Purim Wine Jugs - The Holiness of the Body

Rav Yitzchak Hutner Recording can be found here: https://torahdownloads.com/shiur-15917.html

Translation by Ari Waxman

(‫ד‬,‫שׁמִיד לַהֲרוֹג וּלְאַבֵּד ) אסתר פרק ז‬

ְ ‫ה‬
ַ ְ‫מכּ ַרְ נוּ אֲנ ִי וְﬠַמִּי ל‬
ְ ִ ‫כּ ִי נ‬

:‫מפרש הגר"א‬
.‫ שרצו לבטל תורה ומצוות‬.‫ שמד‬- ”‫״להשמיד‬
‫ שפיכת דמים‬- ”‫״להרוג‬
‫ הגזירה היתה שלא יקברו‬- ”‫״לאבד‬

Throughout Jewish history the Jews have been subject to many harsh
decrees, including decrees of death. However this last point, a decree that Jewish
bodies should not be buried after being murdered, seems unusually harsh and
unfathomable. What is this?

The following can give us some insight. The ‫ הלכה‬brought down in ‫שולחן ערוך‬
is that if someone buys wheat then the buyer is expected to supply the vessel to
hold the wheat. However, when someone purchases wine the seller is expected to
supply the jug for the wine.

Why does the seller have to supply the vessel for wine? The reason for this is
connected to the nature of wine. Wine improves in quality as it ages. ‫ גדולי עולם‬have
explained that this is the qualitative connection between ‫ זקנים‬and wine. The two
share the quality of improving with time. Hence:

(:‫אמר רבי אלעזר שלח לו יין ישן שדעת זקנים נוחה הימנו )גמ' מגילה דף טו‬

We see, ‫על כל פנים‬, that a unique quality of wine is that it improves with age. It
is for this reason that the vessel in which the wine aged is so closely related to the
wine, as opposed to wheat that has no intrinsic connection to the vessel that it is in.
Therefore, when someone buys wine the vessel is included.

Continuing this thought, the ‫ פסוק‬in ‫ שיר השירים‬says:

(‫ד׳‬,‫ )ב׳‬:‫הבָה‬
ֲ ַ‫הבִיאַנ ִי אֶל בֵּית הַיּ ָי ִן ו ְ ִדג ְלוֹ ﬠָלַי א‬
ֱ

The Midrash explains that ‫ בית היין‬here symbolizes Har Sinai:

'‫ ג‬,'‫במדבר רבה ב‬
.‫ זה סיני‬,‫ למרתף הגדול של יין‬- ‫רבי יהודה אומר ״הביאני אל בית היין״‬

It was here, at Har Sinai, that the world revealed the ultimate revelation. This
was the paradigm of ‫״נכנס יין ויצא סוד״‬, the great revelation during which the
secrets, depth and meaning of the world were revealed. Har Sinai is referred to as
the great wine cellar.
 However, all in all, in the context of ‫ קבלת התורה‬of Sinai wine is a ‫משל‬. On the
other hand, at today’s ‫קבלת התורה‬, the ‫ קבלת התורה‬of Purim, “‫”הדור קבלוה בימי אחשורוש‬,
here the wine is not the ‫משל‬, but rather it is the ‫נמשל‬. So many of the events
surrounded wine. The crisis came about through a party of wine, the ‫ ישועה‬came
about through a party of wine, and the celebration is through wine. Therefore, since
today’s celebration is through wine we must receive the vessels that hold the wine
as well. In the ‫ קבלת התורה‬of Purim we receive wine together with vessels.

What is the ‫ כלי‬that holds this wine? The ‫ כלי‬that holds this ‫ יין‬is nothing more
than our bodies, our ‫שס"ה גידים ורמ"ח אברים‬. Today is a day, as all ‫ גדולי עולם‬explain,
of revealing the ‫ קדושת הגוף‬of a Jew.

If we want to explain this idea in a Halachik manner then this is the way that
we have to explain it. In today’s ‫ קבלת התורה‬the ‫ נמשל‬is wine, and when purchasing
wine the Halacha is that the ‫ מוכר‬must supply the ‫ כלי‬together with the wine.

We’re sitting at a ‫ משתה יין‬and at this time ‫טוב לב המלך ביין‬. Today we receive
the vessel along with the wine. Our vessels - ‫״אונדזערע קנקנים״‬, to hold our wine,
‫ ״אונדזערע יין״‬and our ‫רמ״ח אברים ושס״ה גידים‬. In today’s ‫ קבחת התורה‬not only was the
wine revealed, but the ‫ קנקנים‬of Jews was revealed as well. The holiness of the Jewish
body. ‫קדושת הגוף‬.

And here, this is what ‫ עמלק‬comes to attack. Whenever ‫ עמלק‬senses that we

are about to advance towards a higher level he is there waiting for us, "‫"בדרך‬. Here
he sees that there is about to be a ‫ קבלת התורה‬of ‫ יין‬with ‫קנקנים‬, a ‫ בירור‬of the ‫קדושת‬
‫הגוף היהודי‬. Unlike Yom Kippur where the ‫ גוף‬is neutralized because we don’t trust
the ‫גוף‬, here, on Purim, on the contrary. The ‫ שמחת פורים‬is a vote of confidence in
the ‫גוף היהודי‬. Leave the ‫ גוף‬as is…‫עד דלא ידע‬. There’s a vote of confidence today in
the ‫גוף היהודי‬.

On Purim we receive the ‫ קנקנים‬as well, and when ‫ עמלק‬senses that the Jews
are about to acquire a new level, the level of ‫קדושת הגוף היהודי‬, they go and target the
‫גוף‬. This is ‫ ״לאבד״‬- they were ‫ גוזר‬that the bodies shouldn’t be buried. ‫זה לעומת זה‬. A
‫ גזירה‬not to bury the bodies ‫ כנגד‬the ‫ קדושה‬that a Jew expresses with his body.

This is the way of ‫עמלק‬. As soon as ‫ עמלק‬senses that we are about to advance
towards a higher level, they’re there to stop us. At ‫הר סיני‬- they’re there. When we’re
headed towards ‫ מלכות‬during the times of ‫ שאול‬then ‫ עמלק‬is there. As the ‫ רמב"ן‬says,
our first ‫ מלחמה‬is with ‫ עמלק‬and our last ‫ מלחמה‬will be with ‫עמלק‬.

During the times of ‫ המן‬they saw that we were headed towards a level of
being ‫ מקדש‬the ‫גוף היהודי‬, and therefore they were ‫ גוזר‬that the Jewish bodies
shouldn’t be buried. Today is a day of vote of confidence in the ‫!גוף‬
!‫לחיים! לחיים‬