THE EMOTIONAL FARBRENGEN OF PURIM 5711

It was the first Purim farbrengen after the Rebbe accepted the Chabad leadership. * The Rebbe spoke about himself and about the nesius in frightening terms until elder Chassidim asked him to stop. * The Rebbe gave out mashke and when the mashke was finished, he gave out water. * The farbrengen lasted about seven and a half hours, until morning. * A description of that extraordinary farbrengen based on the diaries of T’mimim and the sichos that were said

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FISH FOR PURIM

Yechezkel sat on the banks of the lake with a rod in his hand. He tossed the line into the water again and again but caught nothing.

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BIRTHDAYS = HAKHEL = MOSHIACH

This Shabbos (VaYikra) is the first Shabbos of Adar Sheini. This is the month that we actually celebrate and give thanks to Hashem for the miraculous deliverance during the time of the Purim story. It is well known that the miracles of Purim were in the merit of the birthday of Moshe Rabbeinu.

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TO RISE TO THE LEVEL OF “NOT KNOWING”

What is a Chassidic Purim about? What opportunities does it provide that we don’t find the rest of the year? * Mashke on Purim – allowed or not? How should a Chassid regard it on Purim? * How do we implant joy in our hearts even with worrisome things on our mind? * An enlightening talk about the inner dimension of Purim.

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PLANNING FOR PURIM

The cellphone rang, playing a lively Chabad Purim tune. R’ Menachem answered the phone with one hand while, with his other hand, he placed a Megilla next to some others. “Hello, Yechi HaMelech,” he gaily answered.

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NOAH’S ARK AND HAMAN’S GALLOWS

One of history’s most famous construction projects was the building of Noah’s Ark, through which he and civilization itself were saved from the flood that destroyed every other living creature in the world.

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THE REBBE RULES THAT HE IS THE MOSHE OF OUR TIME

In citing this Midrash – that Mordechai in his generation was on par with Moshe in his generation – the Rebbe Rayatz rules that this statement applies to himself: the Rebbe is the revealed Raaya Mehemna, the Faithful Shepherd, of all the people of the generation.

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DOUBLE TALK

When a Jew tries to hide his or her Jewishness, the non-Jew senses that there is something amiss. A Jew who is a product of exile conditions is a walking contradiction. On the outside he or she is like everyone else, but on the inside he or she is a Jew. The non-Jew senses the discrepancy and is unnerved by it. Is the Jew trying to deceive me?

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‘HIS SOUL IS WITHIN ME’

What purpose is there in saying “nishmaso Eden” when it is easier and better to say “nishmaso bi – his soul resides within me”? So too with regard to the Rebbe: I don’t say “nishmaso Eden” but “nishmaso bi” [the soul of the Rebbe Rayatz resides within me]!

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REJOICING IN ANTICIPATION OF THE ULTIMATE JOY

“I cannot make you into a Chassid; only Moshiach will warm the sea of ice!” * A compilation of stories about Simcha and Geula. Going from Adar, the month of joy, into Nissan, the month when we experience Geula.

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PURIM TURNABOUT

Fortunately for him, he was not allowed to say anything, which prevented him from further embarrassment…

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LAUGH AT HATE

The only options are to freak out and get overwhelmed by all the hatred, or to put it in perspective and laugh at the mongrels who spew it.

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PURIM IN CHESHVAN?

Moses is the very engine of the future Redemption just as he was the engine of the first Exodus from Egypt. And as it turned out, Moses was also the catalyst for the deliverance of the Jews from Haman’s decree because it was scheduled for the month of Adar, the month in which the energies of Redemption were introduced into the world by virtue of it being the month in which he was born.

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