Purim – The Holiest Day Of The Year

The Tikkunei Zohar makes the astounding statement, “Kippurim kaPurim – The Day of Atonement is like Purim. The Arizal elaborates: Yom Kippurim, the holiest day of the year is k’Purim, like Purim.” Since we always compare the smaller to the larger, he means to tell us that Purim is even greater than Yom Kippur.

We know that there are a lot of similarities between Yom Kippur and Purim. On Yom Kippur we achieve achdus, brotherhood, by forgiving each other with the traditional mechila, and on Purim we also strive for achdus with the giving of mishloach manos and matanos levyonim, increasing a feeling of brotherhood with gifts to our friends and to the needy, striving for the spirit that Esther aimed for when she said, “Lech k’nos es kol haYehudim – Go and gather all the Jews.” On Yom Kippur we achieve mechilas avonos, forgiveness of sins, as it says, “Ki bayom hazeh, yichaper aleichem – On this day I will forgive you,” and on Purim we can also ask Hashem for forgiveness, as it says in the Yerushalmi, “Kol haposhet yad nosnin lo – Whoever stretches his hand out to Heaven, his requests will be granted to him” (as per the explanation of the Baal Shem Tov).

On Yom Kippur we celebrate the joy of Torah because it was on Yom Kippur that Hashem gave Moshe Rabbeinu the second luchos. So too, in the Megillah it says that on the day of Purim, “Kimu v’kiblu haYehudim,” which the Gemara explains to mean “Kimu mah shekiblu kvar,” that the Jews re-accepted the Torah on Purim with love, after they had already accepted it on Har Sinai through fear (for Hashem had held the mountain over their heads). On Yom Kippur we do a mitzvah through both eating and by not eating for we fast on Yom Kippur and we have a mitzvah to eat on erev Yom Kippur. So too on Purim, we fast on Taanis Esther and we have a mitzvah to eat and drink on Purim day.

The holy rebbe, Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin, adds that Purim is even more, for while on Yom Kippur Hashem forgives only with teshuva, repentance, on Purim He forgives as soon as we ask Him, as it says, “Kol haposhet yad nosnin lo.”

But there is a problematic difference between Yom Kippur and Purim. The Gemara teaches us that the word haSatan, the dangerous celestial prosecutor, has a gematria of 364 for there is only one day during the 365 solar year day that the Satan doesn’t stir up trouble, and that is Yom Kippur. So, on Yom Kippur we have free rein to exercise our spirituality without the shackles of the evil inclination.

Unfortunately, this is not true for the even holier day of Purim. There, the yetzer hara can run amok and cause all kinds of mischief and problems. To our chagrin, we find that this is certainly the case. Cigarettes (and vapers) are passed around to teenagers, and remember the Surgeon General says that one could get hooked on this deadly habit by just one cigarette. Many people drink irresponsibly and cause chillul Hashem with poor behavior in public, and some dangerously even get behind the wheel while under the influence. People say prayers while intoxicated.

The yetzer hara tricks us into trading off the lofty mitzvah of giving gifts with postcards that say, “In lieu of mishloach manos, I’m giving money to [insert institution].” I can assure you that when the Rambam says, “Kol hamarbeh lishloach manos, harei zeh meshubach – Whoever increases the giving of gifts is to be praised,” he was not talking about these cards. Tzedakah is superb, but don’t do it instead of being marbah rei’us, increasing friendship. My advice on this mitzvah has gone viral many times. “Make a list of all those you want to give to, then tear-up that list. Now give the gifts to the people you left off your first list,” for it is with these people that the true spirit of mishloach manos is fulfilled.

The yetzer hara also gets many to miss out on the very essence of Purim day. The Megillas Esther tells us the pedigree of Mordechai. “Mordechai ben Yair, ben Shimi, ben Kish – Mordechai was the son of Yair, the son of Shimi, the son of Kish,” and the Gemara in Masechtas Megillah homiletically explains regarding Mordechai, “Ben Yair – she’hei’ir einei Yisrael b’tefiloso – The son who illuminated the eyes of Yisrael with his prayers; ben Shimi – ben sheshama haKadosh baruch Hu l’tefiloso – The son who Hashem listened to his tefillah; ben Kish – ben shehakish al dalsei Rachamim – The son who banged on the doors of Mercy.” We see that Mordechai’s power as the hero of the Megillah story lies in his power of heartfelt and repetitive prayer.

In Anim Zemiros we say, “U’sefilosi tikon k’tores – Let my prayers be like incense [before You].” The Gemara asks, “Where do we see Mordechai in the Torah?” And it answers, “Mor dror, flowing myrrh oil,” and Onkelos interprets this as mori dachya, which is the name of Mordechai. He was the chief of prayer. Mordechai also has two other names: Pesachya, which is a contraction of the words pasach Ka, he opens up a connection to Hashem, and Bilshan, which is a contraction of the words baal haloshon, the master of the tongue, for Mordechai knew how to articulate prayers on behalf of Klal Yisrael.

Purim is such an effective day of prayer that the Tur brings an opinion to say tachanun with full prostration to the ground.