Happy Purim everybody! Outside of Jerusalem, Purim this year is Thursday night and Friday. In Jerusalem, it is spread out over the course of three days. I am just going to write a few words about the festival and then return to studying all night long in honor of it. The holiday of Purim is all about concealment and hiding. The book of Esther is the only book of the twenty-four books of the Written Torah that does not mention G-d’s name once. The very name Esther in Hebrew means hidden, for that is what a Jewish woman is, the hidden dimension. Esther herself was very mysterious: No one knew where she came from, what her religion was, what her real name (Hadassah) was etc. In comparison to the open miracle of Hanukkah, the miracle of Purim was brought about in a much more natural fashion, through a series of political events.
The Bnei Yissachar, of sainted memory, shows that this concept is expressed in the simplest traditions of Hannukah and Purim. For thousands of years Jews have been spinning dreidels on Hanukkah and noisemakers (graggers) on Purim. But the source of these customs is incredibly deep. The reason why we spin a dreidel on Hanukkah is because that was the nature of the miracle of Hanukkah. We saw the hand of G-d come down and that is why we spin a dreidel from above. But on Purim the miracle happened in a seemingly natural fashion, and accordingly we spin the noisemaker from below. So we see that if a custom has existed amongst the Jewish people for thousands of years, it can be assumed that it has a very deep source.
This why we say the public thanksgiving prayer of Hallel on Hanukkah but not on Purim, even though the Purim story happened earlier. Rav Neventzal, the Rabbi of the Old City of Jerusalem whose family I am very close to, shows that even the decree against the Jews in the Purim story was a charade. The reason given in the Talmud (Megillah 12a) for why the Jews of that generation were worthy of annihilation, G-d forbid, was because they had bowed down to an idol of Nebuchadnezer. But close examination of that event shows that it wasn’t actually an idol, but merely a statue of the king, and there are many reasons given why it was actually permitted for the Jews to bow down to it. So again the question arises, why were the Jews deserving of annihilation? The answer is that G-d was also pretending. Just like the Jews pretended to bow down to the statue, G-d pretended to put out a decree dooming them to annihilation. But G-d never has any intent of killing them, He merely was awakening them to repent.
But when miracles are not brought about in a supernatural fashion, but rather by conventional means, then we ourselves become the miracle. Our very lives are miracles. You just need to open up your life like the scroll of the Megillah and see that G-d’s hand was there all along, just like in the Purim story. Purim is about more than concealment; it’s about revealing the hidden, which is the highest level of all. The term for the Scroll of Esther in Hebrew is Megillat Esther which can also be translated as “revealing the hidden.” That is what Purim is all about.
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There a few Mitzvahs to be fulfilled on Purim. Every Jewish man and woman must go hear the Megillat Esther (scroll of Esther) read publicly twice: once on the evening of Purim and once on the morning of Purim. One must have a feast during the day of Purim, preferably with wine as well. Also during the day of Purim, one must send food packages containing at least two different foods to at least two different people. Lastly, one must give charity to at least two poor people. These last two Mitzvahs are meant to unify the Jewish people, as they united in the days of Mordechai and Esther. In fact it was only through the unification of the Jewish people that the redemption became possible. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of sainted memory, explains that the only reason why it was plausible for a decree to go out against the Jewish people was because there was division amongst them. As Haman described them to Xerxes (Ahasereus) “There is one people scattered and separated amongst the nations.” (Esther 3:8) When the Jewish people, who are by essence “one people” exist in a state of division, G-d forbid, then such a decree is conceivable. So the rectification of this comes about through these Mitzvahs, sending food packages to one another and giving charity, which bring the Jewish people together.
There is one more Mitzvah to be performed by every Jew on the day of Purim: to be happy. The Zohar states that the day of Purim is on a higher level than that of Yom Kippur. This is hinted to by the name Yom Kippurim, which in Hebrew means “a day like Purim.” This tells us that the lofty level attained on Yom Kippur through fasting, praying and negating the physical body, cannot compare to the level of Purim. Through singing, dancing, giving gifts, eating, and drinking on Purim, instead of suppressing the body we utilize it in its most physical form for the highest spiritual purpose.
In line with this the Psietchner Rebbe, may G-d avenge his blood, who was murdered in the Holocaust, tells us a practical ramification of Purim being compared to Yom Kippur. The Rebbe writes that on Yom Kippur one must fast and repent whether or not he or she wants to; similarly on Purim a person has to be happy, whether he or she likes it or not. Even if a person is brokenhearted or depressed, he or she must awaken some spark of happiness within his heart. Furthermore, if a person makes an effort to repent on Yom Kippur but is unable to repent completely, the day of Yom Kippur atones for his or her sins. Similarly, even if a person is not on the appropriate level of happiness on Purim, if he or she makes an effort to be happy than the salvation and happiness that Purim activates for all the Jewish people will extend to him or her as well.
May we merit to rejoice on this Purim like we should. May we be given the ability to reveal the hidden, see through the illusions of this world to awaken our inherent love for G-d, and bring about the final redemption speedily in our days.
With Love from the Holy Land,
Elisha
