Purim is called by the name Yom HaKippurim… Zohar

Purim and Yom Kippur, two seemingly opposite days, are really related to each other, according to the Zohar. The letter CHOF, as a prefix, which means “like”, would indicate that Yom Kippur is compared to Purim. We would say that a child resembles his father and not the other way around. In that way Yom Kippur is superseded by Purim. This may all be very puzzling and even troubling. How is this possible? Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year. We fast all day and pray for forgiveness. Purim is a party!

In a certain way they are really two sides of the same coin. On Erev Yom Kippur we eat and on the Erev Purim we fast. On Yom Kippur we ask each other and HASHEM for forgiveness, while on Purim we deliver gifts and create bonds of love with our fellow Jews. One is animated by awe and fear while the other is an outpouring of love. They are very similar like the old time negative of the film and the picture that is developed from that negative. They are seeking to do the same thing from different angles.

One of my Rebbes once asked us in Shiur, “What can we learn from a clock that is right twice a day?” Obviously, he was referring to a stopped clock. He went around the room and everyone had something to say. One the great honors of my early days in Yeshiva was that at Sholosh Seudas that week, the Rebbe shared with the entire Yeshiva gathered there, that he had this question, and this was Lam’s answer; “If you see someone eating a lot on Erev Yom Kippur and drinking heavily on Purim, that does not mean that you can learn from him the rest of the year.”

For many years we have been part of a hotel program for both Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. I remember well, one Yom Kippur, right near the end, during Neila, after more than 24 hours of fasting, and we were nearing the dramatic conclusion of a full day of Davening. The room was rocking. We said HASHEM HASHEM, the 13 attributes of mercy for the umpteenth time and the voices were choked with emotion, the tears were flowing.

Everyone was begging for life. At that poignant moment a side door suddenly opened from the front of the Shul near to where the Chazan was leading the Davening. It was one of those doors that leads to an undecorated hallway connecting the kitchen and the ballroom. One of the workers opened the door and immediately realized his mistake, but before he closed the door his eyes swept the room with a most curious look. Then he shut the door. It was a second or two at most.

I noticed and it was slightly distracting for that moment. It left me thinking about what he was thinking. What did he think about what was going on in that brief surveying glance? That’s not what I should have been concentrating on at that time but my mind was seeking closure on that brief encounter. It occurred to me, based on the look of shock and alarm on his face that he thought that he had just entered a Bais Meshuga, a real crazy house. We must have seemed insane in his eyes, and I can easily understand why.

However, I was able to recover and remind myself that that moment when we all shout out SHEMA and BORUCH SHEM KAVOD MALCHUSO L’OLAM VA’ED and HASHEM Hu HaElochim, that is actually the most-sane moment in the whole year and the rest of the time we are highly suspect.

On the flip side, there is a time on Purim, when, after having heard the Megillah twice, and given out loads of Mishloach Manos, and Matanos Evyonim, with EMUNAH in HASHEM to the max and being connected with fellow Jews, we then imbibe a few extra glasses of wine. Everyone is singing and sublime feelings are flowing. A guy in a gorilla costume is hugging a guy dressed in a guerilla costume. They are crying and affirming how much they love one another. Someone peering in from the outside, could conclude that these people are drunk but in truth this is the most sober moment of the entire year and the rest of the year we may be drunk on our ego agendas For a few moments in the year we revel in reality.