zy”a was a young boy, he was already known as a brilliant child. Someone once asked him at the Purim seudah, “Why is Haman the only one who is referred to with the tile of ‘the rasha’. There were many other Jew-haters who wanted to destroy us. Why is only he given this appellation?”
The boy began to laugh and he answered, “Haman was a bigger rasha than all of the other antisemites. When he wanted to destroy us all on one day, he should have planned to do it on Tisha B’Av, which is a day that is established for sadness and mourning. Why did he plan it for Purim, which is a day of joy? The answer is that he was such a rasha that he wanted to disturb our celebration of Purim with his decree.”
Making Others Happy on Purim:
My ancestor, Rav Mord’chele of Nadvorna zy”a once said (quoted in Raza D’Uvda, Shaar Ha’Osiyos, page 93), “If I had known when I was young how much importance is placed in Shomayim on rejoicing on Purim, I would have put aside all of my avodah on this holy day and I would have gone from one Jew to the next to make them happy and to drink with them on this day.”
The Joy of Purim Lasts All Year:
Sefer Poras Yosef (page 166) quotes Rav Elkanah Halevi Krauss zt”l of Debretzin as saying that he once had a very difficult year, and he went to ask the Kossoner Rebbe zy”a to daven for him. The Rebbe told him, “Why didn’t you rejoice on Purim? The way you acted on Purim is the way the entire year went for you.”
