The Secret of Purim
Now we begin to see one of the great obligations that is incurred as a result of the story of Purim. It’s the secret of Purim that is overlooked. Because if the sinah that motivated Amalek and Haman then, and the sinah that’s still in the world today, is a raising of the hand against the kisei Hashem, then it’s up to us now to raise our hands in defense of the kisei Kah. That’s what Hakadosh Baruch Hu is waiting for.
“My people,” He says, “you have a very great obligation to wage a great campaign against that sinah. I’m not asking you to go to war. Don't worry about that now. I'll take care of that. ֵם לִי נָקָם וְשִׁ ל – I’m the One Who will take revenge for you (Devarim 32:35). But what do you have to do? You have to defend My throne by showing how much you love the Am Yisroel.”
That's the duty of Purim! To be a Jew-lover! Because who else is going to fill the void? The Arabs are going to love the ones upon whom the Shechinah rests? The Christians are going to love us? Mayor Dinkins is going to love us? Even when they made a pogrom against the Jews in Crown Heights he didn’t do anything. And so who should love Jews if not the Jews themselves?
The Mitzvos of the Day
And therefore it’s a serious subject: A Jew is obligated to defend the kisei Kah by loving the nation that is His throne. Not merely we shouldn’t hate our fellow Jews. Not merely we shouldn't slander them and have machlokes. That’s nothing yet. We should make it a career of showing that we are enamored with the Jewish people: with the nation in general, with our history, with all the great men of the past, and most importantly with the Am Yisroel today – men and women and boys and girls. We love them all!
It’s a wonderful day, Purim, and you shouldn't waste it. Stam to drink and be wild, stam to sit and eat, no, that’s not it. Purim means it’s time to raise up the Jewish people. All year long too but especially on Purim you have to make a demonstration that you are defending the kisei Kah. That's what Purim is for!
So you begin to understand now what it means מִשְׁ לוֹחַ מָנוֹת אִישׁ לְרֵ עֵהו וּ מַת נוֹת לָאֶ בְיוֹנִים – the sending of portions, every person to his fellow, and gifts to the poor (Esther 9:22). The purpose of the mitzvos of Purim are to encourage us to fulfill one of the primary purposes of Purim - to love the Am Yisroel.
The Forever Nation
Of course we’re celebrating that Hashem saved us in the times of Achashveirosh. And we’re celebrating that He always will save us! That’s simchas Purim! Purim means that we are a nation forever, that we are still celebrating 2,500 years after it happened. We have to be excited about that, excited that we're still around, that we’re the eternal people; we’re forever and ever. רִ י ם וִ י מֵ י הַ פּ ו רַעָ ם ף מִ ז א יָסו דִ ים וְזִכְרָ ם לְהו הַ י וֹך מִ ת א יַעַ בְרו הָ אֵ ל – There will always be a Purim among the Yehudim; the memory of Purim will never go away from us (ibid. 9:28). Forever and ever there's going to be a Purim. That’s the underlying simchah, that no matter how much sinah there will be, we’re going to be forever because His throne will be forever!
But for that we could have just a day of happiness; a day of reading the Megillas Esther and eating and drinking and dancing and thinking about this yesod that we are the Am Olam, that we are the Forever Nation. What’s this business of מִשְׁ לוֹחַ מָנוֹת אִישׁ לְרֵ עֵהו? What’s the business of מַת נוֹת לָ אֶ בְ יוֹ נִ ים? What’s that have to do with Purim?
The answer is what we’re talking about now. Chazal wanted us to make a demonstration! To counteract that attitude of the world. “I’m demonstrating that I love my fellow Jew. I’m giving you this as a demonstration of what’s in my heart.” That's what Purim is for: אִ י שׁ לְ רֵ עֵ ה ו – each man to his friend. Who is your friend? Everybody should be your friend. On Purim when you send gifts, it's because you're making friendship, you’re increasing friendship. מִשְׁ לוֹחַ מָנוֹת אִישׁ לְרֵ עֵהו – We send gifts to our fellow Jews to show them it’s רֵ עֵ ה ו; you’re my friend.
Making a Scene
So let's say you’re going to bring shalach manos to a neighbor. Make a scene from it! Don’t merely go through the motions. Here I give you, you give me, finished. No! Make a scene about רֵ עֵ ה ו! “Oh, Chaim, I’m so happy that you’re a chaver of mine. I love you, Chaim. I wish I could give you gifts every day!”
