And He said, you cannot see my face, for no man shall see Me and live. (Shemos 33:20)

We just finished Purim and the idea of “Vi’nahaphoch Hu” is still with us. Interestingly, in this week’s parsha we have a similar expression. Hashem says, “You can see my back, but you cannot see my front.” I thought that maybe there is a similar theme and lesson to be learnt by the resemblance between this verse in the Parsha and the Megillah.

There are those who, when purchasing a book, will immediately turn to the end and read how it turns out. I am not sure exactly why they do so, but it seems that their impatience outweighs their desire for suspense, and therefore they are willing to forgo much of the drama and suspense in order not to have to wait. I would suggest that if you were to ask them, “Is it worthwhile?” they would probably answer, “It is not a good idea, but I enjoy doing it that way anyway.”

Perhaps this concept is applicable to the Purim story as well. Imagine if the Jews in Shushan knew in the beginning that eventually the Jews would be saved, and Haman would be killed. The story would just not be as engaging a story. However this seems to not to be necessarily true. For if we were to look at the megillah, we would find something amazing: Mordechai says to Esther that if you don’t put your life on the line for the sake of the Jewish people, you and your family will be lost, but Klal Yisrael will continue. In other words, Mordechai seemingly knew the outcome of the story, and yet he was able to live with the urgency where others need uncertainty to gain.

I have seen the following statement written: “So, what would you like? A G-d that we can understand? What kind of G-d is that at all?” Unfortunately, there are millions of people who (because of their need to understand) ask: “Why did Hashem bring about the Holocaust?” To them it is a strong question, for from a human standpoint it is difficult to understand. But what about from G-d’s standpoint? Perhaps, if those people were more connected to G-d, it would be more understandable to them. In other words, these people are judging G-d with their human yardstick and thus they remain with questions.

I mentioned recently that historically it is obvious that the rebirth of a robust Orthodox Judaism (which hadn’t existed for the most part in pre-war Europe) was actually built from the ashes of the Holocaust. Indeed, that is a silver lining that is understandable to us. This may not be a fully satisfying answer, but with hindsight we can develop new perspectives.

When Moshe Rabbeinu requested from Hashem, “Let me see your ways”, Hashem replied, “…you will see My back but My face shall not be seen.” (Shemos 33:23) The Chasam Sofer relates a fascinating mashal. When one looks at a person wearing tefillin from the front, he sees two independent straps cascading down from his shoulders. He would not see any obvious connection between these two straps at all. Whereas if the observer would look at this person from the back, it would be clear that these two straps are part of the same intricate unit – just different sides of the same knot. This is exactly the point that Hashem meant when He showed him His “Tefillin knot”: We may not be able to see this “connecting knot”, but we understand that this is the handiwork of Hashem and our questions cease to exist.

The Kedushas Levi takes this one step further. When one watches an artist beginning his work on the canvas, all that one sees are strokes of different colors of paint, seemingly totally haphazard, with no rhyme or reason for their positioning. But he would not exclaim, “This makes no sense!”, for he understands that he does not yet see the complete work of art. One who has complete trust in Hashem wouldn’t need to see some justification, even in hindsight, because he never questions what Hashem did. The Kedushas Levi explains that the word ALEF (אלף) backwards is PELE, wonderment. Seeing things as they are developing can leave people wondering. Some people need to see that aftermath to have belief and through their astonishment they will come to believe in Hashem. Such was the story of Purim. Klal Yisrael needed the events in this story to occur (without knowing the ending), to raise their belief in Hashem, that He is the orchestrator of everything and it is all good. Mordechai never had the question and therefore knowing the end of the story didn’t affect his feeling of urgency to do the right thing.

Now, after we have strengthened our belief in Hashem , and knowing that He loves Klal Yisrael even after we sin, we should also be able to strengthen our belief that there will be a redemption despite not seeing signs that we can understand. We no longer need the uncertainty, as we have learned our lesson from Purim and the Golden Calf. This is the perfect lead-in to Pesach, for now we can begin our preparations for Pesach with full belief that from beginning to end Hashem is in control and will redeem us.