Understanding the Message of Purim

Most Jews do not fully understand the central message of Purim,

and that message is very briefly and simply that we,

the Jewish people, are commanded to destroy the enemies

of our people in all times, in all places,

as happened, as described in detail in the book of Esther,

where we find that 75,811 of our enemies were destroyed, including

women and children.

Some people are apparently capable of reading this Megillah

twice on the day of Purim, year in, year out,

without actually seeing what it says,

or without asking themselves the question, why did this take place,

why were so many people killed, why were women and children killed?

But the answer is very simple, straightforward.

Perhaps it is not politically correct in the eyes of some,

but it is the true, authentic and absolutely essential message of Purim,

and it is the central truth of the Torah.

The message of Purim is not about commemorating a past event.

It is rather commemorating and remembering a past event in order that we

know how to behave today in the present and in the future.

Here, Rambam mentions in Halakha Darad, Halakha Hay,

two separate Miswot Aser, two positive commandments of the Torah.

One is to destroy the seven nations mentioned a number of times in the Torah,

who resided in Eretz Yisrael at the time when the Jewish people entered the land,

to destroy those nations who claim this land for themselves.

The second Miswot, immediately after that, is a Miswot Aser to destroy Amalek and his descendants.

The concept of Amalek still exists.

We read every year, before Purim,

we read Parashat Zochor,

where we are commanded by Hashem to remember that which Amalek did to us and to destroy them.