Blessed and Cursed Rabbi Zev-Hayyim Feyer
On Purim, it is taught, one should become so intoxicated that one cannot tell the
difference between “blessed is Mordecai” and “cursed is Haman.” Our tradition hasexplained this dictum in many ways.
Some take it literally. They drink so much on Purim that they become “dead drunk;”
they pass out, become unconscious, and, even if not quite unconscious, in their stupor theycannot tell the difference between “blessed is Mordecai” and “cursed is Haman.” This is thelevel of the World of Assiyah, the World of Action, the level of doing, the body level.
Some examine it in the light of gematria, numerology. The Hebrew expression
*,$9/ +&9" (Baruch Mordecai, blessed is Mordecai) has a gematria (letter by letter) of 2 +200 + 6 + 20 + 40 + 200 + 4 + 20 + 10 = 502. The expression 0/% 9&9! (Arur Haman,cursed is Haman) has a gematria of 1 + 200 + 6 + 200 + 5 + 40 + 50 = 502. The Kabbalistictradition teaches us that two words or two expressions which have the same gematria are,on some level and in some way, equivalent. By gematria, then, there is no differencebetween “blessed is Mordecai” and “cursed is Haman.” This is higher than the level of doing;this is the World of Yetzirah, the World of Formation, the level of knowing, the mind level.
Then there are those – in the East, we would call this the discipline of bhakti,
devotion – who are so wholly G*d-intoxicated that they are conscious of nothing but G*d. G*d is infinite, and this world – the spiritual as much as the physical – is finite, and so thereis no difference, from a Cosmic perspective, between the best of us and the worst of us;compared to the Infinite, the small and the vast are equally tiny. To the G*d-intoxicated,there really is no difference between “blessed is Mordecai” and “cursed is Haman.” This isa still higher level; this is the World of B’riyah, the World of Creation, the level of feeling, theheart level.
The Baal Shem Tov, however, proposes a higher level still. Beyond getting so drunk
that we cannot tell the difference, beyond the gematrial analysis that reveals their essentialidentity, beyond even the G*d-intoxication that transcends all differences and distinctions,the Baal Shem Tov tells us to learn, from Haman’s diligence, his beautiful one-pointedconcentration, his single-minded devotion, to perform enthusiastically the will of Mordecai. And this is the World of Atzilut, the World of Emanation, the level of being, the soul level, thehighest level of all.
May we soon come to experience the joy of Purim on every level. Blessed and Cursed Copyright 2004 Rabbi Zev- Hayyim FeyerThis document may not be reproduced (in whole or in part) in any manner, including, without lim itation, print and electronic media, without the written perm ission of the copyright holder.
SISC CO-PAYMENT REFERENCE GUIDE Medco manages your prescription drug benefit at the request of SISC. Your plan gives you the option of getting your covered medications through the Medco Pharmacy ® mail-order service or at a participating retail pharmacy. The chart below provides a summary of your prescription drug benefit co-payments. When you use a participating When you use the T
Sample Individualized Healthcare Plan using Standardized Language Medical Diagnosis: Spina bifida; neurogenic bowel and bladder; hydrocephalus with right ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Assessment Data: Nonambulatory, 6 year-old requiring clean intermittent catheterization five times per day (two times at school), interested in helping with procedure but unable to do independently because