That City and that People we Call a Rose: Shushan, Shoshan and Moral Living from Purim to Pesach
It is one of the low points of the Megillah. In Ch.3:15, Shushan and its Jews are dumbfounded because of the decree of death, וְהָעִ֥יר שׁוּשָׁ֖ן נָבֽוֹכָה . It is at this point in the book where the reader at our communal gatherings reads this verse in the somber tone of Eicha, reminding us of the lowest point of our people at the the destruction of the Temple.
Later in the Megillah, (8:15) that same city, Shushan and its Jews are rejoicing at their redemption, וְהָעִ֣יר שׁוּשָׁ֔ן צָהֲלָ֖ה וְשָׂמֵֽחָה. It is at this point where all of the listeners in in our communal gatherings recite the verse in unison out loud to remind us of the city celebration.
R. Zevin in his book LTorah vlMoadim focuses on the deep meaning of the name of the town in the Megillah, on the word Shushan. He says that it is a hinting to the word Shoshana, to a rose. It is in that spirit that we sing each Purim the song, Shoshanat Yaakov, the flower of Jacob, referring to another name for Am Yisrael.
While we know that we are Ivrim, and that we are Yehudim, in what way are we, the Jewish people also Shoshanim, also roses?
In order to understand how our people are seen as roses, we have to look at another Megillah, one that we will be reading in a few weeks, Shir HaShirim, the Song of Songs read each year on Pesach. Roses play a significant part in this beautiful love song, one that symbolizes the love between God and the Jewish people.
In Ch 2, we are told that
(ב) כְּשֽׁוֹשַׁנָּה֙ בֵּ֣ין הַחוֹחִ֔ים כֵּ֥ן רַעְיָתִ֖י בֵּ֥ין הַבָּנֽוֹת׃
Like a rose among thorns, So is my darling among the maidens.
Two midrashim can teach us lessons what the Shoshanat Yaakov nation and its people should strive for.
A Midrashic National Lesson of the Rose: R. Azariah said, it is like a king that had an orchard and planted a line of figs, grapes, pomegranates and one of apples and then gave the orchard to someone to tend it. After a while, he came to see how things were. He saw it filled with thorns and thistles. He sadly and angrily brought shears to cut it but he found a rose in the thorns and his soul was at peace. He said, because of this rose, I will keep the entire orchard. …(2:2:3)
The rose among the thorns is Am Yisrael, the Jewish people with whom God has a unique connection. We are the rose among the thorns in God’s eyes, a people that is not always perfect, often thorny, but given the gift of Torah to impact God’s orchard, the world.
Whether it be in Shushan or Mitzrayim, and whether it is on Purim or Pesach, we have to remember who we are and keep our moral focus as a people so we can be worthy of God’s favor. In these challenging times here in the US and around the world, we must continue to remember to always rise above, to be a nation of shoshanim, of goodness and holiness in often difficult or hostile diaspora environments.
A Midrashic Individual Lesson of the Rose: Rabbi Yitzchak applied this reading to Rebekah. With regard to her, the Torah gives us a lengthy description and tells us that she was (Genesis 25), "..., the daughter of Betuel, the Aramean, from Paddan Aram, the sister of Lavan, the Aramean, etc," Why does the text go out of its way to say 'sister of Lavan the Aramean'? We already know this.
It is to tell us that her father was a trickster, her brother was a tricksters and the inhabitants of that place were tricksters and that this righteous one came from their midst. To what can she be compared? Like a rose among the thorns. (2:2:1)
Each of us, as individuals have to strive to be roses. We as individuals in our everyday lives are sometimes surrounded by moral challenges -- thorny people and thorny situations. As Rivka was able to be righteous even in a family of evil, we have to find our inner rose. We must break through the thorns, embrace positivity and have our inner moral compasses, our inner shoshanot lead the way, just as Miriam and Moshe did in Egypt and Esther and Mordechai did in Shushan.
In Act II of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet famously points out to her lover “That which we call a rose / By Any Other Name would smell as sweet.” And while it is true that names should not box us in and force us into roles, they should also not be ignored. Names often operate to remind us of our place, our values and of our missions in the world.
This is the charge of the Rose of Jacob -- the Shoshanat Yaakov-- a name that should remind us of heroic roses, past and present, whose best selves emerged in the most trying times. This national name, and those stories, should remind us always, to do everything we can in our power to push through the thorns to dig deep inside of ourselves to smell just as sweet.
