Yeyn Malchut Rav
Mar. 9th, 2025 03:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bnewman posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
bn_songbookJust in time for Purim, a chant from the Scroll of Esther, and a midrash (interpretation). The Book of Esther begins with the King, a bit of a buffoon, throwing a huge drunken party for everyone, and this sets the tone for everything that follows.
In Esther, G-d is hidden — indeed, never mentioned in the text at all, and the name "Esther" literally means "I will hide". Instead we have a morally neutral buffoon of a king, easily flattered and easily swayed by both wicked and good advice, whose idea of the world he'd like to create is a drunken party where everyone is having a good time. The guests drink "yeyn malchut rav", the abundant wine of royalty/of the kingdom, but this Hebrew word also refers in the kabbalistic world schema to the physical world. They drink "miklei zahav, v'kelim mikelim shon'im", from vessels of gold that are different from one another.
We are all different from one another and we are drunk on reality — we really think that this world is the real world and that we really are our small, separate selves. And this is what the King wants — this is the party that He invited us to. And some of us are having a good time, as the King intends. But there is danger — others are trying to ruin the party for everyone else. The rest of the Book of Esther details how that works out and how we should respond.
listen to this song
B'haroto et osher k'vod malchuto
V'et y'kar tiferet g'dulato
V'hashkot bichlei zahav v'chelim mikelim shon'im
V'yeyn malchut rav k'yad hamelech
When he showed off the glorious riches of his kingdom
And the splendid honor of his greatness
They drank from golden vessels, and the vessels were different from one another
And royal wine was abundant according to the generosity of the king
In Esther, G-d is hidden — indeed, never mentioned in the text at all, and the name "Esther" literally means "I will hide". Instead we have a morally neutral buffoon of a king, easily flattered and easily swayed by both wicked and good advice, whose idea of the world he'd like to create is a drunken party where everyone is having a good time. The guests drink "yeyn malchut rav", the abundant wine of royalty/of the kingdom, but this Hebrew word also refers in the kabbalistic world schema to the physical world. They drink "miklei zahav, v'kelim mikelim shon'im", from vessels of gold that are different from one another.
We are all different from one another and we are drunk on reality — we really think that this world is the real world and that we really are our small, separate selves. And this is what the King wants — this is the party that He invited us to. And some of us are having a good time, as the King intends. But there is danger — others are trying to ruin the party for everyone else. The rest of the Book of Esther details how that works out and how we should respond.
listen to this song
בְּהַרְאֹת֗וֹ אֶת־עֹ֙שֶׁר֙ כְּב֣וֹד מַלְכוּת֔וֹ
וְאֶ֨ת־יְקָ֔ר תִּפְאֶ֖רֶת גְּדוּלָּת֑וֹ
וְאֶ֨ת־יְקָ֔ר תִּפְאֶ֖רֶת גְּדוּלָּת֑וֹ
וְהַשְׁקוֹת֙ בִּכְלֵ֣י זָהָ֔ב וְכֵלִ֖ים מִכֵּלִ֣ים שׁוֹנִ֑ים
וְיֵ֥ין מַלְכ֛וּת רָ֖ב כְּיַ֥ד הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃
וְיֵ֥ין מַלְכ֛וּת רָ֖ב כְּיַ֥ד הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃
B'haroto et osher k'vod malchuto
V'et y'kar tiferet g'dulato
V'hashkot bichlei zahav v'chelim mikelim shon'im
V'yeyn malchut rav k'yad hamelech
When he showed off the glorious riches of his kingdom
And the splendid honor of his greatness
They drank from golden vessels, and the vessels were different from one another
And royal wine was abundant according to the generosity of the king
