Purim - Discover Your Hidden Strength | Rabbi Elchonon Jacobovitz

If you think about it, the miracle of Purim never really happened. The decree for all the Jews to be killed was never really rescinded and the only thing that happened is that they got permission to fight back, which they could have done, anyways. So what exactly was the miracle? You know what the miracle was? The miracle was that they realized their own power. They were Omed on the greatness of their own soul. They realized what Hashem was doing for them, they realized how great they must be, and they realized that they could take on the whole world. The Klausenberger Rebbe, who went through the horrors of the Holocaust and lost his wife and children, went on to build Kiryat Sanz, Laniado hospital and multiple other huge projects. And he once had to approach somebody to ask for financial help for one of his projects. The fellow said: Rebbe, איך קען נישט. I just can't. So the Rebbe looks at him and says, Let me tell you something. When I was the Rov in Klausenburg, I believed that I didn't even have the strength to carry my own Tallis and Tefillin. I had my Gabai do it. But then came the Holocaust and I was forced by the Nazis to carry 50-kilo bags of cement up a hill and down a hill fifteen hours a day, with no food and water, און אוי, האָב איך געקענט. Oy, did I find out what I was really capable of. So don't ever say those words to me, איך קען נישט, I can't. A person has no idea how much he's really capable of. During the war, I used all that hidden strength for the Nazis, but now, I'm using that same hidden strength that I discovered to build worlds. מוריי ורבותיי, All signs are showing that we are at the brink of the End of Days. And we are those Tzaddikim who will look on as the Yetzer Hara is being slaughtered and say: Wow. How in the world did we take on that enormous mountain? And that is what Purim is all about. נקהלו ועמוד על נפשם. Realizing just how powerful us, Vayimaen Yidden of 2026, are. And I think maybe that's one of the reasons we get drunk. Because when a person's drunk, he realizes how limitless he is, how strong he really is, what he can really do. I once saw a guy wearing a T-shirt on Purim. It said, I'd like to revise that. So go get Shiker (drunk), but don't forget the Ikar (main thing). Don't fear in the least. You're strong as a beast.