In less than a week, im yirtzeh Hashem, we'll have the privilege of fulfilling the mitzvah of krias hamagillah. What is it that we're supposed to hear as we listen to the magillah? Well obviously the words. But what is it between the words, between the lines, that we're supposed to hear during the krias hamagillah? The Rambam addresses this question for us in responding to a different question. The Rambam explains why krias hamagillah, emblematic of mitzvos derabanan, doesn't violate the issur bal tosef. And the Rambam explains that first of all, because it's clearly identified and delineated as such as being derabanan and not d'oraisa. And secondly, because it's oriented towards the Torah. It comes to facilitate, every derabanan, the Rambam says, comes to either protect or facilitate or foster or reinforce something in the Torah. There's no such thing as an independent derabanan in that sense. Were there, were a derabanan independent, it would violate bal tosef. Is that my phone? No, no. Were there something, were, if a derabanan were independent, it would violate bal tosef. So in depicting the connection, in depicting the connection of mikra magillah to the Torah, the Rambam says as follows: הנביאים עם בית דין תיקנו וציוו לקרוא המגילה בעונתה כדי להזכיר שבחו של הקדוש ברוך הוא ותשועה שעשה לנו והיה קרוב לשוועתנו.
Krias hamagillah, we praise, we mention the praises of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, the salvations that He effected, כדי לברכו ולהללו וכדי להודיע לדורות הבאים שאמת מה שהבטיחנו בתורה: כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלוהים קרובים אליו כהשם אלוהינו בכל קוראנו אליו.
The Rambam said that Chazal had two goals in mind, two points of connection as it were, to the Torah. First of all, krias hamagillah was instituted kedei levarcho ulhalalo. And second of all, כדי להודיע לדורות הבאים שאמת מה שהבטיחנו בתורה כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלוהים קרובים אליו כהשם אלוהינו בכל קוראנו אליו.
How did the Rambam know this? Where did the Rambam get this from, these two goals? In between the words and the lines of the magillah, so A, a hallel is supposed to emerge, and B, our belief in the Torah's haftacha of כהשם אלוהינו בכל קוראנו אליו is supposed to be reinforced. The first, kedei levarcho ulhalalo, the Gemara in Megillah and Arachin asks why we don't say Hallel on Purim, the middle of the three answers the Gemara gives is קריאתה זו היא הילולא. So we generally, I think, understand that to mean that the krias hamagillah also functions as a hallel, additionally, in addition, it serves as a hallel. What the Rambam understood pshat in the Gemara is no, the krias hamagillah was introduced not also as a hallel, that is the goal and the thrust of krias hamagillah: kedei levarcho ulhalalo. קריאתה זו היא הילולא. No, that's gufa what Chazal designed krias hamigilla for, k'dei l'hallo. But there's a second goal the Rambam says, כדי להודיע לדורות הבאים שאמת מה שהבטיחנו בתורה. As we hear, as we read, as we hear the Megilla, so our belief in the Torah's havtacha of כה' אלקינו בכל קראנו אליו is supposed to be reinforced. What is that belief? So the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah yud cheis, the Rambam quotes in perek bais of Hilchos Teshuva, tells us that even though for a yachid it's dirshu ha-Shem behimatzo, the time period of Aseres Yemei Teshuva is singled out. The tzibur, כל זמן שעושין תשובה וצועקין בלב שלם הם נענין. The tzibur is not limited to Aseres Yemei Teshuva. Whenever they have the combination of עושין תשובה וצועקין בלב שלם הם נענין, shenemar כה' אלקינו בכל קראנו אליו. How did the Rambam know that this is the intent of krias hamigilla? This is the de-Oraisa belief, principle that krias hamigilla is fostering, is reinforcing? The Gemara in Megilla yud aleph says, it tells us what the different Amoraim, the introduction they would give before they would darshan Megillas Esther. So Rav Masna amar meihacha, when Rav Masna would be ready to darshan the Megilla, so he'd begin with a pasuk in Parshas Va-Eschanan of מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלקים קרבים אליו, כה' אלקינו בכל קראנו אליו.
So Chazal saw fit that that this, that our belief in this havtacha should be reinforced through krias hamigilla. One wonders if Chazal had a sixth sense that maybe with regard to this havtacha of כה' אלקינו בכל קראנו אליו that some of us, maybe many of us fall into the class of the way Chazal describe Noach of ktanei amana, of maamin ve-eino maamin. Because the pasuk says, the havtacha is something extraordinary. The havtacha says כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלקים קרבים אליו, what nation has a, has a God who's so close to them, כה' אלקינו בכל קראנו אליו, whenever, without exception, כל זמן שעושין תשובה וצועקין בלב שלם הם נענין. No exceptions, kol zman, any and every time. So the question is, so do we, do we really believe that? Do we believe that the current eis tzara which is not an eis tzara which is limited to the geographic borders of the Ukraine, that would constitute an eis tzara also, as long as the, as long as the war continues, there is potential Rachmana litzlan for escalation. The milchama places Medinat Yisrael... Israel and a terrible, terrible, untenable position. The question is, do we really believe that we could bring it to an end? We can. כל זמן שעושין תשובה וצועקין בלב שלם הנה. One wonders if, if Chazal seeing just how extraordinary this havtacha is, just how far-reaching and just how all-encompassing the havtacha is, it, it needs chizuk. Either or both of two things, we could solve the problem of Iran's effort to develop nuclear weapons. We can do anything. השם אלקינו ככל קראנו אליו. But two things that need to be true: A, we need to believe it. We need to really, really believe it. You know, when we say the Ani Maamin, so also, there's an acknowledgment that there's a level of, of emuna which is real and present and yet still needs to be further developed. It's אני מאמין באמונה שלמה. A person can be maamin that, but not necessarily be'emuna sheleima. Either or both of two things is true. Either we're too spiritually lethargic to be עושין תשובה וצועקין בלב שלם, or we're miktanei amana and it just seems too good to be true. Esther HaMalka certainly had a emuna sheleima in the koach of tefilla combined with teshuva, and the mitzvah of krias ha-megilla, it's always timely, there's always a galus that needs to end. But it's one that we look be'ezras Hashem and hope bli neder to be mikayem, to read the words, to hear the words, but also to hear the message in between the lines of the Megilla that אמת מה שהבטיחנו בתורה, it's literal, there's nothing... There's no hyperbole, there's no, it's literal. That אמת מה שהבטיחנו בתורה, kaHashem Elokeinu bechol without exception bechol koreinu eilav.