At the end of the Book of Esther, we read that “the Jews fulfilled and received”, which our Sages explain to mean that in the days of Mordechai, the Jews fulfilled that which they had already received at Sinai at the giving of the Torah. At Mount Sinai, the Hashem placed the mountain over the Israelites and threatened them if they refuse the Torah. In the days of Mordechai and Esther, the Jews agreed to accept the Torah anew with a fully willing heart.
This requires an explanation. What motivated the Jews to accept the Torah and mitzvos anew amidst love and joy?
Some people are always successful. He may be wealthy, popular, and wise, with nothing beyond his reach. He is the richest man in town, and his name is known far and wide as a great and noble figure, but nevertheless, there are things that can disturb him to no end. He cannot bear someone who became wealthier than he. As soon as he hears that this fellow surpassed him in wealth, he feels as if he has nothing. He may still be the second richest or most powerful man in the world. He may still have his wisdom and popularity, but this does not impress him. He feels that his entire world is now destroyed.
This was Haman, one of the wealthiest men in Persia and Medea, with almost royal status. He lacked nothing. He was the second-in-command after the king, and his word was as respected as the King’s word. The King himself held him in such high regard that he agreed to commit genocide against all of the Jews in his kingdom at Haman’s request. At the King’s behest all the King’s servants would bow to Haman, an honor which no other nobleman in Persia and Medea received. Despite all of this, the fact that one man, Mordechai, refused to bow to him negated everything Haman had. All the honor and glory he was receiving had no value to him if one man refused to bow down and show him honor. This made him miserable
Haman spoke to his family and described all of his wealth and honor, and his many children, and the fact that “the king exalted him over all of the nobles and royal servants”. He went on to describe the feast that Esther made for the King, and that he was the only one invited to attend. All of this was in a large kingdom consisting of 127 provinces. Nevertheless it held no value to him and he told them: “all of this is worthless to me, because of every time I see Mordechai the Jew sitting at the Royal Gate.” Whatever glory he was receiving was totally worthless!
The Jews of that generation were witness to this. They were now close to death simply because of Haman’s lack of satisfaction. The Jews learned an important lesson from this; True satisfaction and joy never comes from materialism. If someone has 100, he wants 200. The more wealth one has, the less satisfaction and joy from life he has. This can be extremely destructive to someone who was not raised in a Torah path. This is why the Jews went back and accepted the Torah anew out of love and good will.
They understood from the lesson of Haman that a person who lusts after worldly pleasures will never be satisfied, because it is impossible to fulfill all of one’s desires. The only one who can find true satisfaction in life is someone whose main desire in life are to serve the Creator, because “those who seek Hashem have no lack of goodness” (Psalm 34:10), and the path of faith, with the Torah and mitzvos, bring delight to the soul, and distances a person from jealousy, lust, and honor-seeking, all of which remove a person from the world.
We can now understand the true depth of the statement (Talmud Tractate Brachos 64a) “Torah scholars increase peace in the world”. When a person lacks satisfaction in life, he is constantly angry and upset when things do not go his way, and this casts fear and dread upon those around him. A true Torah scholar, on the other hand, is filled with happiness, satisfaction, and good will. The nachas and pleasure he feels from studying a page of Talmud is immeasurable, and far greater than the pleasure a millionaire feels. The abundant satisfaction and happiness Torah study brings allows him to feel no cares in the world from insignificant matters, and this is what increases peace in the world.
Those who live a Torah life see clearly how pleasant life is when lived in accordance with the Torah. The more careful a person is to keep the mitzvos, the more he experiences the true sweetness and beauty of life. On the other hand, those who are far from Torah, who follow the heathen paths and their base culture, are the ones who are lost, always seeking happiness and never finding it. Since their souls lack satisfaction, they are constantly seeking something new, or make up their own ways, yet none of this helps.
Every Jew must know and review to himself the words in the Siddur: “How blissful we are, how goodly is our portion, how pleasant is our lot, and how beautiful is our heritage!” There is nothing better, happier, sweeter, or more beautiful than a Torah lifestyle. The laws that the Creator gave us guides us on the True Path to satisfaction and true happiness. We are obligated to thank and praise and laud: “Blessed is our G-d, Who created us for His Glory, and separated us from the lost, and gave us the True Torah, and planted eternal life in our midst!”
This is why the mitzvos of Mishloach Manos and Matanos L’Evyonim were established on Purim, because they demonstrate good character traits which increase peace in the world through a life of Torah in joy. This is the eternal lesson of the Book of Esther and the days of Purim, which will never be abrogated amidst the Jews, and memory of Purim will never cease among their seed.
