Our Gemara on Amud Aleph Mentions different parts of the Megillah that we are required to begin reciting, in order to fulfill the obligation of reading megillah:

Beginning from where must a person read the Megilla in order to fulfill his obligation? Rabbi Meir says: He must read all of it. Rabbi Yehuda says: He need read only from “There was a certain Jew” (Esther 2:5). Rabbi Yosei says: From “After these things” (Esther 3:1)...It is taught in a baraita that there is a fourth opinion as well: Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai says: One must start to read from “On that night” (Esther 6:1).

These various points in the timeline of the story correspond to different aspects of the miracle. Was it the ascendancy of Mordecai? Was it the ascendancy of Haman (“after all these things Achashveirsoh promoted Haman”)?  Or was Achashveirosh’s rulership and dictatorship and subsequent change of heart that was the real miracle? Or, is it looking at all of it, from the very beginning until the end?

Such arguments are not recorded in the Gemara for no reason.  Somehow, this is considered direction, philosophical or otherwise, on how to relate to miraculous changes and events. Let us begin to consider what motivates people to change. People change because of two basic kinds of stimuli: either intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic is when the person comes to some inner recognition. Extrinsic is when there is some type of force, pleasant or unpleasant, that serves as a motivator. Within intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, there is what we might call group intrinsic and group extrinsic. I think we can therefore analyze these four aspects in that light. Let us say whatever happens to a Jew or Jews in the Megillah is code for intrinsic, because from the perspective of the Jew it is an internal development and recognition.  Whatever happens to a non-Jew in the story is automatically code for extrinsic, since the locus of events is external.

Individual intrinsic: The promotion of Mordechai. Mordechai realizes that he is in a special place at a special time. He’s not yet sure what it means or what is going to happen, but he notices it and prepares spirituality for that is to come.

Public intrinsic: Looking at the totality of the entire story, the Jewish people as a whole must come to the recognition that a miracle has occurred. Their lives were saved due to a terrible threat.  They connect the dots and are thankful to God with praise and celebration.

Individual Extrinsic: The Rise of Haman.  This was a less explicit event, so only individual Jews may take to heart the impending doom. They can still repent out of fear.

Public Extrinsic: Achashveirosh’s tyranny and change of heart.  Being under the thumb of a fickle, genocidal dictator who executed his own wife and many other bizarre impulsive behaviors caused the Jews to literally lose sleep.  They could not ignore the signs, and therefore repented out of fear.

Rav Klonymous Kalman (Maor VaShemesh, Purim) makes a beautiful derash on the Mishna and Gemara on 18b, (a half daf off, but still related.)

It is taught in the mishna: If one read the Megilla while he is dozing off, he has fulfilled his obligation. The Gemara asks: What are the circumstances of the case of dozing off? Rav Ashi said: It is referring to a situation in which one is asleep yet not fully asleep, awake yet not fully awake. If someone calls him he answers. And he is in a mental state in which he does not know how to provide an answer that requires logical reasoning, but when people remind him about something that has happened, he remembers it.

That is, even if our souls are slumbering, we can still fulfill the mandate of the megillah, that is we can still repent as we are supposed to.  That is when we are only dozing, so if we are called out to, we answer.  And, even if we are too asleep to reason logically, we can still be reminded of logical arguments and affirm them.  Thus, even if we are still psychologically blocked, when reminded of the truth we can still hear it.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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