Pursuing and running after fun is when you get it wrong. But channeling fun is when you get it right. Yom Kippur is the day that we push away the yetzer hara (evil inclination). Purim is the day that we channel the yetzer hara. Pushing it away means it’s coming back tomorrow and the next day. Channeling it means we’re going to utilize it to create and accomplish so much more.
So what you can do on Purim, with the joy of Purim, with the message of Purim, with the fun of Purim, is so much more than you can do on Yom Kippurim. Because on Yom Kippurim, you’re pushing away the yetzer hara. You’re trying to do something unnatural, which is hard to maintain. When you’re on Purim, you’re holding that passion, that energy, and that fun. And you’re saying, “Let me use it for incredible things.”
You know how many mitzvot (commandments) happen on Purim? You know how much praying happens on Purim? You know how much giving of charity happens on Purim? You know how much making other people feel good happens on Purim? You know how much friendship happens on Purim? Because with the joy, we can accomplish so much.
And so therefore, the Sefarim (books) write that on Purim, a lot of people like to pray. Don’t pray out of pain. Keep that for another day. Don’t pray out of giving up. Pray out of belief. Pray out of happiness. Pray out of joy. When you’re praying on Purim, you say, “Hashem, I know you can deliver. You always deliver. Life is great. Life is incredible. We’re celebrating. We’re enjoying. We’re singing. We’re dancing. Hashem enabled us to continue. Let me have what I need. Let me have the children. Let me have the husband. Let me have the wife. Let me have the income. Let me have the direction of my family. Let me have what I need in order to keep it going.” And that tefillah (prayer) is so powerful.
There are some people sitting in a room on Purim, you think it’s the Tisha B'Av because they’re crying so much. No, that’s not the idea. Use Purim’s happiness and ask Hashem for that happiness to continue.