Post date: Mar 22, 2019 2:26:13 AM
Purim is on its way out and we welcome in Shushan Purim (followed closely by Shabbos). I hope that you enjoyed the Divrei Torah. Hopefully it made a difference for you, and maybe even impacted someone you were with.
I wish everyone a Freilechen Shushan Purim, and hopefully this is our last one in Galus.
Josh
U’mishloach manos ish l’rei’eihu
And sending delicacies to one another
(9:22)
What is the reason for the Mitzvah of Mishloach Manos?
The Megilas Eliyahu explains that after the Jews successfully defended themselves, it was as if the Jews had triumphed in battle. (Ed: Seemingly, that’s exactly what it was. Maybe this was considered less like a real battle because it was really every man for himself, and there wasn’t an army involved, but rather it involved civilian against civilian.) As is the custom to bestow gifts upon soldiers when they return successfully from battle, the Mishloach Manos was similarly a gift to each other as a token of appreciation, or a token of recognition for what had just transpired.
A very different opinion is offered by the Manos Halevi. He reminds us that when Haman brought his claim against the Jews to Achashveirosh, one of his points was that they were a scattered and dispersed nation. A nation that lacked unity. But later in the Megilah we’re told that “Nikhalu haYehudim,” the Jews organized themselves (9:2). They merited salvation because they, in fact, possessed unity. The Mitzvah of Mishloach Manos is one that demonstrates unity among the Jews as we send gifts of food to each other.
Taking a slightly different angle to the idea of the Manos Halevi, R. Shimshon Raphael Hirsch tells us that the miracle of Purim happened specifically because of the unity that the Jews demonstrated. In commemoration of that, Mordechai established Mitzvos for the day that revolve around unity—namely Mishloach Manos and Matanos L’evyonim (charity for the poor).
[Megillas Esther: The Answer Is..., p. 267]