Purim
Someone asked for a vort connecting an Upsherin to Purim - in Recovery-style reid.
I like the way it came out, so I wanna share it (read: show off) with a few other friends too.
Thanks for getting me to think. The following is the result of what I thunked (or is it thinked?) It may be usable almost as is or you can take this a springboard towards more esoteric thoughts - or chasidus....
In the middle of the megila story there is a seemingly unrelated episode. Mordechai's parade around town dressed in the royal clothes. How is this connected? It is not part of the Problem, the decree to kill all Jews. The miraculous deliverance came about at Esther's party. What is the significance of this whole affair ?
The gemarah (Megillah 16.) relates that when Haman was forced to lead Mordechai around town, he found Mordechai sitting disheveled, wrapped in his sackcloth etc.Haman told Mordechai, "Stand up, get dressed in these clothes, and ride this horse because the king wants you."
Mordechai refused, saying, "I cannot do that. It is not proper to wear the royal clothes like this. I must first wash myself in the bathhouse and get a haircut."
Meanwhile, Esther Hamalka sent her servants and commanded all bathhouses and barbershops to close their shutters for the day. Not finding anywhere to take Mordechai for his bath Haman had no choice, he needed to swallow his pride and serve as the bathhouse attendant for Mordechai. He then fetched a pair of scissors from his own house and proceeded to trim Mordechai's hair himself. While he was standing forlornly over Mordechai and cutting the hair, Haman let out a deep sigh.
"Why are you sighing?" Mordechai politely inquired.
Haman sadly replied, "The man whom the king has respected more than all of his ministers is now demoted to serve as a simple barber...."
Mordechai retorted to Haman, "Rasha! [Whom are you trying to fool?] Weren't you the village barber of Kfar Kortzim?!?!" (Haman had worked as a barber of Kfar Kotzim for 22 years.)
The gemara continues with some other fascinating details about that conversation.
After the parade was over, the megila states that Mordechai went back to sit at the palace gates. He again donned his sackcloth. He continued fasting. The decree of the annihilation of the Jewish nation was still in effect. In that case, why is this incident even mentioned at all?
The answer may be because THIS is the point where everyone saw the unfolding of an amazing new dimension! (B'layla hahu nadeda shnas hamelech is the actual beginning, but human beings did not see that happening.)
Similar to every other journey in life, there were ups & downs here too. But at this point we saw that we were headed towards a happy destiny. There may still be a long winded road ahead. It can be difficult to trudge that road. But this experience showed Mordechai that there is hope for a brighter future.
A child who has an upsherin looks very cute, but he is still barely out of his toddler-hood. He still has a lot of growing up to do. But he now has a clear destination. The coordinates of the place he wants to be at have been entered into his GPS. Although it might be unnoticeable, he is in the process of growing up. He is headed towards being a grownup!
And the moral of the story is: It all begins with an upsherin!!!!!