Is Purim the Greatest Holiday? Purim is a unique holiday in many ways, which leads to the question, is Purim greater or less significant than all other holidays? On the one hand, it seems that the joy of Purim is greater than other holidays, as the Talmud states, "Rava said: A person is obligated to become intoxicated with wine on Purim until he is so intoxicated that he does not know how to distinguish between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordechai". On the other hand, Purim is the only holiday when we do not recite the Hallel, {Hallel is the song of praise from King David's Psalms recited on every major holiday}. Why, in fact, don't we say Hallel on Purim, asks the Talmud, and offers two answers: The first answer is: "Hallel is not recited on a miracle that occurred outside the Land of Israel". The Talmudic sage Rava offers another answer: "The reading of the Megilla itself is an act of reciting Hallel." In other words, Rava fundamentally disagrees with the first answer; while the first answer says that Hallel is not recited, Rava argues that we do indeed recite praise to G-d, it's just that the praise is offered in a different format; instead of reciting Hallel we read the story of the scroll of Esther. The Talmud states, ״One who reads Hallel every day is tantamount to one who curses and blasphemes God. {He displays contempt for Hallel by not reserving it for days on which miracles occurred}". That's because although we understand that the natural order itself is also an expression of the Divine, nevertheless, Hallel is recited only for a miracle where the hand of G-d is revealed and obvious. Purim is a unique holiday. There were no obvious miracles, only a series of coincidences over more than a decade that orchestrated the salvation of the Jewish people. The Talmud, therefore, states that one opinion is that we do not recite Hallel upon the Purim miracle as it occurred outside of the land of Israel, the place where G-d’s providence is obvious and palpable. Rava offers a deeper explanation. Rave says that reading the Megillah is in itself a form of Hallel. Rave tells us that while it is true that the miracle of Purim occurred outside of Israel, both literally and figuratively, while it is true that, at first glance, the presence of G-d is not indisputably obvious, nevertheless, "The reading of the Megilla itself is an act of reciting Hallel". When we read the Megillah and adapt its perspective, we learn to see the story, we discover the common theme that threads together the seemingly unrelated events. When we read the Megillah and internalize its message, we learn to see the presence of G-d within nature. The Megillah itself triggers the requirement to say Hallel and also serves as a distinctive form of Hallel for the unique miracle that is clothed within nature. The ramifications of Rava's perspective are profound. The joy of Purim is greater than the joy of all other holidays, because celebrating Purim and reading the Megillah empower us to feel the presence of G-d, not only in Israel but also throughout the entire world; not only in the extraordinary but also in the ordinary, not only in the apparently holy, but also in the seemingly mundane. Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Purim 5722
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