Purim — a Miracle of Joy

It is written in the Gemarah that when Adar begins, joy begins. But if something sad happens right when Adar begins, can we force ourselves to be happy? Even if we try it for a day, we will see how difficult it is to force ourselves to feel happy, so how can we do it for an entire month, especially when circumstances are not always jubilee-inspiring?

My studies of authentic Kabbalah have helped me understand this apparent impossibility in new ways. If we tap into some of the insights that this wisdom offers, we will find refreshing answers to “unsolvable” questions.

Joy, especially great joy, appears when we achieve something that we passionately want. Purim represents a state of complete, unadulterated joy after been saved from certain death at the hands of evil Haman. The commandment to drink beyond recognition between good and evil represents a state of pure and unadulterated happiness, where no evil is left, and even Haman arouses laughter and elation.

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the reason why Haman wanted to destroy us in the first place was that we were “scattered and dispersed among the peoples,” and were not keeping the king’s laws. In other words, our dispersion was the breaking of the king’s law. Haman, the king’s faithful servant, saw no reason to preserve a nation that does not keep the law it is supposed to keep.

In today’s values, thinking of dispersion as something wrong, much less unlawful, seems odd. But we must keep in mind that our nation was founded on the law of unity. We became a nation at the foot of Mt. Sinai when we committed to unite “as one man with one heart.” At that time, we received an “offer we could not refuse”: It is written in the Talmud that at the foot of Mt. Sinai we were told, “If you accept the Torah [Law], very well, but if not, here will be your grave.”

Once we united, we were given a promise that we would be “a light for the nations.” But if we forget the unity, we stop being the people of Israel in the spiritual sense, because we lose the unity on which we were established. Instead, we become a diaspora of individuals with an untapped potential. To reunite us, an outside force must prod us back toward each other.

As long as Mordechai was alone, he could not do a thing to undo the decree to kill the Jews. Even the Jewish Queen Esther could not revoke it. But as soon as Mordechai gathered the Jews, the plot took a turn for the better. This was the key—their unity saved them. The Jews did not fight; they did not bear arms. They simply reunited “as one man with one heart,” and the verdict turned against its conceiver.

Indeed, Purim is a twofold miracle—physical deliverance and spiritual revival of our people. When correction appears on all levels—spiritual and physical—it invokes unbounded joy. When unity is that strong, nothing can break it and put us in danger. This is why we are commanded on that day to let our guard down and drink until we cannot tell between Haman and Mordechai.

These days, anti-Semitic Hamans seem to be appearing in many places, and at the same time. They are still relatively small, but considering the history of our people, we would be wise to do what Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Little Prince did on his little planet, uprooting the Baobab trees while they are still small.

As then, so now, the key to our success lies in our unity. Haman appeared in order to unite us, since we would not unite of our own volition. Today’s anti-Semites are reminding us that we are “scattered and dispersed.” We need not move to Israel en-masse, but we must certainly unite, as this is the only remedy to anti-Semitism, and the sooner we do it, the better.

But why is Jewish unity the cure to anti-Semitism? What has being “as one man with one heart” among ourselves got to do with the nations’ mitigation of the hatred?

When we are united, we become once more “a light for the nations.” The one thing that the world needs today is unity. The world is needlessly declining into political mayhem, economic depression, and social disorder. There is plenty of food and fresh water for all, the internet provides unlimited access to education and information, and technology allows us to provide shelter and wholesome living to every single person on the planet.

What prevents these good things from happening is our global and social alienation and distrust. We have no sense of solidarity, and suspicion is hampering all our efforts to make peace and bring prosperity to humanity. If we could unite, we would solve all of these problems.

But humanity cannot unite. World leaders try, humanitarian organizations work tirelessly to help the needy, but the problems keep piling up and the situation is becoming desperate. In such a state, offering a way to unite will be more than a light for the nations, it will be a lifesaver!

We, Jews, are the only ones who can provide the world with a way to unite. We have to relearn how to achieve it, then offer it to the world. Because we were once united, it will be easier to start with uniting among ourselves. But as soon as we achieve unity, even before we have united the entire people, we must spread it out to all the nations.

It may seem odd right now, but if we prefer to wait until the nations prod us into it as Haman did, who knows if we will have another miracle. So despite the awkward feeling, we need to move toward each other and transcend our differences. Above the mountain of disagreements and disputes, we will find the unity we seek, and we will promptly share it with the world.

At that time, our joy will be complete: we will have reestablished our unity and become a nation once again, and the whole of humanity will unite, as well. Then we will truly be “a light for the nations.”

It is written in the Midrash (Shimoni) that in the future, all the festivals will be cancelled and Purim will be celebrated all year long. Indeed, when the whole of humanity unites “as one man with one heart,” there will be no hatred whatsoever, only love among all. Then we will celebrate Purim all year long, and drink until we cannot tell between evil Haman and righteous Mordechai. I only hope that by that time we will all be riding driverless cars, so we don’t have to pick a designated driver.

Lechaim