(Exodus: 27:21- 30-10)

(Shmuel I, 15:1-34)

(Parshat Zachor, Fast of Esther)

1. [28:3] “…to make him holy, to serve me.”  What is holiness? What does it mean to be holy? What does this phrase in our kedushah prayer mean: “Holy, holy, holy is God. The whole world is full of His glory”?

2. [28:3 ] “…to make him holy, to serve me.”  Rav Kuk (1865-1935, Lithuania, Israel) tells us that for some people serving God is like serving people. That is, it may be a great honour, but it also feels like a burden. For others, however, serving God is an act of freedom.  What does it mean to serve God  from a mentality of  freedom?

3. [Purim] On Purim, we are commanded to hear every word of Megillat Esther. On Shabbat, we are NOT commanded to hear every word of the Torah reading. Why is the megillah  reading different from the Shabbat reading?

4. On Purim, we are told that we should give charity to every person who asks—who puts out his or her hand. During the rest of the year, we are allowed to check people to see if they deserve the charity, but on Purim we are not permitted to question people in this way. Why is Purim different from  the rest of the year in relation to charity?

5. [Megillah of Purim 10:3]  “Because Mordechai…was accepted by most of his brothers…”  Mordechai had done so much to save the Jewish people. Why is it that he was accepted by most of his brothers, and not by all of them?

  Commentary

[Esther 2:11] “And each and every day Mordechai  walked in front of the yard of the women’s house to know how Esther was doing…”

Mordechai went to check on Esther every day for 4 or 5 years. This is really an amazing thing.  Mordechai, the tzaddik, did this because Esther was an orphan, and she was in distress. And because of the merit of his kindness and his concern,  Heaven sent miracles and Haman was beaten.

— Sfat Emet,  R. Yehuda Arieh Leib Alter of Gur (1855-1905)

This study page is dedicated to the memory of Rivkah Rochel bat Ya’akov haLevi and Chaya Kornberg, and Yechiel Eliezer ben Yitzchok Meir and Rochel Laya Kornberg

And this study page is also dedicated to the memory of Gad Eliahu ben David and Kochava–Eli Zucker