Sicha, Purim 5745
A. “Their Remembrance Shall Not Cease from Their Descendants”
The Megillah emphasizes:
“These days of Purim shall not pass from among the Jews, and their remembrance shall not cease from their descendants.”
The Rebbe asks: What is the unique novelty in this emphasis? Every mitzvah is eternal and binding for all generations. If Purim contains a unique dimension beyond the other mitzvot, we must understand what is special about Purim. After all, Esther had to request, “Establish me for generations.” Moreover, after some time, the Jews stopped celebrating it, and Mordechai then asked Esther to send a second letter regarding Purim, because the words of the queen would have greater impact.
B. All the Festivals Will Be Nullified
The explanation: The Midrash derives from the verse “and their remembrance shall not cease from their descendants” that in the Messianic age, all the festivals will be nullified except for Purim. Rambam cites this as a matter of law. Accordingly, the Megillah means that the remembrance of Purim will not depart when the other festivals will be nullified.
This raises a fundamental question: One of the core principles of faith is that the Torah will never be replaced or changed. If so, how could all the festivals—which are from the Torah—be nullified? (Great Torah authorities grappled with this question.)
The explanation: Chassidic teachings clarify that the festivals will not actually be abolished, G-d forbid. Rather, their joy will not be felt in comparison to the immense joy that will accompany the coming of Mashiach. Relative to that overwhelming joy, the joy of the festivals will be like the light of a small candle compared to a blazing bonfire. The Midrash adds a remarkable point: the joy of Purim is so great and powerful that it will still be felt even in the days of Mashiach.
We must now understand: Why is the joy of Purim greater than that of the other festivals?
C. The Children Are the Future
The phrase “their remembrance shall not cease from their descendants” alludes to young children. The novelty is that although all mitzvot and festivals in Judaism technically apply only after bar mitzvah, Purim is uniquely connected even to small children.
Why? The Midrash relates that after the decree was sealed, Mordechai went out and encountered children leaving school. He asked them to repeat the verses they had learned. They recited verses about trust in G-d and salvation, and this brought Mordechai great joy, for he saw in their words a sign from Above that redemption would come.
Why was the news of Haman’s downfall revealed to Mordechai specifically through children? Mordechai was among the leaders of the Sanhedrin, one of the greatest sages and leaders of the generation.
The explanation is that the children were the ones who heralded the salvation because it was in their merit that the decree was nullified. As the Midrash recounts, Mordechai gathered twenty-two thousand young schoolchildren and taught them Torah with self-sacrifice. That “voice of the kids” annulled the decree.
We thus learn that the children were at the very center of the story. Everyone understood that the eternity of the Jewish people depends on young children receiving a Jewish education. This is why Haman sought to begin his campaign of destruction specifically with the children. Mordechai responded to the decree by gathering children to study Torah. And the decree was annulled specifically through the sound of the children’s Torah study.
This is the meaning of the verse:
- The key to the victory of Purim lay in strengthening the education of young children, forging an eternal bond between the Jews and the Torah that guarantees the nation’s continuity for generations.
- Therefore, Purim will never depart from their descendants—it will continue to be felt even in the days of Mashiach.
