Purim Koton - Part V

00:00 The hemshech in continuation to the earlier installments in regards to various farbrengens and sichas of the Rebbe relating to Purim Katan, we continue now with the year Tof Shin Lamed Ches, nineteen seventy-eight. This was the first time that a farbrengen took place in honor of Purim Katan. It was the middle of the week on the day of Purim Katan. One of the highlights of this farbrengen was in regards to two groups of yungaleid or bochurim, each one-- each group was ten people, ten, ten shluchim who were traveling on the Rebbe shlichos. One group went to Yerushalayim, Yer Gedesh, and one group went to Tzfas. And the Rebbe thanked the parents of the shluchim that raised them in such a manner. And the Rebbe then also delivered a ma'amar, a discourse that began with the words, "Vekibla Yehudim," which is the same opening, same divrei hamaschil of the ma'amar that the previous Rebbe delivered in Taf Resh Pe Zai, nineteen twenty-seven. Three years later, Shabbos Parshah Tetzave, Tof Shin Mem Alef, nineteen eighty-one, there was a farbrengen on that Shabbos, and the Rebbe then spoke a ma'amar which began with the verse, "Ve'ata tetzave," which is the beginning of that week's Parshah, and the Rebbe connected it with the ma'amar, "Vekibel," from Taf Resh Pe Zai in nineteen twenty-seven. This ma'amar is a very historic ma'amar, being that this ma'amar was edited by the Rebbe in Tof Shin Nun Beis, nineteen ninety-two, in honor of Purim Katan, and this was the last ma'amar, the last discourse

02:09 that the Rebbe distributed to thousands of people on Purim Katan, Tof Shin Nun Beis. A tantzens of the ma'amar, based on the ma'amar of the previous Rebbe, is Re'eh Emunah that Moshe Rabbeinu nourishes and reveals the Emunah in Am Yisrael. Three years later, Tof Shin Daled Mem, nineteen eighty-four, there was a farbrengen on Purim Katan, and the Rebbe then also delivered the ma'amar, the discourse, "Vekibla Yehudim." Two years later, Tof Shin Mem Vav, nineteen eighty-six, there was a farbrengen on this day. The Rebbe spoke sichas, but he did not deliver a discourse. Now we will discuss the name Purim Katan. What's the source for this name? In a yechidus, in a private audience that the Rebbe had with Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Malter in the year Tof Shin Daled Mem, nineteen eighty-four, this was a little over eight years later that the Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Pinchas Menachem, uh, assumed leadership after the hisdalkus of his brother, the Gerrer Rebbe, the Lev Simcha. The Rebbe, during the yechidus, elaborated on the name Purim Katan. The Rebbe says, "I searched where does this expression come from? Where does it originate from?" The Rebbe says, "When we get to Pesach, we find the expression Pesach Sheini, a second Pesach. We find it in the Mishnah, we find it in the Gemara, in the Talmud. We find also the expression in Aramaic, Pesach HaZeira, which means a small Pesach." And seemingly, based on that, the fourteenth and the fifteenth of first Adar is also referred to Purim Katan, a small

04:32 Purim, as Pesach HaZeira, a small Pesach, which is, um, e-e-expressed in the Talmud in Chulin one twenty-nine B. And the Rebbe continues that the Alter Rebbe mentions in the siddur the days that we do not say Tachnun, we don't confess, and amongst them, Purim Katan, which are basically the fourteenth and the fifteenth of the first Adar. So the Rebbe said, "When I searched, researched it in the earlier sefarim, I found this expression in two places, in the Darchei Meshe of the Rama, Rabbi Meshe Isrelisch mentions it in his commentary on the Tur, and before that in the Maharil." In a sicha of Shabbos Parshah Ki Tisa, which was right after that yechidus, the Rebbe said that this would be the occasion to discuss the inyan of Purim Katan and Purim Gadol. As mentioned, Purim Katan is the name which is given in Hebrew, the name which is how it's referred to in Tzedakah Sh'al Peah, in the oral law, in poskim, till in the Alter Rebbe's siddur, which the Alter Rebbe's siddur is equal for all. And the mehilets understood that why is it called Purim Katan? Because it's a preparation for the Purim Gadol that follows in a month later. So the Rebbe continues, although one is referred to as Purim Katan, the small Purim, and the other one is referred to a big Purim, nevertheless, they have a common denominator. They're equal in a certain sense. They're both in limitations. One is small, one is big, but it's all in the range. The

06:40 Rebbe said, but here comes a klutz kashe, a simple question, or sometimes it would be referred as a question, not a wise question. The Rebbe says, we find also by Pesach the expression pischa zeira, a small Pesach, as mentioned earlier from Gemara Chulin, and it is also in Megillas Tainas, which means it's referred to today as Pesach Sheini, the second Pesach, but in many places it's referred to pischa zeira, a small Pesach. So the Rebbe continues, l'cheira, the name Pesach Sheini, the name pischa zeira, small Pesach, should really bring out that the regular Pesach is called Pesach Gadol. But in a practical sense, we do not find that the poskim should refer to Pesach as Pesach Gadol. Not like by Purim that there is a small Purim and there's a big Purim. When it comes to Pesach, we don't find that. And the Rebbe says, we don't find that anybody should ask this question. And the Rebbe continues, the question is even stronger yet. L'cheira, the logic is actually the opposite. Pesach should have been referred to as a small Pesach and a big Pesach. Ma she'inkin Purim does not need to be referred to as Purim Gadol. And the Rebbe explains the difference between the joy of other Yomim Tevim and the simcha, the joy of Purim. The simcha, which needs to be on a Yom Tov, which are the three Yomim Tevim, Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkot, needs to be a simcha within a limitation. It is a limitation of Torah, but nevertheless a

08:23 limitation. As the Talmud tells us in several places, that the court, the Beis Din, the courthouse, rabbinic courthouse, would send emissaries during every Yom Tov to make sure that the joy is within a certain structure, a certain framework. It shouldn't go out of hand. On the other hand, the simcha of Purim needs to be a simcha which is higher than limitation. Adelyada. As the Talmud tells us, chayav nish libsumei b'puria adelyada. That he needs to make a feast and rejoice to a great extent. And nikra yodua that there is an inyan of reshuas, there's an inyan of mitzvah, and there's an inyan of cheva. Reshuas is optional, mitzvah is a commandment, cheva is an obligation. Cheva is even more yet than mitzvah. And that's why it says here, chayav nish libsumei b'puria. Which this stresses that Purim is a joy which is higher than limitations. On the other hand, Pesach is connected with limitations. As we see it in the first night of Pesach, that we commemorate Exodus from Egypt, b'negeah to the Seder, that there are many inyanim that we do in order that children should ask questions. Which means a certain logic, a certain structure, in order that when children will see these customs, they will ask questions. From this we understand that Pesach has limitations, and Purim is higher than limitations. So l'chait it should have been the opposite. Pesach should have been, there's a Pesach katan and there's a Pesach gadol. One is within the range of the other. Although it's

10:26 a big Pesach and there's a small Pesach, but still they're within the range because the simcha of the sholish le'golim, the three yom tevim are still within a certain structure. Purim should not be referred to as Purim gadol. Because when we say gadol, big, that means it is in contrast to something that's small. Purim is completely out of that range. It's completely the inyan of adelyada, that a person lifts himself up higher than logic. So the question is, why is it that by Purim we have Purim katan and Purim gadol, and by Pesach we just refer to it as first Pesach and the second Pesach, but we don't refer to Pesach katan, Pesach gadol. We will, im yirtzeh Hashem, continue with the explanation in the next installment.