“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Ki Sisa 5786 – Parshas Parah
17 Adar 5786/ March 6, 2026
Dedicated in loving memory of my father-in-law, Mr. Nathan Mermelstein, Nata Yitzchak ben Alexander a”h, whose yahrtzeit is this Shabbos, 18 Adar.
AH GANTZ YAHR PURIM
The morning after Purim ended, I asked a friend how his Purim was. He smiled and replied, “Another Purim has come and… hopefully stayed.” I loved the line and contemplated the notion of trying to hold onto Purim.
There’s a famous and popular song whose refrain is “Ah gantz yahr freilich – Happy the entire year”. It’s a reference to the fact that a Jew should strive to constantly serve Hashem with joy. On Purim, it’s common for people to sing, “Ah gantz yahr Purim – Purim all year.” I always thought singing those words was just a Purim shtick. After all, as beloved as Purim is, I don’t think I could handle another few days of Purim, never mind the entire year.
But perhaps it’s not just a shtick. Surely, we aren’t meant to be dressing in costumes, letting wine flow, and fighting intense shalach manos traffic all year. However, there is a certain component of Purim that is indeed meant to last well beyond the actual holiday.
On Purim, one of my rebbeim would often repeat a quip from Rav Yitzchak Hunter: “Havdalah is not recited at the conclusion of Purim, because Purim never ends!” The real reason there is no havdalah after Purim is because, unlike Shabbos and Yom Tov, there is no prohibition to perform melachah on Purim. Havdalah is recited to mark the conclusion of the cessation of melachah, and that doesn’t apply to Purim. But Rav Hunter too was referring to a deeper component of Purim that doesn’t end when the joyous day concludes.
My friend, Rabbi Yechiel Weberman, WhatsApps a 60-second, inspiring d’var Torah on the Parsha each week. I should note that it’s rare to be able to find inspiring content in such a small amount of time. But Rabbi Weberman’s divrei Torah are powerful and relatable and indeed are never more than 60 seconds!
Before Purim this week, Rabbi Weberman related a thought that he heard from his student, Binymain Zwickler a”h:
The Megillah explains that the holiday is called Purim, “because of the pur – lot” that Haman cast when determining the most propitious time for his genocidal decree. If the pasuk says that Haman cast a lot in singular, why do we refer to the holiday as Purim in the plural?
Binyamin suggested that although Haman may have only cast one lot, the name of the holiday reflects the daily Purims in our lives. The reality is that we live a “life of Purim” every single day. Purim was a time of hidden miracles masked in nature. That is essentially the story of our daily lives as well. We think personal and global events are random, when in reality the roads of life are divinely paved. Everything that occurs are hidden miracles cloaked in nature.
In that sense, Purim is a training ground. It teaches us that, just as the Purim story was a series of divinely orchestrated events though it didn’t seem that way then, so is our daily lives. Haman cast one pur, but life constantly casts purim. The holiday of Purim helps us recognize that it’s all Hashem.
Rabbi Weberman added that, in his opinion, this poignant thought that Binyamin shared, reflects the manner in which Binyamin lived his life.
Binyamin was diagnosed with cancer when he was in 12th grade. Friends note that he always maintained a positive and upbeat attitude.
A number of years later, he was informed that he only had a few months left to live, Binyamin quit his job and came back to learn full time in yeshiva. Rabbi Weberman relates that during those last months Binyamin often came to Yeshiva Sh’ar Yashuv directly from receiving an infusion of chemotherapy. He lived with an awareness that everyday contained the Purim message.
Binyamin Pinchos ben Yoel Baruch Zwickler passed away in 2017 at the age of 25 on the 10th of Shvat.
His family shared that right after his kevurah (burial) ended, the assemblage began to head out of the cemetery. They walked only about 10 -20 feet when they noticed a couple of ground’s workers in the middle of burying a woman. As there was no one else there, some of those who had come for Binyamin’s funeral assisted in her burial. Even after Binyamin was buried, he was able to assist another Jew to merit kevuras Yisroel. Just one example of a divinely orchestrated “coincidence”. A Purim experience during a challenging time.
May his memory continue to be for a blessing.
For us Binyamin’s thought is very resonant. Long after the shalach manos contents have been sold or burned with the chometz, the vital messages of Purim must remain with us.
Chazal relate that Purim is an eternal holiday. While all other holidays will be overshadowed by the great events coming in the Messianic era, Purim will continue to be celebrated as is. Purim is not about open miracles and clear revelations. Purim is about discovering the divine within the mundane, a message that we must remember always and will endure in perpetuity.
Perhaps that is part of what is meant that Ah gantz yahr Purim and why we don’t make havdalah after Purim because Purim never ends. Its message is constant and eternal.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
STRIVINGHIGHER.COM