Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

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Purim
Purim – Receiving Hashem’s Joy
Rav Mordechai Kaplan
T his year entering the joyous day of Purim will take on a new challenge, which is
unfortunately not so new for the Jewish people. As we approach Purim ahead of us,
we come with pain and mourning from the week behind us. With the horrific visions
of the brutal death of the Fogel Family Hy”d and the horrific scenes of the tsunami
sweeping across Japan, how can one find the strength to celebrate a holiday who’s
most integral element is boundless joy on all levels?
In Adar 1940 the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto faced a similar struggle as death and
destruction surrounded them. One great light rose above the pain and suffering to give
strength to the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto. This light was Rav Kalonomous Kalman
Shapira, the Rebbe of Piacezna and author of the “Aish Kodesh,” a sefer written by
the tears of his soul. On erev Purim, 1940, Rav Shapira addressed the struggle of
celebrating with joy in times of pain.
The “Aish Kodesh” quotes the famous Tikkunei Zohar that the name Purim alludes to
Yom Ha-kippurim. Although this is commonly quoted, a deeper connection between
Yom Kippur and Purim needs to be understood. Rav Shapira explains the Yom
Kippur-Purim comparison: “This could be hinting to us that just as on Yom Kippur
a person must fast and repent whether he wants to or not, because he is fulfilling a
commandment of God, so also the joy of Purim is not dependent on whether or not
a person feels happy himself or whether he is an a situation that facilitates happiness.
Even if he is at the lowest level of broken-heartedness and his whole mind and spirit