by Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer
The Mishnah Berurah (O.C. 685:1:1) explains in the name of rabbinic authorities that Parshas Zachor is read on the Shabbos prior to Purim because of the exhortation to eliminate Amalek, from which Haman stemmed, and to relate the mitzvah of obliterating the memory of Amalek to its execution on Purim during the days of Mordechai and Esther. Is there a deeper understanding behind this rationale for the relationhsip between Parshas Zachor and Purim?
Rashi (on Devarim 25:17) comments that Amalek represents "mikreh" - coincidence. That is, Amalek personifies denial of Hashem's existence and interaction with the universe, positing that all which occurs is due to coincidence and happenstance, rather than due to God's will and planning.
...a major theme of Purim is the recognition that God controls all - even though we cannot perceive His hand in the course of events as they unfold. That which seems to be natural coincidence is really Hashem's hashgacha - providence - and Purim demonstrates how this hashgacha works in a world without open miracles, which are reserved only for periods in which the Beis Ha-Mikdash stands and God's glory is dramatically manifest.
Read full article: http://www.ou.org/torah/gordimer/5763/zachor63.htm
A man was killed in Central Park when a snow-sodden tree limb fell on him just before 3:30 p.m. Thursday, the authorities said.
Read more: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/person-killed-by-falling-tree-in-central-park/?hp
Did a man die in Central Park this afternoon due to happenstance, or is a higher element involved?
isn't there always a higher element involved?
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