1) Our sages say that when the Messiah comes all holidays will become irrelevant, but Purim will not. Purim is the day of complete ecstatic joy, the only holiday fitting to be retained in the days of joy that the Messiah will bring.
2) The story of Esther, on which this holiday is based, is crouched in confusion, contradiction and mystery. Esther hides her identity, G-d hides himself from the story, and Haman’s plan to defeat us turns on its head. Thus, Purim becomes a day where everything is backwards, the day where we hide ourselves in costume, and where
3) Our sages ask a question: if the Jews had been exiled from their land, did they have any obligation towards G-d? Does a wife have any obligation to a husband that has divorced her? On Purim we realized that though G-d hides his face from us, He has not abandoned us. His hand in history is subtle, but present.
4) On Purim we are told that all who extend their hand- we give to them. Under the King’s decree not only were our lives at risk, but so was our belongings. Faced with the realization that wealth and means are fleeting, we heartily offer our bounty to those who have less
5) The gallows that Haman makes for Mordechai are the very same ones that he is hung upon himself. In his vicious quest for vengeance against Mordechai, Haman failed to realize that his malicious plans had the potential for turning against him. Indeed, Haman’s demise catapults Mordechai political career. What was once evil, is now good- showing us that we don’t really know the story until the end.
6) The name Purim comes from the word Pur, lots. These are the lots that Haman cast to determine his date for his killing-spree. When we get drunk we throw our fate in the wind again. Hopefully it won’t take us too far away from the bar.....
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