Jewish people mark those events which are considered of permanent significance in Jewish history in two ways: fasting or feasting.
Indeed Purim has its own fast day- “The Fast of Esther” observes the day before the festival. Tomorrow B”H we will follow with a day of eating and drinking, which would seem as a spiritual regression rather than an advance.
The answer is that the physical is not intrinsically evil. Physicality is like a coin with two sides. It can be like a hurricane that destroys everything in its path, or it can be the vehicle to realize the soul’s agenda in the physical world.
This is why Queen Esther asked the Jews to fast as she is about to seek salvation for her people. The Jews at that time in the Persian Empire had made their materialistic desires a priority in their lives. By fasting for three days, they were able to reset and reconnect to their truer and deeper selves. This return to their essence was what guaranteed Esther’s success.
When they were able to flip to the other side of the coin by giving priority to their true identity, their entire reality changed. When the soul has control of the body, the body becomes an aid to the soul. Now the enjoyment of the body expresses not egotism but altruism. The pleasure of the body rises up and becomes a vehicle to express and reveal H”S.
This is why as important it is to fast today, we are commanded to feast and enjoy tomorrow. The difference is that the excess of the feast of Purim is done solely for the pleasure of the soul as it’s united with the body, both celebrating the power of their united agenda.
#happypurim
Some excerpts taken from “Of Fasting And Feasting” by Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe
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