Finding G-d

by Rabbi DovBer Pinson

We can find G-d in Creation just as a painting is proof of an artist, and a book shows that it has an author. Yet some see only random void and emptiness, insisting that our intricate world is but a
fluke in meaningless chaos.

A philosopher wrote, “G-d has written a cleverly deceptive detective story with so many clues pointing the wrong way.” Proof of the creator is scattered throughout the systems of creation, yet others dismiss it all as mere occurrence; it’s only “natural.”

Miraculous phenomena and the natural order of things may seem to be worlds apart, yet they are not mutually exclusive.

The Torah relates clearly obvious miracles that interrupted and overwhelmed the natural course of events. But there are also ‘natural miracles’ vested and embedded within the routine and ordinary.

We would be awed by an obvious miracle that contradicts conventional thinking, while a concealed indirect miracle piques our interest to look deeper. But after careful evaluation we realize that something mysterious is at work.

The Purim miracle was costumed by nature. A superficial glance at the Purim story reveals nothing spectacularly miraculous. A simple reading offers a tale of chance and coincidence, nothing out of the ordinary. No single event is miraculous; but together the combination of circumstances makes it so remarkable.

The story opens as Ahasuerus throws a party and wants to show off his queen Vashti, but she refuses. Angered, the king kills her and searches for a new queen; it happens that she is a Jewess, related to Mordechai who just happens to overhear a plot and saves the king’s life. Meanwhile, Haman plots to kill all the Jews in the kingdom. One sleepless night as the king tosses and turns in bed, his book of royal memoirs turns to the tale of Mordechai. Esther reveals herself as a Jew and pleads to annul the evil decree. As the king walks into the queen's chamber, he finds Haman there, and condemns him.

Unlike Chanukah’s tiny cruse of oil that burned for eight days, or Passover’s Ten plagues and Crossing of the Sea, Purim’s hidden miracle is dressed within a seemingly natural course of events.

Hide and Seek
Esther, too, is in hiding. No one knows her true identity; she doesn’t even tell the king her origins. Her Hebrew name is Hadassah but she takes on a new Persian name Esther.

The name “Esther” in Hebrew, from the root “str” is associated with the Torah verse, “I will hide (hastir astir) My face from you...” (Deut. 31:18) Note the double hiding, hastir astir - profound hiding. Esther hides in her new identity and name, and the name she assumes also means hiding.

There are various levels of hiding. One is a hiding that screams to be found, while the other is so hidden that no one looks any longer; the fact that it is hidden is itself hidden.

As in the story of the son of the Maggid of Mezritch who burst into his father's study, weeping. Playing hide & seek, he found a great hiding place; waited and waited, but no one came to seek for him. His friends had given up on finding him, and went on to other games. The Maggid tearfully responded; "The Creator also plays hide and seek with us, so we should seek and reveal heaven within earth. But the concealment is so thorough that people forget to seek. How sad it must be for He who hides."

The Megillah of Esther is part of the Holy Scriptures, yet this book contains none of G-d’s biblical names. Mordechai makes only a vague reference to G-d when he tells Esther that if she doesn’t act, the Jews will be saved ‘from another place.’ But the typical names of G-d are not present.

Everything is divinely orchestrated, and the fact that G-d’s name appears nowhere in the Megillah indicates the deep state of concealment.

This holiday was named “Purim” because Haman cast lots (in Hebrew, Pur). This also reflects the seeming randomness and coincidence of occurrences. We don't choose the outcome of a lottery, wish as we may. It appears so random and accidental.

We wear masks and dress up on Purim to symbolize this concept of Divine hiding and deception.

REVELATION
The point of this cheerful holiday is to reveal that there is really no happenstance or mere coincidence. Just as Esther means hidden, the word “Megillah” is synonymous with Megale-to reveal. Megilah of Esther literally translates as “revealing the hidden.” We read into the story and find G-d within the maze of unrelated and chance events. Listening carefully to the unfolding story, we realize that nothing is happenstance.

Nature conceals the divine energy that sustains it. The Hebrew word Ha'Teva - nature and the divine name Elokim share the numeric value of eighty-six. Speaking of creation, the Torah says “in the beginning, Elokim created.” Elokim, the aspect of concealment creates a universe of concealment. Philologically, the name Elokim can be divided into two words, Elam - muted and Yud/Hei - a name of G-d. Together it means that Elokim is the limiting force that mutes the more transcendendant Infinite energy. Still, the Divine light is there, just silently.

It is our task and goal to search and discover, to unveil and reveal G-d within nature. It is our challenge to try and put together the puzzle. Purim gives us the strength and vision to elevate the seemingly ordinary into something extraordinary; transforming the natural into the miraculous.