Are You Lost?

"Have you ever been so lost, known the way and still so lost?"


What's the Megillah telling you?


Has it ever happened that you thought you knew where you were, only to realize shortly thereafter that you were actually lost?
Has it ever happened that you thought you were absolutely right, only to realize later that you were actually wrong?
As Shushan Purim 5771 comes to a close, we take a few moments to reflect upon the story of Purim and one of its messages for us today.
We have all learned that Hashem's Name does not appear even once in the Megillah. We have been taught that this demonstrates the fact that He remained hidden throughout the story. His Hand, so to speak, was working behind the scenes - beyond the vision of the human eye. As the story unfolded, the Jews felt that the end was near - their fate of death sealed. Under the circumtances, they appeared to have good reason to question G-D. With the date of their extermination fast approaching, they thankfully came together to follow the direction of their fearless leader - Mordechai. Joining in united fasting, tefillah, and wholehearted teshuva - as Mordechai instructed - they earned the Heavenly mercy needed to ultimately bringing about a complete turn-around. The Jews were saved. Mordechai was elevated in the royal monarchy.
The Megillah ends with the following oft forgotten note: "For Mordechai the Jew was viceroy to King Achashveirosh; he was a great man among the Jews, and found favor with the multitude of his brethren; he sought the good of his people and spoke for the welfare of his children."
Although there are dozens of lessons to be learned from the Megillah, let us focus on one - faith in our leaders. At the beginning of the Purim story - nine years before it ended - a vast number of Jews attended the feasts of Achashveirosh, against the will of Mordechai. In fact, the Gemara records one opinion that states that the reason for the danger to the Jewish People was because of this very fact - they didn't heed the words of their leader. It would take one final call to action by Mordechai years later - to fast and do teshuva - that would turn back the hands of time and correct their sin.
We must ask, "Why didn't they listen to him initially? If he told them not to go to the parties, why did they go anyway?"
The simple answer is because they didn't think it was a problem. They thought he was overreacting to the situation. They thought he was being overly strict. They thought they knew better.
But they didn't. They were lost without knowing it. They refused to listen to reason. To listen to the voice of the Torah and its sages.
Thus, Hashem's Name is not found because in the exile, we will often find times where we won't be able to see Him or understand the reasons for life's difficulties. He remains hidden. Yet, His will is publicized through our Torah leaders - leaders such as Mordechai.

How do we utilize this lesson for ourselves in our times?
First, we must take a step back and look at ourselves. We must question, "Where am I? Who am I? Where am I going?" Then we must realize that we need to make the Torah and its sages our guides to help us find the proper way. We must make the conscious effort to heed their words and respond affirmatively and positively to their calls to action - and put our faith in them ... Hashem's emissaries here in this world. Instead of thinking that we know what's best for ourselves, let us recognize that we may be a bit too lost to make those decisions.
Let us take the lead of our leaders!

Say to yourself ten times today:
"I have firm faith in the words of Chazal, Hashem's messengers in this world!"