As “People of the Book,” we find that all historical events are contained within in. Two pivotal experiences, Purim and our current Exile, are highly pertinent now. Purim has an unexpected lesson and our current Exile is pinpointed with exactitude by a great Tanna. Both of these events, as well as all of our Exile experiences, are forecasted in the Torah with five words that appear by Avraham’s Brit with G-d, at the Brit Bein HaBetarim.
The Purpose of Purim
Purim is fascinating in that it's bringing tikkun in an area that one wouldn't expect. As Rabbi Kessin explains, it's the realization that man-made law is precarious and immoral, needing a Divine hand to actualize justice.
At Har Sinai, we accepted laws affecting us and G-d. However, we didn't see the need to have any G-dly intervention in laws regulating society.
Purim is symbolic of societal laws gone awry. By just examining the letters that Haman sent out to kill the Jews, we see no logic.
There were many nations who were separated from the Persian government, with their own practices, not just the Jews. Yet Haman justifies the eradication of the Jewish nation based on their separateness, and the king who should symbolize some logic in enacting laws, freely goes along.
Therefore, the Jews reaccept this aspect of the Torah on Purim, as the Gemara (Shabbos 88a) says, they were kiymu v’kiblu. And from then on, it is recognized that laws of society need the Almighty's direction.
Today, we witness a lack of Divine justice in secular law, as many are simply illogical or contradict nature. But that's not our code.
Investigating the Current Exile
There are different midrashim that speak to the name of our current Exile, a common one being that it's the Exile of Edom that has been extended into the realm of Yishmael.
However, I'd like to focus on a Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (28:9) that pinpoints the nature of our times with a matching word in the Torah. The different time frames of our Exile are enunciated in a specific verse mentioned by the Brit Bein HaBetarim.
At the conclusion of this intense pact sealed between G-d and Avraham, the verse (Genesis 15:12) says, “Now the sun was ready to set, and a deep sleep fell upon Avraham, and behold, a fright, a great darkness was falling upon him.”
The last five words in this verse are written as “…Eimah chasheichah gedolah nofeles alav.” Unlike other midrashim that learn the last two words, nofeles alav, to be referencing Edom, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer says alav is referring to a new and fifth Exile, that of Yishmael.
As a darshan, Rabbi Eliezer was a master, but here the simple wording itself is what Yishmael is: alav, overbearing and in your physical space.
This is the exact description of Yishmael elsewhere (Genesis 16:12), as a “pereh adam - wild donkey.” The Maharil Diskin (1818-1898) explains that in written and spoken Hebrew the noun comes first, followed by the adjective, such as bayit yafe, a nice house - the noun is first. Here the noun is pera adam, defining Yishmael as an actual wild donkey, barbaric in nature, that happens to be human.
We have pegged Yishmael's essence, and we live with it daily, seeing Hamas’s ways. However, Yishmael earned a stake in Eretz Yisrael as a reward for performing Brit Milah. However, that Brit Milah was semi-flawed. It was still pera, exposed (see Zohar in parsha Lech Lecha), as they didn't fold all of the foreskin back, which gives them less standing.
Possible Responses
Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 8:5 based on the Gemara Moed Katan 24A) says that if one doesn't wrap his tallit around his head in the same all-inclusive manner as Yishmael, then he has not fulfilled his obligation. We see that a core feature of Yishmael is that they excel in prayer. This explains his name - Yishma-Kel, G-d listens. G-d hears their tefillah.
But it also means that G-d listens to our screams based on what Yishmael causes us. In this regard, they seem to be using up their merits. Countering their tefillah is a strategy that Yaakov used, as he told his sons that he defeated Shechem through tzaluti and ba’uti, earnest supplication (Genesis 48:22, Onkelos’s translation of the physical bow and arrow to mean tefillah).
Perhaps another approach is to echo the same words that Haman said about us. He saw us as a nation united and apart from other nations, and that's where our strength lies. Bilam's blessing that praised our modesty lives on eternally and gives us extra blessings. Yishmael, these days, is very keen on picking up on division in the Jewish people and often uses it as a barometer to decide whether to attack. An undivided Jewish nation loses potency, both spiritually and physically. Our unity can counteract this.
Conclusion
Purim teaches the ever-important lesson that we need G-d to shape the laws of society. Leaving man to his whims ends with illogical results, guided by man’s evil ways. We learned this firsthand on Purim when a monarchy wanted to destroy us based on a poor legal theory.
When we jump to today’s time, we’re fighting an enemy who is not even called a man in the Torah. Their essence is pure savagery. But the more they push the envelope and increase their brutality, the closer they come to extinction. Though Avraham gave them a blessing, the Gemara (Eruvin 19a) also says that Avraham stands at the gates of Gehinnom and saves any Jew that has a proper Brit Milah, excluding reshaim, evildoers. This shows an important principle. Avraham, though in the Jewish realm, is looking for Brit Milah’s that are done in the right way. Yishmael never completed his Brit Milah, and this will not stand well for him as his claim to the land begins to diminish.