Say words that are marbeh ahavah u’reus. Find ways and means to express ahavas Yisroel – even if you’re not giving shalach manos. You see a fellow Jew in the street, you don’t know him from a hole in the wall but he’s from the kisei Kah so say something to him: “A freilichen Purim, my fellow Jew! I love you!” You have a shalach manos that someone gave you in your hand? Give it to him. Absolutely! You’re being mechazeik the throne of Hashem.
Monetary Gifts
Matanos la’evyonim too. It doesn't say צְ דָ קָ ה לָ אֶ בְ יוֹ נִ ים, ‘charity’ to the poor; מַת נוֹת לָ אֶ בְ יוֹנִים means ‘gifts’ to the poor. We’re giving them gifts too. Only that the poor prefer tzedakah, money, rather than a little dishful of cake and beblach. They want money so we give them money. That's a sign of loving the poor people, giving them money. And if you’ll say nice words to them too and honor them and make them feel good even better.
If you can invite poor people to your table, even better. Not everybody has a home – not only the poor. Some people don’t have a place to be on Purim for the seudah, for the happy festivities of the day. There are lonely Jews. They’re also the kisei Kah! So bring them into your home. Show them that you’re with them, that we’re the Am Olam, the Forever Nation, together.
“Oh,” Hashem says “Now I see that you know how to utilize the day. That’s why I gave you Purim; because Haman wanted to utilize Purim for the opposite, for a tremendous sinah against the Am Hashem, and you’re going to utilize that same day for a tremendous ahavah to the Am Hashem. וְ נַ הֲ פֹ ך א הו! That's the best way to utilize Purim.
Weak-Minded Love
It’s a very important opportunity. And in order to make it a little bit more effective, a little bit of mashkeh helps to make your mind a little bit weak. When your seichel is strong, so you're a pikeach, a wise-guy: “Why should I love him for nothing? I should love that fellow? Heh, heh, heh, love him.”
But after you have a cup of wine you’re a little bit tipsy now so you’re thinking, “Heh, heh, heh, I do love you! Why? Just because you’re a fellow Jew. You and I, we’re the kisei Kah! Hashem is with us! Ooh aah! Me and you!” And you embrace him.
Yielding to Drunkenness
So someone says, “What? Should I yield to that drunken impulse, something I wouldn’t do when I was sober? Hug him?!”
Absolutely! If you allow yourself to be persuaded by a drunken impulse to be friendly with a fellow Jew, you’re doing what Hashem wants you to do. ל כ עַת קוֹנוֹ וֹ מִ דֵינוֹ יֵשׁ בֶ ה מִ י הַמִּ תְ פַּת – If you allow yourself to be persuaded by means of wine, you have the attitude of your Creator (Eiruvin 65a). You’re fulfilling the ratzon Hashem.
It means like this: Suppose Purim, you’ll be in a synagogue or at a big family mesibah where people come together and you came in a little late, so there was one empty seat. After you sat down, you looked. The man next to you was somebody you didn’t like. A neighbor or a cousin you don’t love so much. But now you’re stuck. You can’t get up.
And now there’s wine on the table and Purim it’s a mitzvah to drink some wine. So, if you’re smart you’ll pour some wine in your cup and drink it down. Pour him some too and wait for the alcohol to go to your head. Now when you were sober, you didn't want to associate with him so much; but now you're a little bit tipsy, so you think, “I'm going to put an arm around his shoulders.”
Good Silliness
Now, it’s a silly thing. Here all year round you’re sober, your mind is working, and you decided not to like him and Purim just because you’re thinking under the influence of alcohol, you decided to like him?
And the answer is, yes! If you’re able to be persuaded from wine to do what’s right, to like a fellow Jew – after all, he’s a fellow Jew; he’s a koshereh frum Jew – then you’re using alcohol for the right purpose.
Now you don’t need much wine for this program. A little bit, that’s enough. If you’re wise you don’t need any alcohol. Sometimes you can yield to the simchas Purim itself and embrace your fellow Jew. You’re bashful? Make believe you’re tipsy. Give him a hug. “I love you because you’re a fellow Jew! I love you because the Shechinah is with you!” Excellent! You had a successful Purim!
After Purim you meet him, “Oh, do you remember we embraced on Purim?” Or “You remember when I brought you that shalach manos?”. Keep on thinking about that all year long because that was the purpose of this great day, to practice up being a patriot for the Am Hashem; to be devoted with all your heart, bechol levavcha uvechol nafshecha uvechol meodecha to the Am Yisroel, the nation that is and will forever be the throne of Hashem.
