Purim Mindfulness - Waves of the Sea

Rav Yitzchak Hutner Recording can be found here: https://torahdownloads.com/shiur-15915.html)

Translation by Ari Waxman

The .‫ גמרא בבא בתרא דף ד‬tells us that anyone who didn’t see the ‫ בית המקדש‬after it underwent
the renovations of ‫ הורדוס‬has never seen a truly magnificent building.

.‫ במאי בנייה? אמר רבה באבני שישא ומרמרא‬.‫אמרי מי שלא ראה בנין הורדוס לא ראה בנין נאה מימיו‬
.‫איכא דאמרי באבני כוחלא שישא ומרמרא‬
.‫אפיק שפה ועייל שפה כי היכי דנקביל סידא‬
Every other row protruded so that it would receive the limestone covering it.
:‫רש״י‬
.‫ שיש ירוק שקורין ביי״ש‬- ‫שישא‬
.‫ שיש לבן‬- ‫ומרמרא‬
.‫ שיש צבוע כעין כחול‬- ‫כוחלא‬
The ‫ גמרא‬continues:
.‫סבר למשעייה בדהבא אמרו ליה רבנן שבקיה דהכי שפיר טפי דמיחזי כי אידוותא דימא‬
Herod wanted to cover it with gold, however ‫ חכמים‬told him to leave it, it would be better not to cover it
with gold, since without the gold it looked like the waves of the ocean.
:‫רש״י‬
.‫ גלי הים‬- ‫אידוותא דימא‬

Herod rebuilt the ‫ בית המקדש‬with two colors, one row protruding a bit more than the other. The
‫ גמרא‬tells us that Herod originally wanted to cover it with gold, but the ‫ חכמים‬preferred that he leave it
because it gave the appearance of the waves of the ocean.

What does this mean? What significance do waves have to the ‫?בית המקדש‬

Very often we find that the future overpowers our present. When someone sets out to
accomplish a certain task they focus on the future, that which is not here yet. When someone is
involved in something which is connected to yesterday’s events, their mind is on the past. However,
there is also a reality of someone being completely focused on the present.
This is the ‫מדה‬, in the words of ‫ רש״י‬of ‫בשעת חדוותא חדוותא‬.
(‫ו‬,‫״וינחם ה׳ כי עשה את האדם בארץ ויתעצב אל לבו״ )בראשית ו‬
.‫ וזה כתבתי לתשובת המינים‬.‫ נתאבל על אבדן מעשה ידיו כמו )שמואל ב׳ יט׳( נעצב המלך על בנו‬:‫רש״י‬
.‫ הן‬- ‫אפיקורס אחד שאל את רבי יהושע בן קרחה א״ל אין אתם מודים שהקב״ה רואה את הנולד? אמר לו‬
?‫ ומה עשית‬- ‫ אמר לו‬.‫ הן‬- ‫ נולד לך בן זכר מימיך? אמר לו‬- ‫ והא כתיב ״ויתעצב אל לבו״? אמר לו‬- ‫אמר לו‬
‫ בשעת חדותא חדותא‬- ‫ ולא היית יודע שסופו למות? אמר לו‬- ‫ אמר לו‬.‫ שמחתי ושימחתי את הכל‬- ‫אמר לו‬
.‫בשעת אבלא אבלא‬

Even though rationally we know that this experience will pass, there’s a ‫ מדה‬called ‫בשעת חדוותא‬
‫חדוותא‬. There’s a time for focusing on the present and almost blinding ourselves from the future.

In ‫ חז״ל‬we find another way of expressing this idea which may be even more powerful. The ‫ פסוק‬says:
(‫״ )תהלים פט׳‬.‫ בשוא גליו אתה תשבחם‬,‫״אתה מושל בגאות הים‬
:‫רש״י‬
‫ משבח שאון‬,(‫ וכן וחכם באחור ישבחנה )משלי כט׳‬,‫ תשפילם‬- ‫ ״אתה תשבחם״‬.‫ בהנשא גליו‬- ‫״בשוא גליו״‬
.‫ימים‬
The ‫ פסוק‬describes the rule of ‫ הקב״ה‬over the ocean. When the waves are stormy, ‫״אתה תשבחם״‬,
Hashem calms them down and lowers them.

