Photo Credit: Jewish Press

On Purim 5722 (1962) and Purim 5727 (1967) the Rebbe spoke about the significance of what Esther HaMalka told Mordechai. Following is a synopsis of what the Rebbe said:

When Mordechai alerted Esther HaMalka about Haman’s decree, she told him: “Go and gather together all the Jews and fast for me for three days.” Why did she ask him to gather the Jews together? Why didn’t she just tell him that the people should fast?

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Esther realized that there was a reason Haman was given the power to destroy the Jews. This could not have happened by itself. The Jewish people must have been doing something wrong if such a terrible decree was threatening them.

Haman also knew this. He had seen the Jews’ weakness and planned to use this opportunity to destroy them.

What was that weakness? What were the Jews doing wrong?

If we look closely at what Haman told King Achashverosh, we can understand. He said: “There is one nation which is dispersed, scattered, and separate among the people. They do not heed the king’s laws. They should be wiped out.”

When Haman said, “dispersed, scattered and separate,” he did not mean only that the Jews lived in different places throughout the empire. He meant that they were separate from each other. Instead of caring for others and showing unity, each person was concerned with his own affairs.

Haman knew that when the Jewish people are united, they are strong. Since they were “scattered and separate,” he figured that this was the right time to try to destroy them.

But the Jewish people really are a nation of achdus and ahavas Yisrael. We all have a neshama that is part of Hashem and that unites us.

This is what Esther was thinking. She knew that it was necessary to bring the Jews together again, and that is what she told Mordechai to do.

Esther was right. The Jews gathered in prayer and revealed the ahavas Yisrael that makes us a strong nation, and now Haman’s plan could no longer work. He suffered a well-deserved ending and the Jews celebrated this great miracle by establishing the holiday of Purim.

We celebrate Purim in the spirit of ahavas Yisrael. We send mishloach manos to our friends and give matonos l’evyonim – gifts to the poor.

At many other farbrengens of Purim, the Rebbe further elaborated upon another significant factor in Esther HaMalka’s message to Mordechai.

Esther HaMalka calls upon Mordechai to “gather all the Jews and fast,” after which she would go and plead with the king to rescind the terrible decree.

Mordechai thereupon goes and gathers tens of thousands of Jewish children and teaches them the Torah; he teaches them the procedure of offering the Omer when the Beis HaMikdash would be rebuilt.

All the children are so enchanted by the spirit that Mordechai had inculcated into them that even when upon the threat death, they exclaim: “We are with Mordechai and the Torah – for life or for death!”

In that very day, the decree becomes null and void. Haman’s downfall is already assured and the Jews are saved, even though they learn of it only after several months.

The experience of our fathers is a lesson to us all.

Let us remember that one of the chief means of frustrating the Hamans of our time and bring about their downfall, bringing light and joy to our people, is to gather Jewish children and teach them Torah and Yiddishkeit!

To tell them, further, that our Holy Beis HaMikdash will be rebuilt soon, and we must all be worthy and prepared for that great day coming our way. And just as in the time of Purim, by gathering together and performing these mitzvos, Hashem will give us “light, happiness, gladness, and honor” with the imminent coming of Mashiach.

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Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman is director of the Lubavitch Youth Organization. He can be reached at [email protected].