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Purim Gems - 5783-2023
18 Pages of Uplifting and Joyful Messages on the Festival of Purim:
The True Meaning of Purim - Judaism with Joy Not Oy
Purim is unique among Jewish holidays with respect to the date of its celebration. Passover is celebrated on the 14th of Nissan, because that’s the day when the Jewish people left Egypt. We celebrate Shavuot — the holiday of the giving of the Torah — on the day G-d gave the Torah on Mt. Sinai. Yom Kippur is the 10th of Tishrei because that’s the day G-d forgave the Jewish people for the sin of the golden calf. All of these occasions are commemorated as historic anniversaries.
In contrast, our deliverance from Haman — who sought to annihilate the Jews — occurred on the thirteenth of Adar. Why then did our Sages mandate that we celebrate the following day, the fourteenth as the holiday? It would be like celebrating Independence Day on July 5. What is special about the day after?
משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה - How Can You Be Happy on Command?
Purim is a festival of joy. And not only is the day itself joyous, but so is its prelude; we begin that joy two weeks beforehand: Misheh-nichnas adar marbim be-simcha, from the beginning of Adar we increase in joy. It is a strange law, this command for extended celebration. It seems like a paradox that we are being commanded to be happy. Joy is a feeling that sneaks into the heart. Is it possible to command the emotion of joy? And for weeks at a time?
רֶוַח וְהַצָּלָה יַעֲמוֹד לַיְּהוּדִים מִמָּקוֹם אַחֵר - G-d’s Great Story and You
Ordinarily, the way to convince a person is to make them feel uniquely important, not disposable and insignificant. One would expect Mordechai to have said, “Esther, only you can do this. If you don't, the Jewish people will be wiped out. You, Esther, only you can save the day. The Jewish future is in your hands!”
But Mordechai does the opposite. He tells Esther that if she doesn’t save the Jews, someone else will. Mordechai breaks every rule in the famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People. He doesn’t uplift Esther or make her feel special. He intimates that there are multitudes behind Esther to pick up the slack if she fails.
Yet it is precisely at this point, in response to this tactic, that Esther makes the decision to go before the king! What did Mordechai say that moved her?
Mordechai, says the Lubavitcher Rebbe, was not a motivational speaker or a student of Dale Carnegie, but he was a real Jewish leader…
מִשְׁלֹחַ מָנוֹת-מַתָּנוֹת לָאֶבְיוֹנִים - Give Gifts to Strangers
On Purim, it is customary to give Mishloach Manot, gifts of food, to friends and strangers alike. According to custom, we also give charity to people we do not know. The Talmud states that on Purim: “All who extend a hand are given.” On this day more than any other day of the year, we emphasize the importance of giving to unfamiliar faces. Why?
כְּטוֹב לֵב-הַמֶּלֶךְ בַּיָּיִן - G-d Will Use Your Mess
It is always shocking to enter the pages of the Biblical Book of Esther and immediately become immersed in almost relentless debauchery. The book begins with a drunken banquet, thrown by the king for all the officials, ministers, and military brass of Persia. Through a full 180 days of festivities, he displayed his kingdom’s vast wealth.
Six full months of banqueting. That makes today’s Oscars look like a miserly potluck! Still unsatisfied, the king held a second banquet. But then something happened to interrupt the revelry….
אֶסְתֵּר מִן הַתּוֹרָה מִנַּיִן - G-d, Where Are You? Finding G-d in Hidden Places
The Talmud asks a strange question: “Where do we find a hint in the Five Books of Moses to Esther?”
This is an odd question, given that Esther and the Purim story do not appear on the stage of Jewish history until many centuries later. Why should we expect that these events would be encoded in the earlier text?...
Purim Costumes - Stop Trying to Find Yourself
Why Groggers on Purim? -The Dangers of Ignoring Evil
מָרְדֳּכַי בֶּן יָאִיר בֶּן שִׁמְעִי - Transform Vice into Virtue
אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשֹׂן וִיקָר - A Happy Life in the Gulag
כִּי מָרְדֳּכַי הַיְּהוּדִי...גָדוֹל לַיְּהוּדִים -Lead with Humility: 1 Leadership Lesson from Mordechai
