Ta'anis Esther - unique segula

Mevater

Thu, Mar 01 2007, 12:02 pm

With respect to that OTHER website:

In Kav Hayoshor it is written, that on Taanis Esther one should say kappitel 22 - למנצח על אילת השחר - with strong kavonoh, and then should daven to Hashem that he should be helped in the zchus of Mordechai and Esther, and he will be helped.
Thus, 'mishenichnas Adar marbin b'simcha.' We prepare ourselves to encounter the Shechina during the month of Adar. The clim@x of this avoda is Purim, when we are so close to the Shechina that our simcha is without boundaries, just as everything about Hashem is boundless. Having established that Adar is a time of closeness to the Shechina, we must ask ourselves why. Why is the Shechina Hakedosha so close to us in Adar? In explaining the reason for 'mishenichnas Adar marbin b'simcha,' Rashi says, 'yimei nissim hayu l'Yisrael, Purim v'Pesach' (Purim and Pesach were days of miracles for Bnei Yisrael) 12.

A neis (miracle) is a manifestation of gilui Shechina (revelation of the Divine Presence). Hashem is ro'eh v'eino nireh (He sees but cannot be seen by us). When Hashem performs a neis for Am Yisrael, He is showing Himself to us. He is allowing us to see the Shechina. The Ramban explains that the word for miracle - neis - is from the same root as the word for a banner - 'v'sa neis l'kabeitz galiyuseinu.' This is because a miracle serves as a banner to show us that Hashem is there; Hashem is close.

To be sure, we encounter nissim on a daily basis, as we thank Hashem in the Amida - 'al nisecha shebichol yom imanu' (for the miracles that you perform for us each day). However, not all miracles are equal, not every miracle warrants a Yom Tov (holy day). A neis must be of a certain magnitude to be celebrated as a Yom Tov.

Such a neis was the neis of Purim. It was a miracle that serves as a beacon of light to illuminate our long journey through galus with gilui Shechina. The Gemara (Yoma 29a.) explains that the verse 'v'lamenatzeich al ayeles hashachar' (For the conductor, on the morning hind) is a reference to Esther. 'Ma shachar sof kol halaila af Esther sof kol hanissim' (just as dawn is the end of the night, so too Esther is the end of all nissim). The Neis Purim was the last of the nissim that reached the peak of gilui Shechina.