As we did not do our wine-tasting event for the reasons described below, a donation of $36 will be added to your order as a processing fee to enable us to continue our Holy work of spreading Torah in lectures, online and in print.
Pesach Deadline, Sunday April 14th
As I am writing these words, I am praying that by the time you read them, we will be in a better place in all ways imaginable. After much deliberation, we have decided not to host our annual “Tirosh” wine-tasting event for what would have been the third time in a row, constituting a “Chazakah”.
” With the tragedy and ongoing war in Eretz Yisroel, we felt it inappropriate to have a festive event that would distract us from having our minds, hearts, thoughts and prayers with our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. It is our duty to be נושא בעול and to be משתתף בצערם as כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה.
It should bother any thinking person that from our very first war with Amalek in the days of Moshe and Yehoshua, Hashem foretold, “There will be a war by Hashem against Amalek from generation to generation” (Shmos 17,16). When giving us the command and privilege of finally blotting out any memory of Amalek ourselves, the Torah says: “When Hashem gives you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that Hashem gives you for inheritance, erase the memory of Amalek from under the sky….” (Devarim 25, 19). This is not going to happen until the end of our exile.
We have seen from our history that Amalek is a virus and a shapeshifter. Shaul HaMelech only left Agag alive for an extra day, and in that time, he was able to pass on his spiritual virus. One virus left alive can create a whole pandemic. Amalek is shapeshifter in that even though there is no nation on the globe that identifies as Amalek per se, the virus of Amalek can penetrate any nation and infect them. Case in point, Purim. Haman identified as a Persian citizen and he infected that nation with the Amalek virus thus inciting a whole nation for the genocide of the Jewish people. Only 80 years ago we witnessed the same phenomenon in Germany. A “man” who totally identified as “German” carried and spread the “Amalek virus” that took over the minds of what was considered back then the most advanced, cultured, and enlightened people. The Amalek virus is back. It is in Persia again in the form of Iran, but it has spread far beyond the Iranian borders to their many terror proxies and more frightening is that it has infected leftists worldwide.
Why do we celebrate Purim? What is the point if the war with Amalek is ongoing and our suffering battle after battle is continuous, and we cannot defeat them until the very end of our exile?
Since the dawn of our history, we have been saved from enemies from all directions, dangers, and calamities. We rejoiced and celebrated every deliverance annually to show our gratitude to Hashem as is recorded in “Megillas Ta’anis”. After the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash and this bitter exile began, “Megillas Ta’anis” was annulled. However, holidays like Chanukah and Purim remained and are obligatory. How are they different from all the annulled festivals? This question is more difficult when it comes to Purim, as seemingly the deliverance was not complete, and we continue to struggle with Amalek until the end of our exile.
Chazal in their Ruach HaKodesh perceived that these holidays with their פרסומי ניסא mark a cosmic shift and have a spiritual dimension to them that renews and expands with every subsequent year. On Purim, we not only internalize the light of that deliverance with the food we eat and the wine we drink, but we participate in moving destiny forward to that great day when Amalek will finally be wiped off from the earth. This is the secret that Esther asked, “not just one more day” but “…….give tomorrow for the Jews in Shushan to do as they did today…..” (Esther 9,13), representing the future when the walls of Yerushalayim will be rebuilt and we will have that “tranquility from all our enemies around us” and finally obliterate every “memory” i.e. every single Amalek virus once and for all. It is not that we will suffer from Amalek continuously until in one grand instant Hashem will flip things around, rather it is a gradual process. Although we go from one battle with Amalek to another, with every battle we defeat Amalek cosmically as they get weaker and have less of a foothold in existence. With every Purim we are pushing Amalek out of existence, not just for the moment, but carving a way towards the great future where he will no longer be.
Although we feel the pain of Jews suffering worldwide, particularly in the land of Israel, we must celebrate Purim and internalize lights of salvation, not just for our current challenges, but to push forward to the great future of all evil being obliterated.
To enable all our friends to fully celebrate Purim as we have done in previous years and get their wine through our congregation tax-free, here is the catalogue of the fine, boutique wines & spirits for your Simchas Purim.
As we did not do our wine-tasting event for the reasons described above, please add a minimal donation of $36 to your order to enable us to continue our Holy work of spreading Torah in lectures, online and in print.
A Freilichim Purim and Besoros Tovos!
Thank you for Joining Us at the
The 2023 Tirosh Wine Tasting Event
February 5th, Cedarhurst NY – photography by seethatphotobyesti.com
Additional fees apply for Orlando Deliveries.
The 2022 Wine Tasting Event