This is the unique characteristic of the waves. Every wave approaches the coast with the intent of
smashing through, of being successful and breaking through the barrier of the coastline. The fact that the
wave before it wasn’t successful doesn’t deter the next wave in the slightest.
 If we think about it, this is the same idea that is being conveyed with the concept of ‫בשעת חדותא‬
‫חדותא‬, and maybe in an even more powerful manner. Each wave is completely focused on the present. He is
going to smash through, and, in fact, he would smash through if not for the fact that the Master of the World
stops him.

The ‫ בית המקדש‬that was destroyed was the ‫ בית המקדש‬of ‫הורדוס‬. He was the last one to have
input on the appearance of the ‫בהמ״ק‬. And we see that there was a specific ‫ קפידא‬that the ‫ בהמ״ק‬have the
appearance of the waves of the ocean. Why? From the time of ‫ הורדוס‬the clouds of ‫ חורבן‬were already in
the air and there was a fear that time was up. This, naturally, could bring about a de-emphasis on the ‫בהמ״ק‬.
The Jews of the time could have fallen into a kind of indifference towards the ‫ בהמ״ק‬of today because they
sensed that tomorrow they won’t have it anymore. As a response to this possible negative attitude the ‫חכמים‬
wanted to emphasize the present, and this was expressed through the waves of the ocean. ‫ חכמים‬were
sending a message. Right now we do have a ‫ !בית המקדש‬Right now we do have a ‫ מקום העבודה‬as we did
during the times of Shlomo HaMelech. Don’t look at tomorrow. There is no tomorrow! This is the attitude
expressed by the waves of the ocean. ‫״בשוא גליו אתה תשבחם״‬.

Taking this idea further, this concept is one of the points at which is seems that ‫שמחה של מצוה‬
‫ ושמחה של הוללות‬meet. Here ‫ שמחה של מצוה‬can take on the appearance of ‫ שמחה של הוללות‬which
proclaims - eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. Since we’re going to die tomorrow let’s enjoy today
to the maximum. These two experiences are parallel to each other, ‫זה לעומת זה‬. In the midst of our ‫שמחה‬
‫ של קדושה‬we have to know that our ‫ שמחה‬is a ‫מצוה‬, and even though this type of ‫ שמחה‬won’t and
shouldn’t be present tomorrow - it can’t take away an iota from today’s ‫שמחה‬. Today our soul is on fire. This
is the lesson of the waves of the ocean. Today we stand as the waves of the ocean even though we know that
this ‫ שמחה‬won’t be present tomorrow. This is the ‫ זה לעומת זה‬of ‫שמחה‬.

In days of past, when there was a quality presentation of a Purim shpiel in the ‫ישיבות‬, it was
customary to sing a certain rhyme in Yiddish:
,‫״היינט איז פורים‬
.‫מארגען איז אויס‬
,‫גיט מיר א טרונק‬
‫״‬.‫און ווארפט מיר ארויס‬
“Today is Purim, and tomorrow it’s no longer. Give me a drink and throw me out.”

This was ‫מנהג ישראל קדושים‬. What does it mean?

As we explained, we’re emphasizing that today is Purim and we have to get the most out of it. It doesn’t make
a difference that tomorrow Purim is over. We are positioned as the ‫גלי הים‬.

The ‫ שמחת פורים‬is not limited to ‫שמחה של מצוה‬, but, rather, there’s a greater ‫ חידוש‬- the ‫ היתר‬of a form
of ‫ שמחה‬which is normally considered inappropriate. Tomorrow this type of expression of ‫ שמחה‬is
unacceptable. Tomorrow drinking is a ‫ מדה מגונה‬and today it is a ‫שמחה של מצוה‬. So what are we doing
getting involved with this today when tomorrow it is completely inappropriate? This is the ‫ מדה‬of the waves
of the ocean. Today our soul is on fire!
‫ מורגען איז אויס!״‬,‫״היינט איז פורים‬

This is the dimension that we are in on Purim. ‫גלי הים‬. Let’s get the most out of the moment.

This is the ‫ זה לעומת זה‬between ‫שמחה של מצוה ושמחה של הוללות‬. Today our heart is on fire and let’s
not allow it to diminish by thinking about tomorrow!