Why Chasidus Adores Purim

Yeah, I know, we all love Purim. It has something for everyone: costumes, wine, food baskets, parties, what's there not to like? But if Purim has one true fan, it's Chasidus.

All year long, Chasidus waits for Purim to come and share its story, to tell the awesome tale of a time when Hashem decides to hide his face, "and I, on that day, conceal shall I conceal my continence." For Purim is the embodiment of Chasidus's central point, and a reinforcement of its most fundamental message.

You see, if Chasidus has one central point, it's this: there is nothing else beside Hashem, the world and its natural laws are but expressions of his greatness.

How can we experience this truth? There must be some event in our long history that can exemplify this truth.

Let’s take a look at Passover. It tells a fascinating story, it tells of Hashem's descent into Egypt, smashing the laws of nature on behalf of his beloved people. Nothing gets in his way, he strikes Egypt with ten plagues and splits the sea, Hashem descends on a mountain amidst pillars of smoke and Manna falls from heaven. Gone is the illusion of an all powerful nature; gone is the illusion that what we can measure, predict, and test in a lab, is all powerful.

That’s a very important message, we must know, that occasionally, Hashem chooses to break the laws of nature. But, it does not teach us that nature itself is an expression of Hashem's will. It doesn't teach us that Hashem does not have to shatter nature in order to find expression. So who will teach us to look beneath the surface and discover that nature is but a garment he chooses to wear?

No one can tell it better then Purim. With no G-dly intervention, no lightning coming down from heaven, nothing unnatural, we see G-d's hand every step of the way. We discover the essence of G-d, the "I", that chooses to "conceal my continence". We discover that he is very much present even where his name is nowhere to be found. We learn to see beneath the masks.

I am fortunate to be a student of Chasudus, lucky to drink of its wellsprings. Yes, it captured my imagination ; I'm in love with Purim