Purim at the White House

0:08That's how Purim started. Before the disaster, the Gemara tells us that Achashverosh was actually even more anti-Semitic than Haman. He hated Am Yisrael just as much, if not more. But he wasn't as passionate about it. He wanted to make sure that he destroys us from the inside, not from the outside. Not like Haman, who wanted to kill everyone. Achashverosh was very similar to the Greeks who wanted to eliminate our religion. So what did he do? He had a party celebrating that they did not build the Beit HaMikdash. But he wasn't as passionate about it. But he wanted to make sure that he kills us from the inside, not from the outside. Not like Haman. Haman wanted to kill everything. Achashverosh was very similar to the Greeks who wanted to kill off our religion. So, what did he do? He had a party celebrating that they did not build the Beit HaMikdash.

1:11According to his calculation, the Beit HaMikdash was supposed to be built according to the prophecy from the book of Yeshayahu. The prophet Yeshayahu said there was going to be a seven-year difference between the first Beit HaMikdash and the second Beit HaMikdash. He calculated that the seven years had passed and it wasn't built. That means that Hashem gave up on Am Yisrael. So he said, let's celebrate. How are we gonna celebrate? I'm gonna invite all the Jews. I'm going to invite all the Jews to the White House, and I'm going to have them celebrate with me while I wear what I wear. I wear Jewish clothing. I wear the clothing of the Kohen Gadol. And I bring all the tools from the Beit HaMikdash, and they're going to say, no, don't worry about it. He's the king. He's allowed. They're going to start making halachot for me. What am I going to do? I'm going to make them feel good about themselves. Oh, you want kosher wine? We'll make you kosher wine. You want kosher Chinese food? I'll give you kosher Chinese food. Whatever you want, I'll give you. Just start changing the Torah. Make it like a Goyish version of Torah. Make it like a New Testament type of Torah. You know, people say, oh, it's the same thing, no? Chas v'shalom, it's the same thing. But unfortunately, kvodchem, the reality is that we went. We went to the party. We went to the party, we drank the wine,

2:36We didn't listen to the Kiruv Rabbi named Mordechai screaming at the gate, "Don't go, don't go." I know it's the White House, but we don't belong there; we're Jews. We don't belong in the White House. We don't belong writing stories for politics. We don't belong there. We just gotta survive, learn our Torah, and wait for the next world, wait for Mashiach. That's all we are here for. We're not here to be politicians. We're not here to be journalists. We're not here to be anything. We're here to just... Make our kids Jewish. Be Jewish. That's all we're here for. No one wanted to listen. Why? They wanted to cancel out the blessing we say in the morning. We want to be a Goy. Why? The Goy is in charge. He's in leadership. Let's be like him. Look, he's even celebrating our holidays now. Look, he has the Kohen Gadol's uniform. Looks nice on him, no? He has kosher wine. Wow! He cares about us. Give us kosher wine. Look, he has kosher Chinese food, he has kosher this food, Bukharian food, Ashkenazi food, this food, gefilte fish, all types of food. Look, we're at the White House. What's the problem, Mordechai? Why are you such a machmir? Why are you such a machmir? We went. Hashem says, "You went, strike one." But in Hashem's eyes,

4:01It's not baseball. There's no three strikes. It's one. One small act changes everything. One small act was the difference between Moshe Rabbeinu entering Eretz Yisrael or not. The Rambam says that if Moshe Rabbeinu would have entered Eretz Yisrael, He would have been the Mashiach, they would have built the Beit HaMikdash, and there would have been four thousand years of Yemei Mashiach, with no sins, no Yetzer Hara, no Churban Beit HaMikdash, nothing. Everything good, already Gan Eden in this world until we go to the next world. But he made a small, tiny mistake that to us is not even a mistake. What did he do? He hit the selah (rock). He would have been the Mashiach, they would have built the Beit HaMikdash, and there would have been four thousand years of Yemei Mashiach, no sins, no Yetzer Hara, no Churban Beit HaMikdash, nothing. Everything good, already Gan Eden in this world until we go to the next world. But he made a small, tiny mistake that to us is not even a mistake. What did he do? He hit the selah. He hit the stone and said, "Oh listen, bring some water out." The first time Hashem asked him to do it, he told him to hit the rock. So he hit it a second time. But Hashem didn't tell him to hit it this time. Moshe figured, "I did it in the past, it worked last time. I'll do it again. It's gonna work this time, big deal. What's the problem?" Hashem says it's a big sin. It's a big act. It's a big deal. Why? Because it's just a little bit less Kiddush Hashem, a little bit less. Just one tiny small act, one tiny small act changed everything.

5:11What everything? If you wouldn't have hit it, you would have gone to Eretz Yisrael; you're a Mashiach, Beit Hamikdash, everything is good. One small mistake, and we have to go to Gehenom in this world for the last few thousand years. A few people go have some kosher wine, they go to the White House, they go to Achashverosh, they hang out with the guys, big deal. Why did Achashverosh want to do it? He wanted to show off his money. But what do we say? Whoever has money and loves money never has enough money. So Hashem made the next hand play. What did the next hand play? Someone else had more money than him. Only one other person in the world had more money than him. His name was Haman. Haman had more money than Ahasuerus. As a matter of fact, the Midrash tells us that aside from Korach, no one had as much money in the history of mankind like Haman. Haman comes to Ahasuerus and he says, listen, there's a bunch of people, they're strange, they're not like us. They act like us, but they're really not like us. No one had as much money in the history of mankind like Haman. Haman comes to Achashverosh and he says, listen, there's a bunch of people, they're strange, they're not like us. They act like us, but they're really not like us.

6:27Let me kill them, and just in case, so you don't even think about it, let me give you a little down payment. How much? 10,000 kikar kesef. What's 10,000 kikar? It sounds like $10,000. The guy has a hundred million dollars in the bank. What does he care about $10,000? Rabotai, I did the cheshbon. I did the math. How much did Haman give him as a down payment? In today's worth, if you figure out the cost of silver being today $16, 60 cents an ounce, exactly three hundred and thirty-four million dollars down payment, "Let me kill the Jews." Three hundred thirty-four million dollars, "Let me kill the Jews." They are waiting and saying, "No, he hates the Jews already, and he loves money." Why did this happen? The Jews went for a couple of drinks. It could have always happened. It could have happened before. It could have happened after. It could have happened a million other times. It never happened until the Jews decided they want to be like the goyim. You want to be like the goyim? You don't want to sanctify yourself? If you don't want to sanctify yourself, I'll send the goyim as a weapon to separate you, to remind you that you're not like them.

7:50And what will I use? I will use the same thing that you thought was good. We are meant to be a light unto the nations, not to follow their misguided practices. Remember, every Jew has to remember that he's a Jew and she's a Jew. We don't celebrate non-Jewish holidays, even if they seem harmless. It's a zilzul, a disrespect. Desecration of God's name. Stick to our holy Torah and our own holidays. That's the path of a true Jew.