Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Appearances can be Deceptive


A Purim Vort

Why did Vashti refuse to appear naked before the King?  The Ohr HaMeir says in the name of the Baal Shem Tov:

Vashti is klipah and Esther is Kedusha. "The King" is obviously in reference to Hashem, the True King.

Klipah is the outer shell - it encases that which is in it, in essence holding what is inside it prisoner. Kedusha is holiness.

The only advantage that klipah has over kedushah is that it is beautifully clothed. The klipah appears to be attractive. But as soon as you remove the levushim (robes) - the klipah has nothing to hang on to and it vanishes completely. Thus, the klipah cannot come before the King.

Anything in this physical world that entices us that is not Kedusha will be nothing in the future: it will cease to exist, because klipah cannot stand before the King "unclothed".


Purim begins this Saturday night.  At that time we will see the Super Moon - the moon will appear huge because it will be very close to the earth -  356,577km away.  The moon represents the Jewish people... so it's a good sign.

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