Shabbat Parashat Ki Tisa 5786

Parashat Hashavua: The Persian Empire, the Golden Calf, and the Divine Presence

A mishna (Megilla 2:3) cites a machloket on what we take for granted – R. Meir’s opinion that we read the whole Megillat Esther. R. Yehuda requires to read from the introduction of Mordechai. Rabbi Yossi – from Haman’s ascent to influence. R. Shimon – from Achashveirosh’s sleepless night (Megillah 19a). The gemara explains that all focus on what the pasuk (Esther 9:29) describing writing tokef (strength) means. R, Meir, who requires the entire Megilla, relates to the tokef of Achashveirosh. The others advocate reading the tokef of Mordechai, of Haman, or of the miracle, respectively.

Let us understand the background. The Megilla opens with an account of Achashveirosh, who ruled 127 provinces, from Hodu to Kush.” Hodu is in Asia and Kush in Africa, and they mark the boundaries of the biblical world. Implicitly, he claims the exclusive title of the king of kings. There is no room for Hashem in his perception.

Such an attitude in the world causes Hashem to react with hester panim (hiding the Divine Presence (Shechina)). It is therefore unsurprising that His Name does not appear explicitly in the Megilla, as Hashem is concealed behind the recurring term “the king.”

The Shechina went with Am Yisrael into exile from Eretz Yisrael (Megilla 29a). At the time of the Persian Empire’s broad rule, there seemed to be no realistic prospect that Israel would return to the Beit Hamikdash, the home of the Shechina. Yirmiyahu had foretold that the nation would return after 70 years, and the Mikdash would be rebuilt. According to Chazal, once those years passed, Achashveirosh’s feast, at which the vessels of the Mikdash were deliberately used, constituted giving up hope for redemption and the ideal of “if they merit, the Shechina would be with and above them.”

Chazal taught that a man and woman who build a home in Israel merit that the Shechina will dwell among them (Sotah 17a), reminiscent of the command to build the Mishkan “so I shall dwell among them” (Shemot 25:8). The command concludes with a double declaration: “I shall dwell in the midst of Bnei Yisrael … to dwell among them, I am Hashem” (Shemot 29:45-46). The indwelling of the Shechina is a result of families that build their homes in sanctity and purity, and this finds public expression in the Mishkan/Mikdash.

Tragically, between the command to build the Mishkan and its construction, the sin of the Golden Calf occurred. The Calf symbolizes life centered on materialism and degradation (see Shemot 32:18). Life in Achashveirosh’s palace represents a prolonged Golden Calf lifestyle. The beginning of the Megilla presents a world founded on promiscuity, drunken feasting, and a royal command that a wife appear publicly in a manner intended to shock and humiliate. Anyone who aspires to live in a world shaped by “How good are your tents, Ya‘akov …!” (Bamidbar 24:5) cannot accept such conduct. The degrading treatment of women in Iran (i.e., ancient Persia) shows that, fundamentally, things have not changed over the course of millennia.

If the Megilla is a story of redemption and of renewed possibility to experience the Shechina, then R. Yehuda, R. Yossi, and R. Shimon do not require to read the first chapter!

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