Purim 1953

The Alef Kabbala Group (27 Feb 07) discussed a discourse said by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1953 (5713) on Purim. This edited discourse asks why the festival celebrating how the Jewish people were saved from the evil plans of Haman is called 'Purim', a name which refers to the lots drawn by Haman to find the best month in which to attack the Jews. What is the special significance of the lots, Purim, which makes this the actual name of the festival? The answer leads us into the kabbalistic map of existence in which the downchaining of the Sefirot, from Wisdom to Kinship, are seen as in the realm of 'Reason', and then there are higher levels, beyond Wisdom and even beyond Will (Keter), which are higher than Reason. This is the exalted level of the 'lots', Purim. Both our festival Purim and Yom Kippur, called Yom kipurim, the day like Purim, tap this exalted level. Hence on Yom Kippur too, lots were drawn in the Temple service. From that exalted level comes atonement, cleansing all sin; on the Purim festival too, the Jewish people tap that exalted level,on account of their self-sacrifice for Judaism. Haman's decree was against 'the Jews', and they made no attempt to escape being considered 'Jews'. This dedication came from the essence of their souls, reaching the essence of the Divine. A further aspect of this discourse, which speaks in kabbalistic terms of the aims of Haman and his downfall, is that, in 1953, a few days after Purim,when this discourse was said, the evil dictator Stalin died. He too had terrible designs regarding the Jews of Russia, whom he wanted to send en masse to a remote eastern province. His sudden death meant the deliverance of the Jewish people.