUQ 8: “Some [may boast] their chariots, and others, their horses. But we,  the name of our God will invoke.”.
Following the idea expressed in the previous pasuq, this Psalm says that while other people attribute their victory to the power of their weapons, their indestructible chariots or their powerful horses, the Jewish people knows, and declares that victory is not won by just by weapons or force. It is HaShem who determines the final outcome of the battle. It is He Who grants victory to the armies.
PASUQ 9: “They will tumble and fall, [but] we will rise and take heart”
It is this EMUNA, our belief that HaShem is the One who grants victory, what distinguishes us from other people of the earth. People who do not have HaShem on their side, will fall and  vanquish,  but we will succeed. Since HaShem is with His people, when the people of Israel is with HaShem, having Him present in their prayers and in their actions on the battlefield.
PASUQ 10: “May HaShem save us, may the King [=in this case refers to HaShem] answer us when we call Him.”
We are now reaching the last verse of this beautiful Psalm. Unlike all other verses that were a prayer addressed and dedicated to David, this pasuq is a prayer addressed directly to Hashem, in the second person of the singular. It is possible,  some commentaries say,  that this final PASUQ is the cry of war that everyone present, the people and the army of Israel, said together, imploring HaShem’s salvation, just before the King and his army, animated by this words, departed for battle.

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