Purim is a festival of our continual existence in the world. Chazal (our rabbis) say: Why was the Torah given at Har Sinai? Because the word Sinai stems from Sin'a, which is hatred. Once the Torah was given to us and not to the other nations, we are a hated nation. All the nations of the earth hate us and want to destroy us because they are jealous that we are the ones who receive Hashem's Torah. The Torah is the secret of our existence. As it says, the goyim (other nations) attack us with chariots, warriors, and weapons, and we retaliate with the name of Hashem, which is Torah. Our way of fighting is only through Torah. So when the Torah was given, Chazal said that hatred came into the world, and that with the Torah came a sword. This sword is our weapon of retaliation to save Am Yisrael (Jewish nation) from being destroyed. Our rabbis teach, Torah magina u'matzla, Torah guards and saves. That means it protects us from harm when evil people want to destroy us. But even more than that, if it came to such a point that they were ready on our doorsteps, ready to wipe us out, the merit of learning Torah could save us. And this is what happened here on Purim.
Haman HaRasha, this evil, wicked Jew-hater, made a vicious, evil plan to destroy the Jewish nation. And he had it all set up with the approval of King Ahasuerus. Everything was in place to destroy Am Yisrael. So how would that be countered? Mordechai—who is Mordechai? Mordechai is the great Rosh Yeshiva of that generation. Mordechai was learning Torah and teaching Torah. With the merit of his Torah, he fought back against Haman and destroyed Haman. The power of Torah is more than all the evil forces of the world. So the Torah of Mordechai is what really destroyed Haman HaRasha and his plans. And we see this throughout all the generations. Our only hope is to strengthen our learning of Torah. As long as Am Yisrael are studying Torah and teaching Torah, no—not one of the nations can harm us, and all the evil plans will be destroyed. So we see that Haman was not destroyed by the Jewish people making a bigger army than his, a stronger army than his. He was destroyed by the Torah of Mordechai HaTzadik. Mordechai was learning Torah and teaching Torah, and the power of his learning is what destroyed Haman. And so it is in all the generations. As long as Am Yisrael are learning Torah and putting every ounce of their strength into the study and understanding of Torah, they have the power to put down, defeat, and destroy all the evil forces pushing to harm us.
So the message of Purim is Torah. In every generation, the evil nations of the world come upon us to destroy us. And Hashem saves us from them. With what merit? How do we deserve to be saved from these wicked plans of the goyim? The Torah that we study—our Torah—guards us, protects us, strengthens us, and gives us the wisdom we need to carry on in this world as servants of Hashem, doing His mitzvot, keeping His commandments, and fighting back against all the evil intentions of the goyim through the study of Torah. The more Torah we learn, the more we have life. So now, on Purim, you see that on one hand it's a day of happiness, merriment, singing, eating, and feasting, and yet it's a day when we have to strengthen our learning, because without the study of Torah we have no hope. Of course we have to be happy and thank Hashem that He saved us. But we have to know: Why did it happen? It happened because of the study of Torah. And this is the secret of Am Yisrael till this very day. In all the generations we are in danger, and yet the merit of Torah saves us. So of course on Purim we are celebrating this great festival of Hashem saving us, and there is a lot of merriment, drinking, and feasting. But above it all, we have to know that Purim for us should drive home this deep message: We are here thanks to the study and teaching of Torah. And we should use Purim as a day of planning, of arranging our time and our lives in accordance with our obligation to study Torah, because nothing else could save us.
All our dear friends around the world know that personally I've been through a difficult period in my life. I was not feeling so well, and I was more or less in a bedroom at home for some time. And now Hashem is giving me back my strength, and I am making a comeback to our life of Torah and mitzvot and, mainly, mainly, to education, setting up more yeshivot, more kollelim (Torah study centers), and more institutions for Torah to strengthen Am Yisrael through the Torah and give us our secret weapon and our protection in these difficult times, when evil surrounds us and wants to consume us and destroy us. We have the merit of Torah with us to protect us. Amen.
I'd like to take the opportunity as well to thank all our dear friends around the world who prayed for my recovery. Your prayers sent out waves, spiritual waves that we felt here, and we're sure that had a big effect. And Baruch Hashem (Blessed is Hashem), we merited something good. I'm forever grateful to everyone who took the trouble, time, and care to pray on our behalf.
Once again, I would like to thank all our outstanding supporters. Your merit is unquestionable, and the reward is great. All the achievements of Torah and mitzvot, the students, yeshivot, and other institutions being set up and developed are all to your merit. Together we are partners. And b'ezrat Hashem (with God's help), the merit of the increased learning, doing, and achieving will bring tremendous Beracha (blessing) to all of Am Yisrael, and we should deserve speedily in our time the coming of... Shalom.