12. The Zohar says, "In the future we will enjoy pleasures on Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur will change from being a day of affliction to being a day of pleasure." This is why Yom Kippur is called פורים-כ יום, a day like Purim. Yom Kippur will become like Purim.
The Holiness of the Day
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year, but Purim is even higher. Tikunei Zohar (57b) says, "The kedushah of Yom Kippur is like the kedushah of Purim. This is the reason Yom Kippur is called פוריםכ יום, a day like Purim." The holy Ruzhiner zt'l explains that Yom Kippur is פורים-כ יום, a day like Purim, which means Purim is even higher.
The Vilna Gaon zt'l would celebrate the entire day of Purim. He explained that Purim and Yom Kippur are two parts of the same day. There is a rule on Yom Tov, וחצי לכם חצי 'לה, half of the day should be for celebration, and half the day should be for avodas Hashem – Torah and tefillah. However, Purim and Yom Kippur are the same day. On Yom Kippur, we keep the half of 'לה חצי, because we are in the beis medresh the entire day, with tefillos and with teshuvah. The חצי לכם, the part of the day for celebration, is performed on Purim.
Reb Tzaddok HaKohen zt'l (Pri Tzaddik, Shemos, Purim 1, בתיקונים ואיתא ה"ד) writes that Purim is like Yom Kippur. Regarding Yom Kippur, Chazal say מכפר יום של עיצומו, the specialness of the day, itself, brings atonement. Similarly, for Purim עמלק מחיית עושה יום של עיצומו, the specialness of the day itself brings the destruction of Amalek.
The sefer ישראל בינת proves that just as Yom Kippur brings atonement, the same occurs on Purim. He writes that the atonement of Purim is greater than the atonement of Yom Kippur. This is because it states in Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 695:2) ׁוְיֵש פ ָּטוּר ,פּוּרִים שִׂמְחַת ַמ ִכֹּח חֲב ֵרוֹ אֶת אֶחָד הִזִּיק דְאִם אוֹמ ְרִים ׁ ַלֵּםמ ִלְּש, "Some say that if someone harms his friend due to the festivities and joy of Purim, he doesn't have to pay for the damage." This halachah isn't so on Yom Kippur. If someone harms his fellow man on Yom Kippur, he will have to pay. He is only exempt from paying on Purim. We see that the atonement of Purim is greater than that of Yom Kippur.
About the korbanos on Yom Kippur, it states (Shemos 30:10), אחת ...בשנה אחת ...אהרן עליו וכפר לדורותיכם עליו יכפר בשנה, "Aharon shall bring atonement...once a year... Once a year, shall he bring atonement upon it for your generations." Notice that בשנה אחת, "once a year," is written twice in this pasuk. The Imrei Noam (Dzhikov) zt’l explains that this alludes to Purim and Yom Kippur. The difference between them is that the atonement of Yom Kippur comes from the korbanos, while the kaparah of Purim is achieved even without korbanos.
The Gemara (Megillah 10b) discusses Megillas Esther, and it begins studying its pasukim. Suddenly, the Gemara changes topic and writes, המדה מן אינו ארון מקום, that the aron [in the Kodesh Kadoshim of the Beis HaMikdash] didn't have measurements. The Gemara explains that the Kodesh Kadoshim was 20 x 20 amos. There were ten amos on each side of the aron to the wall of the Kodesh Kadoshim. This means there were ten amos to the right side of the aron, and ten amos to its left side, ten amos in front of it, and ten amos before it. So, where was the aron itself? The areas around the aron were 20 x 20, so how was there place for the aron? The answer is, המדה מן אינו ארון מקום, the aron didn't take up place. It was a miracle. But why is this idea written in the Gemara, where the Gemara is discussing Megillas Esther?
