Tetzaveh: 5783 - Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld from Nachlas Har Chabad, with a wonderful story for Shabbos 'Zachor' and Purim, from his great grandfather, the Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld, who said…

00:02 Since we’re on the eve of Shabbos Parshas Zachor, just before Purim, and following up on what we told last week, here’s an interesting story about the rabbi of Jerusalem. The rabbi of Jerusalem once called himself “the Purim rabbi.” People looked at him in surprise. What did he mean, the Purim rabbi? Was he making light of the rabbinate? He answered: “People misunderstand what a Purim rabbi is. They think it means someone who dresses up as a rabbi, tells jokes and says all sorts of funny things. But that’s not what it means. A Purim rabbi,” he explained, “is needed because a person is obligated to drink on Purim until he no longer knows. Now, what happens if someone has a halachic question on Purim? People are cooking and doing all sorts of things, so a question may come up. He needs a rabbi to give him a ruling. But when he goes to the rabbi, the rabbi can’t rule because he has drunk a revi’is of wine. So what do they do? They arrange for one rabbi to be on duty who doesn’t drink, so that if anyone has a question on Purim, he has someone to ask. That is what a Purim rabbi means.” Now, what was he getting at? There was tremendous poverty in Jerusalem at the time. Then the Chief Rabbinate was established, and the rabbis of Jerusalem strongly opposed it. Some had no choice but to join because that was where they were paid. So he was saying, “They won’t be able to rein me in with money.” That’s what he meant by “I am the Purim

02:25 rabbi.” A happy Purim to everyone.