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 What is being happy really about? Is it just celebrating that “they tried to kill us? God saved us. Let’s eat” formula that we all know and love? Purim can be far more than that. The trick is to take your inner life along with your delight in the food, camaraderie, and feeling that things will work out in the end. What is the message that Purim has for your soul?
Sfas Emmes says that the name of the holiday tells it all. Purim literally means “lots”. Why is this really relevant? If you were choosing a name, wouldn’t “rescue” or “turnabout” work better? The answer can be gleaned by one of history’s more bizarre details. Hitler had a personal astrologer. Why is this of interest? What it shows is that a man who saw force and right as synonyms still had a deep recognition of the fact t hat there is a world beyond the world that he could control. Similarly, Haman looked for an auspicious time, one in which our merits would be overshadowed by the negativity of the time. He believed in spirituality and wanted to force it into submission to his will. He cast lots, but they had no relevance to a people with a direct link to God.
There is a place within each of us that is far beyond anything that can be conquered. Each of us has a space inside that is indefaglble. That piece of us is in fact the core of our bond to God, and at the same time the deepest facet of our being, the part that is even beyond the reach of our self-awareness.
Purim is the holiday of “yes”! Yes! We are eternal, each and every one of us. Yes! No matter how much our vision of our lives has been realized or not realized, we never can and never will never surrender to the forces of natural cause and effect and let that be our ultimate be all end all. We can do far more than run companies, write scripts and engage with people in power. We can have real connection to God and to each other by finding the place within us that is always connected to Him and to each and every Jew.
By seeing God as the source of our pleasure, we release ourselves from bondage to food, drink, and everything that is shallow and transient. That is what the feast is all about. When we see ourselves honestly and realize that it is only God’s mercy that makes us an eternal people, a talented and spiritually gifted people, we are inspired to follow His path, and give to the needy, the second mitzvah of the day. When we want to bond to each other without feeling like Lady Bountiful, but to give just for the sake of friendship, we will enjoy making and receiving mishloach manos, sending “portions” of our feast to the people we would like to see joining us in spirit. We hear the megillah at night. Reading it evokes the faith that saw us through in the night of the planned Persian genocide. We read it during the day as well, since authentic faith has to stand up to the test of ease and comfort and light.
Finding the inner point of connection means being joyous though our connection to God and to each other. It means that we don’t define ourselves by the superficial lexicon of our enemies!
Have a great Purim!