In this week’s parsha it says, “…and you shall make its lamps seven; he shall kindle its lamps and it will cast light in the direction of its face.” (Shemos 25:37)

As Purim approaches, we think about Queen Esther and the fact that she actually had to marry King Achashveirosh. How sorry we are for a woman who has to marry a man against her will. But aside from our emotional feeling, there is a halachic question that is discussed in the poskim as to how she was permitted to marry a gentile.

Going back to the Menorah, it seems obvious that if one were to light the candles, they would cast light. The Pele Yoetz explains as follows: There are times when a person will perform a mitzvah perfectly, however because he has an ulterior motive for doing the mitzvah, it is called a mitzvah “shelo lishma” and the mitzvah does not have the power to accomplish that which it was supposed to. On the other hand, sometimes a person is forced to commit a sin against his will. As he commits the sin, he feels remorse and pain for being forced to do something which he does not want to do.

It is well known that the Vilna Gaon had once walked into a synagogue and said “There is no room inside this shul for me. It is too stuffy inside.” The people asked him, “What do you mean? It does not seem stuffy to us at all!” He replied, “all the prayers that were prayed in this shul never ascended to Heaven because of the improper thoughts and behaviors in the shul.” Here again, lack of certain side issues can prevent a mitzvah from accomplishing what it is supposed to accomplish.

There was a similar problem after the mishkan was built: Moshe Rabbeinu offered a special prayer that the Divine Presence should reside on the handiwork of klal Yisrael. Here we see again that just because the mishkan was built correctly according to the physical plan, it does not mean it was built with all the proper thoughts and side issues, and therefore there is no assurance that the Divine Presence would automatically rest on it.

Purim is a time that we stress building our relationships with our fellow man. We have matanas l’evyonim and mishloach manos. However, creating a gift package fit for the centerfold of Mishpacha Magazine and giving it to someone who is expected to “oooh” and aaah” over your amazing handiwork is not sufficient. Instead, we are supposed to be thinking of others and using the package to show our care.

Similarly, there are those people who think that there can be no easier mitzvah than to get drunk at the Purim Seuda (and even easier to get drunk before it!). However, it seems to me that it would be easier to fast on Yom Kippur than to drink properly on Purim.

“…and (the lamp) will cast light in the direction of its face…” tells us that the menorah’s lights (which are representative of mitzvos, as in “ki ner mitzvah…”) are supposed to brighten the face (referring to the desired accomplishment of the mitzvah).

As we plan our Purim celebrations for a holiday of simcha and fun, it should be in a way that it is not for our personal gratification; rather it should be showing our true face: A desire to bring glory to Hashem.