Venahafoch Hu – Soon by You!

Purim is on the Way! 

The treasure-house is being unlocked, and we are all invited to scoop up the day’s tremendous blessings by the handful! 

Purim is a great day – and not only for children. It is a great day for everyone, a one-time opportunity to achieve salvation, to unstick all the stuck things in our lives. 

These can be material matters or spiritual matters, finances or health, our own issues or those of our loved ones.  

It is not a secret – it is written in all the holy books.  

And we see and hear about miracles every single year! 

Every Purim night, my yeshiva students go to pray and do lengthy hitbodedut, and they experience salvations thanks to those prayers: people find their intended matches, childless couples have children and avreichim who are in debt and have no money at all manage to purchase apartments in Jerusalem! 

Because on Purim, “Whoever holds out his hand, receives.” 

That means that one gives to everyone without checking whether he is worthy of receiving the gift or not.  

Everyone receives, even if he is not worthy, in spite of the fact that he has not yet done teshuva; even if he doesn’t deserve it, and even if he is still very far – still, Heaven goes according to the halacha and gives in abundance to anyone who asks – in other words to anyone who prays at length – and fulfills his wishes for the good.  

Purim is a most unusual day in all its aspects. And just like Purim is unusual, so too are the miracles and salvations; they are immense. 

We have come to empower, and there are many empowering words to say. So many, that we will not be able to tell them all here. Even if we spend hours talking about Purim, it will be only a drop in the sea.  

But before the empowerment, let’s get to the point: 

We must focus on the goal: We must prepare ourselves for Purim. 

“Not every day is Purim” – as the Hebrew saying goes. This is not just a saying; it is the truth.  

Purim is something so special and comes only once a year – so we must not miss out on it. As big as the day’s light and special segula, so are all the nuisances and confusions that prevent a person from praying at length and receiving the treasures.  

We all know the parable about the king who opened his treasure-house for only one day but surrounded the palace with food stalls and performances and all sorts of attractions. 

Most of the people fell into the trap, wasted the valuable time and were left with nothing. Only a few rose to the occasion and prepared themselves properly, ignoring all the background noise; they were those who came out at the end of the day loaded with riches.  

Whoever has a drop of good sense must decide here and now to do everything to take advantage of this day. In other words, to set aside a time during the day when he will be able to stand and pray for hours. It is highly recommended that that time should be at night because one is very busy during the day. 

And it starts this week, already, on Ta’anit Esther, and of course, during the two days of Purim, and this year also on the days between Ta’anit Esther and Purim.  

For years already, I have been given the merit from Heaven to prepare and guide my students to pray at length on this momentous day, and every year I hear about so many miracles! 

For through prayers on Purim one can achieve a “nahafoch hu” – it all turns around, and there are miracles. 

Purim’s miracles happen every year anew, as we read in the megillah: “These days are remembered and marked in every single generation.” (Megillat Esther 9:28) So, we must understand what happened then, to understand what salvations we can have this very year.  

On the days of the original Purim, the salvation came in the form of “venahafoch hu”. 

What do these words mean? 

If you owe the bank one hundred thousand shekels, and the bank decides to cancel the debt – that is an immense deliverance, an unnatural one. But it isn’t venahafoch hu. 

What is venahafoch hu? That is when the bank manager calls you and informs you that not only is he cancelling your debt, but the bank is also giving you a gift of two hundred thousand shekels, plus authorization for a loan of up to one million shekels at miniscule interest.  

What was the miracle back then? 

The Jewish People had been in exile for years already, in Babylon. They had been beaten, suppressed and humiliated – but they survived. Suddenly, Haman’s decree came up and they were in existential danger. Everything was signed and sealed. It looked like all was lost.  

They only wanted to survive. 

They would have given anything to annul the decree and to go back to being just miserable Jews in exile as they were before the decree – at least they would be alive. 

They had no idea what great deliverance would result. They didn’t even dare dream of it.  

Not only was the decree annulled and the enemy humiliated and punished in the most glaring and profound way, but the most notable Jewish figure of the generation – Mordechai Hayehudi – received the king’s seal and was given the highest status in the Persian Empire, which means in the whole world! 

For the first time since the destruction of the Temple, the Jewish people ruled over their enemies! 

They had been an exiled and subject people – and they now became a ruling people; they had been a beaten and ostracized nation – and they now became a nation that everyone wanted to join; they had been a humiliated nation – and they now were viewed by the entire world as an important and superior one.  

They had turned away from Torah and mitzvot – and they now became a people who accepted the Torah with a love such as they hadn’t experienced when the Torah was given originally.  

And the apex and climax of the turnaround was that a short while after that miracle and as a result of it, the Jewish People received the authorization, the backing and the budget from the Persian Empire to return to the land of Israel and to build the Second Temple! 

This is called a complete Venahafoch hu – from holocaust to rebirth. 

Now, take this idea to your own life. 

Arrange your time so that you will be able to pray for hours on Purim. 

And so, on Purim you will not only be saved from your problems – you will receive a tremendous light, a huge abundance, because only that is called Venahafoch hu:

The single men and women will not only not remain single – they will find the best match possible, the happiest life possible.

The childless will not only bear children – they will receive the most special neshamas (souls), neshamas that will light up the world. 

The debtors will not only be released from their financial difficulties – they will purchase apartments easily and will have abundant funds, to the point that they will support others financially.  

But the salvations will not only be of that type. Nowadays we need deep salvations in other areas as well: 

Those addicted to alcohol and to dangerous substances will not only manage to get over their addictions and remain clean – they will develop a deep aversion to those substances, and they will not be attracted at all to their objects of addiction; they will receive such joie de vivre that they will never want any cheap substitute. 

People who are facing a family breakup will not only not get divorced – they will enjoy peace and friendship and the most amazing connection with their spouses.  

Those whose children have gone “off the derech”, will not only see their children returning to Jewish observance; these children will be true servants of Hashem and will build wonderful Jewish homes, etc. etc.  

Pray for a venahafoch hu, that all the deficiencies will be upended and become abundance and light! 

Holy Jews, let us make good use of the holy days! Let us decide we will have not only a happy Purim, but also that Purim will grant us much joy in our lives from now on! 

A Purim of salvation and deliverance!