Purim - Forever Awesome

(14) The king ordered that this should be done, and the decree was proclaimed in Shushan. Haman’s ten sons were impaled: (15) and the Jews in Shushan mustered again on the fourteenth day of Adar and slew three hundred men in Shushan. But they did not lay hands on the spoil. (16) The rest of the Jews, those in the king’s provinces, likewise mustered and fought for their lives. They disposed of their enemies, killing seventy-five thousand of their foes; but they did not lay hands on the spoil. (17) That was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar; and they rested on the fourteenth day and made it a day of feasting and merrymaking. ( (18) But the Jews in Shushan mustered on both the thirteenth and fourteenth days, and so rested on the fifteenth, and made it a day of feasting and merrymaking.) (19) That is why village Jews, who live in unwalled towns, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and make it a day of merrymaking and feasting, and as a holiday and an occasion for sending gifts to one another. (20) Mordecai recorded these events. And he sent dispatches to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus, near and far, (21) charging them to observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, every year— (22) the same days on which the Jews enjoyed relief from their foes and the same month which had been transformed for them from one of grief and mourning to one of festive joy. They were to observe them as days of feasting and merrymaking, and as an occasion for sending gifts to one another and presents to the poor. (23) The Jews accordingly assumed as an obligation that which they had begun to practice and which Mordecai prescribed for them. (24) For Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the foe of all the Jews, had plotted to destroy the Jews, and had cast pur—that is, the lot—with intent to crush and exterminate them. (25) But when [Esther] came before the king, he commanded: bMeaning of Heb. uncertain.“With the promulgation of this decree,-b let the evil plot, which he devised against the Jews, recoil on his own head!” So they impaled him and his sons on the stake. (26) For that reason these days were named Purim, after pur.
In view, then, of all the instructions in the said letter and of what they had experienced in that matter and what had befallen them, (27) the Jews undertook and irrevocably obligated themselves and their descendants, and all who might join them, to observe these two days in the manner prescribed and at the proper time each year. (28) Consequently, these days are recalled and observed in every generation: by every family, every province, and every city. And these days of Purim shall never cease among the Jews, and the memory of them shall never perish among their descendants.

Rava said: A person is obligated to become intoxicated with wine on Purim until he is so intoxicated that he does not know how to distinguish between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordecai.

What is the nature of our obligation for this feast? A person should eat meat and prepare as attractive a feast as his means permit. He should drink wine until he becomes intoxicated and falls asleep in a stupor.
Similarly, a person is obligated to send two portions of meat, two other cooked dishes, or two other foods to a friend, as implied by Esther 9:22, "sending portions of food one to another" - i.e., two portions to one friend. Whoever sends portions to many friends is praiseworthy. If one does not have the means to send presents of food to a friend, one should exchange one's meal with him, each one sending the other what they had prepared for the Purim feast and in this way fulfill the mitzvah of sending presents of food to one's friends.

The Gemara relates that Rabba and Rabbi Zeira prepared a Purim feast with each other, and they became intoxicated to the point that Rabba arose and slaughtered Rabbi Zeira. The next day, when he became sober and realized what he had done, Rabba asked God for mercy, and revived him. The next year, Rabba said to Rabbi Zeira: Let the Master come and let us prepare the Purim feast with each other. He said to him: Miracles do not happen each and every hour, and I do not want to undergo that experience again.

One is obligated to distribute charity to the poor on the day of Purim. At the very least, to give each of two poor people one present, be it money, cooked dishes, or other foods, as implied by Esther 9:22 "gifts to the poor" - i.e., two gifts to two poor people.
We should not be discriminating in selecting the recipients of these Purim gifts. Instead, one should give to whomever stretches out his hand. Money given to be distributed on Purim should not be used for other charitable purposes.

It is preferable for a person to be more liberal with his donations to the poor than to be lavish in his preparation of the Purim feast or in sending portions to his friends. For there is no greater and more splendid happiness than to gladden the hearts of the poor, the orphans, the widows, and the converts.
One who brings happiness to the hearts of these unfortunate individuals resembles the Divine Presence, which Isaiah 57:15 describes as having the tendency "to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive those with broken hearts."

It is called “Purim” because of Yom HaKippurim [which can be read as “the day that is like Purim”], for, in the future, people will rejoice on Yom Kippur, and will transform its required afflictions to delight. Although the Divine Presence forbade the wearing of shoes on Yom Kippur, at that time people will quote the verse, “How beautiful are your footsteps in sandals, O prince’s daughter” (Shir HaShirim/Song of Songs 7:2), and pleasure, joy, and much good will happen on that day – this will be the case in the time of the coming Redemption.

Exodus 10,1. “G’d said to Moses: ‘come to ‎Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart, ‎etc.;’” It is appropriate to examine why in this ‎case G’d tells Moses to ‎בא אל פרעה‎, “come to Pharaoh,” ‎whereas elsewhere He told him; ‎לך אל פרעה‎, ”go to ‎Pharaoh.” Another change in nuance which has caught ‎our attention is that in conjunction with the plague of ‎locusts G’d describes Himself as “I have hardened the ‎heart of Pharaoh.” In order to account for these ‎expressions, we need to remember that there are two ‎classes of miracles. One reason for G’d having to ‎perform miracles is in order to punish those who have ‎been persecuting His people, and to persuade them to ‎refrain from doing that. The second class of miracles is ‎intended to bring about a complete change of heart ‎among those who persecute us, and to encourage them ‎to deal kindly with us instead.
When we examine the Purim story we are struck ‎by the fact that whereas Haman was punished, ‎Achashverosh was not punished, but that G’d caused ‎his heart to undergo a revolutionary change and he ‎became friendly to the Jews. According to Sh’mot ‎Rabbah 9,12, we find an allusion to this in the ‎Torah where we are told that each of the plagues ‎‎[except the killing of the firstborn, of course, ‎Ed.] lasted for a month of 31 days including ‎one week after the warning which gave the people a ‎chance to repent. The plague of the killing of the ‎firstborn occurred in the middle of the month of ‎Nissan, so that the plague of hail occurred in the first ‎half of the month of Sh’vat, a month before Purim. This ‎is alluded to in the words ‎כי אני הכבדתי את לבו‎, i.e. that ‎‎“Achashverosh’s heart had become captive to Me.” ‎According to the Talmud Sotah 11, based on ‎the previous Mishnah, G’d repays sinners in a manner ‎that corresponds to their sins, whereas He rewards ‎people who have done something good in a measure ‎that even exceeds merits earned for the good they ‎have done. If Achasheverosh had been dealing kindly ‎with the Jewish people, then G’d, as an act of ‎compensation would also cause his ministers and ‎servants to display a positive attitude towards the Jews. ‎Since Jews are in the habit of studying the ‎commandments and rules pertaining to the proper ‎observance of the Passover festival for 30 days prior to ‎the festival itself, (Pessachim 6) G’d will ‎compensate them for this generously. If G’d could turn ‎a stubborn King’s heart, He could do so more easily ‎with the hearts of his servants and ministers.‎‎