It is one of the low points of the Megillah. In Ch.3:15, Shushan and its Jews are dumbfounded because of the decree of death, וְהָעִ֥יר שׁוּשָׁ֖ן נָבֽוֹכָה . It is at this point in the book where the reader at our communal gatherings reads this verse in the somber tone of Eicha, reminding us of the lowest point of our people at the the destruction of the Temple.
Later in the Megillah, (8:15) that same city, Shushan and its Jews are rejoicing at their redemption, וְהָעִ֣יר שׁוּשָׁ֔ן צָהֲלָ֖ה וְשָׂמֵֽחָה. It is at this point where all of the listeners in in our communal gatherings recite the verse in unison out loud to remind us of the city celebration.
R. Zevin in his book LTorah vlMoadim focuses on the deep meaning of the name of the town in the Megillah, on the word Shushan. He says that it is a hinting to the word Shoshana, to a rose. It is in that spirit that we sing each Purim the song, Shoshanat Yaakov, the flower of Jacob, referring to another name for Am Yisrael.
While we know that we are Ivrim, and that we are Yehudim, in what way are we, the Jewish people also Shoshanim, also roses?
In order to understand how our people are seen as roses, we have to look at another Megillah, one that we will be reading in a few weeks, Shir HaShirim, the Song of Songs read each year on Pesach. Roses play a significant part in this beautiful love song, one that symbolizes the love between God and the Jewish people.
In Ch 2, we are told that
(ב) כְּשֽׁוֹשַׁנָּה֙ בֵּ֣ין הַחוֹחִ֔ים כֵּ֥ן רַעְיָתִ֖י בֵּ֥ין הַבָּנֽוֹת׃
Like a rose among thorns, So is my darling among the maidens.
Two midrashim can teach us lessons what the Shoshanat Yaakov nation and its people should strive for.
A Midrashic National Lesson of the Rose: R. Azariah said, it is like a king that had an orchard and planted a line of figs, grapes, pomegranates and one of apples and then gave the orchard to someone to tend it. After a while, he came to see how things were. He saw it filled with thorns and thistles. He sadly and angrily brought shears to cut it but he found a rose in the thorns and his soul was at peace. He said, because of this rose, I will keep the entire orchard. …(2:2:3)
The rose among the thorns is Am Yisrael, the Jewish people with whom God has a unique connection. We are the rose among the thorns in God’s eyes, a people that is not always perfect, often thorny, but given the gift of Torah to impact God’s orchard, the world.
Whether it be in Shushan or Mitzrayim, and whether it is on Purim or Pesach, we have to remember who we are and keep our moral focus as a people so we can be worthy of God’s favor. In these challenging times here in the US and around the world, we must continue to remember to always rise above, to be a nation of shoshanim, of goodness and holiness in often difficult or hostile diaspora environments.
A Midrashic Individual Lesson of the Rose: Rabbi Yitzchak applied this reading to Rebekah. With regard to her, the Torah gives us a lengthy description and tells us that she was (Genesis 25), "..., the daughter of Betuel, the Aramean, from Paddan Aram, the sister of Lavan, the Aramean, etc," Why does the text go out of its way to say 'sister of Lavan the Aramean'? We already know this.
It is to tell us that her father was a trickster, her brother was a tricksters and the inhabitants of that place were tricksters and that this righteous one came from their midst. To what can she be compared? Like a rose among the thorns. (2:2:1)
Each of us, as individuals have to strive to be roses. We as individuals in our everyday lives are sometimes surrounded by moral challenges -- thorny people and thorny situations. As Rivka was able to be righteous even in a family of evil, we have to find our inner rose. We must break through the thorns, embrace positivity and have our inner moral compasses, our inner shoshanot lead the way, just as Miriam and Moshe did in Egypt and Esther and Mordechai did in Shushan.
In Act II of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet famously points out to her lover “That which we call a rose / By Any Other Name would smell as sweet.” And while it is true that names should not box us in and force us into roles, they should also not be ignored. Names often operate to remind us of our place, our values and of our missions in the world.
This is the charge of the Rose of Jacob -- the Shoshanat Yaakov-- a name that should remind us of heroic roses, past and present, whose best selves emerged in the most trying times. This national name, and those stories, should remind us always, to do everything we can in our power to push through the thorns to dig deep inside of ourselves to smell just as sweet.
Carpool Questions -
Questions to think about or talk about on your drive to school
What can we do to make your inner rose emerge when feeling more like the thorns?
How can you be a rose when sometimes you feel surrounded by thorns?
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