We are approaching Purim, one of the most colorful holidays in the Jewish calendar. Joy, dancing, costumes, and four specific mitzvot (reading the Megillah, rejoicing, giving food, and tzedakah) make this a very special and well-known holiday.
What does the name Purim mean? In the Megillat Esther (the Book of Esther), we read that Haman, the villain of the story, wanted to destroy the Jewish people and held a lottery to determine the day he would carry out his plan. The Hebrew words are hipil pur—he cast a lottery. Purim means lottery, chance.
Chance is directly related to the Purim festival. But what was Haman trying to do by drawing lots?
Our sages explain to us that there are several levels in God's creation, and each of these levels involves a certain way of Divine guidance and direction.
There is a level symbolized by the name of God "Elohim," whose numerical value is the same as the word "HaTeva"—nature. This level generates, governs, and controls the nature we know, the physical world we perceive as real.
Higher still is the level of the ineffable name, the four-letter name of God (whose pronunciation is unknown). This level symbolizes that which transcends nature, that which we cannot perceive with our physical senses. Yet, it still has a relationship with the world we know, since it transcends it; that is, its relationship is to be "above the world." To transcend the world, one must, so to speak, accept its existence and then overcome it.
Then there is another level, a level before which it makes no difference whether the world exists or not. Before the name Elohim, since this is the lifeblood of the world, the world obviously exists and occupies a place of importance. Before the ineffable name, the world also exists, but it no longer occupies a place of importance, since this name transcends it. But before this third level, the world is insignificant!
Haman thought that if he could draw power from that level, he could destroy the Jewish people. That's why he held a lottery. The idea of chance is something that transcends the limitations of the world. Chance is above the law, so to speak.
However, it failed. And the reason for its failure is because God Himself, beyond His holy names and His blessed energies with which He constantly creates the universe, connected Himself with the Jewish people. Even beyond the level of chance.
That is why we see in the Megillah that Haman's wife tells him, "If Mordecai is of the Jewish lineage, you cannot prevail against him." She knew that God has a special connection with the Jewish people, a connection that ensures their eternal existence, regardless of circumstances, the ruler of the day and his destructive plans, and even fate itself.