Purim Power
Purim is a unique opportunity once in the year to put all our
requests to the Almighty, King of the Universe. We need to find the real Purim
behind the masks and costumes, the eating and drinking and reveling, to
penetrate to the sublime inner holiness of this day. Purim is a weekday with
none of the Sabbath or Festival limitations on work and labor. Yet Purim is
compared to the holiest day of the year, the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Or
rather, Yom Kippur is compared to Purim since it’s called "Yom
Ha-Kippurim", a day that is "K’-Purim", "like Purim".
This is because of the unique favor that G-d Almighty shows on Purim to all who
turn to Him even in spite of all our failings and inadequacies.
The pivotal moment in the story of Esther is when she heroically
risks her life to go unsummoned into the King in order to plead for her people
in the face of Haman’s evil plot to exterminate them. But she can only go into
the King when she has her entire people, men, women and children, behind her.
"Go, gather all the Jews," she says to Mordechai, "and fast for
me…"
We today find it hard enough to fast for even a single day let
alone three days! But what counts is not the fasting but our true contrition
for our failures and shortcomings together with sincere longing and desire in
our heart of hearts to carry out G-d’s commandments as best as we possibly can.
On Purim each one of us needs to go into the King and put our longing and
yearning and all our requests into simple words of prayer from our hearts.
There are four main mitzvos on Purim: (1) Reading the scroll of
Esther on Purim evening and morning; (2) Giving gifts to the needy; (3) Sharing
portions of food with our friends and (4) Eating the Purim feast. Second only
to the reading the Megillah is giving gifts to the needy. The Shulchan Arukh
Torah code teaches that when it comes to giving out Purim money, we should not
be too exacting but try to give to whoever stretches out their hand to receive.
Well, G-d Almighty runs the world according to the Torah! So, on
Purim G-d also gives to all who reach out to Him. And that is why our prayers
and requests on Purim are so powerful, because G-d turns no-one away.
The followers of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the Breslover Chassidim,
have a tradition to take special time on Purim for Hisbodedus, personal prayer
in one’s own words, to beg and beseech G-d for everything we need, both
materially and especially spiritually.
G-d is like a generous Lender, who gives everything to everyone –
life, bodily functioning, sustenance, a world of challenge and endless wonder
and beauty. Every one of us owes a great debt to G-d for all that we have, and
for our very lives, even if we feel there is much that we lack. Our way to pay
back this debt is through all our efforts to serve G-d through our mitzvos and
good deeds, our prayers and the Torah we study.
Is it because G-d Almighty does not have what to give us that we
may feel we lack many things in life? No matter how much He gives, He has the
power to give more and more, endlessly… But like a wise and loving parent He
knows much better than we do what we truly need and when – when we are ready to
receive from Him.
Purim is a time of supreme heavenly favor when a spirit of love of
G-d and our fellows swells in the heart of every Jew. The more we increase our
holy Simchah on Purim, the more the King delights in His beloved children and
wants to give us more and more.
So, in the midst of all our Purim celebrations, let’s remember to
take the time to whisper our deepest longings and yearnings to our Father in
Heaven, Avinu SheBashamayim, and to beg for our people, our Holy Temple – His
Temple – and Mashiach Tzidkenu, our Righteous Redeemer.
By: Avraham Ben Yaakov.
