Some Purim Thoughts of Reb Shlomo Carlebach — Wiping out Evil and fixing our Mistakes

Reb Shlomo zt”l taught: Purim is about the day after evil has been wiped out. To really celebrate Purim we must be engaged in wiping out evil all year long, and the first thing one needs to do to battle with evil is to “REMEMBER” that there is evil in the world. How much does each one of us have to accomplish in this battle? Without knowing exactly how much you or I must do, one thing is sure, I do have to remember that there is evil, that I should care and do something about it, rather than just accepting it and maybe, G-d forbid, surreptitiously enjoying some of it. Let us all be blessed to bring much light into the world – joyously and in the best of health, b’ezrat Hashem.
On Purim, we are sending gifts to each other, not face-to-face. Why not face-to-face? You know what I am doing with my failures? I’m hiding them, I don’t want you to know about them. When I’m successful I can tell you. You know when we’re sending gifts, I’m sending gifts to let you know even that part which you are hiding from me- I give you strength. I’m giving you strength- to that part which you think you have to hide.

On Yom Kippur, I am saying bad things about myself. I did this wrong, and that wrong. I send in Aron HaKohen, the High Priest to bring down forgiveness for me. But on Purim, everybody is a Cohen, a High Priest. On Purim, I don’t know the difference between what is good in me or bad in me. On Purim, I love it all- Because, Ad d’lo Yada, I don’t know anything. All my mistakes, you know, maybe they were good or not so good, I don’t know, I just know I love you. Purim there is so much intimacy, so much intimacy. Because I don’t know what is good about you or not good about you, I just want to give to you. I just see you are so beautiful, we are all so beautiful. L’Chaim! GOOD PURIM!

So Purim is time the fixing of our Mistakes What are our mistakes. We say the wrong thing or offend somebody and hurt their feelings. We can not apologise to their face. We do not know how to. So on Purim we are fixing this. We are sending gifts to each other., We are saying sorry. We want want you to be happy. We want you know we are friends.

You know what the Megila is really about? Unless you know the whole story from beginning to end, you don’t know. When Eliayhu HaNavi is coming, we come to the end, the whole story will be so clear to us. It’ll be so clear to us that G-d was leading us the whole time. And everybody in their own personal life, we are so angry at G-d sometimes, we are so hurt, we think, “G-d, why are doing this to me?” – Wait…..wait…wait. One day it’ll be clear to you, how good He is to me…How G-d is sooooooo good to me. All those things which don’t even seem to connect…Suddenly at the end, everything connects.

What is the greatest EVIL in the world? The Holy Slonimer says, the greatest evil in the world is to think, I am all by myself. Nobody loves me, nobody is really connected to me, and my actions don’t affect anybody. What is the biggest fixing in the world? When it’s clear to me, Ah, Gevalt when it’s clear to me, my bananas, my piece of cake (the little gifts of food we give on Purim) affect the whole world. And you know, we don’t send Shalach Manos face-to-face, because the connection is how much do I feel connected to you when I don’t see you.