Ahh, can you smell that?It's Purim returning once more to uplift our hearts and drop her joy bomb on us.Purim is not just another day on the calendar, it's that breath of fresh air we crave. To me, Purim holds a special place in our hearts. Its aroma brings us a sense of relief, a tickle of excitement.I'm referring to its essence here, not the mechanical routine of delivering Mishloach Manos, checking off my checklist of all relatives, teachers, rebbes, clients, bosses, and whom not… making sure I hit every single person I'm "supposed" to, in order to keep life stable. I mean, who knows what will happen if one is skipped…But what I want to focus on is some of its essence and the treasures it brings along…As we stroll the streets on Purim, we feel that happiness buzz. It's unique. It's like the air itself is lighter, we all have our own little bubble of joy, each with our own reasons why Purim is so lovely. But deep down, we're all vibing to that same beat, and that is to the song of freedom.This joy bubbles up from the sweet freedom of just being your unfiltered self. You're out there, not stressing over your look or what pops out of your mouth, you don't think twice before saying something. Wanna hand out hugs like candy? On Purim, it’s all good. And if anyone raises an eyebrow, hey, it’s Purim.. anything goes!<img src="https://letcheck.b-cdn.net/2169/clu025ar201rabr9nbgdj1yi4.jpg" style="width: 459px; height: 491.07px; cursor: pointer;">Now, let's hit pause and think. Our day-to-day, with all its rules and looks, isn’t it a bit... off? Perhaps our usual so-called "sober," buttoned-up “normal” days of life are kind of the tipsy ones? Maybe it's that way of living that is truly called being drunk…?Spot a dude with a huge grape juice stain on his white shirt and a twisted collar on Purim afternoon, and it's all good; you probably don't even notice it. The same scene on a Friday night at Lechu Dodi, and it's side-eye city.Perhaps even more, that same person, Purim afternoon at Mincha, sings and dances while hooping around the entire shul. This person isn't thinking of what he is doing, rather, he is the dance itself and doesn't plan a second in advance of his next move, we giggle and move on to the next funny scene available on our horizon.That same person, on a "sober day" Shabbos at Lechu Dodi, stands frozen with a paralyzed face, at his designated davening spot, and the most he allows himself to dance is perhaps his eyes, also under closed eyelids.<img src="https://letcheck.b-cdn.net/2169/clu0224n601skg69ngw351vzo.jpg" style="width: 556px; height: 370.899px; cursor: pointer;">On Purim, there's this collective sigh of relief as we embrace a day of pure, undiluted happiness, where we are liberated from the enslavement of society's rules… it feels like all our worries take a backseat and the volume of our fears becomes lower to some degree.Remember those days in kindergarten? We were tiny children barely getting words properly out of our mouths. We all came out from the lunchroom, and our shirts looked like a history book of all that was on the lunch menu that day, and our mouths looked like we had professional makeup done with chocolate milk and pizza sauce. And when we came into the classroom after being in the playground, not one kid walked straight or had their hair intact as mommy made it that morning. We all looked like we had a squirrel’s tail on our heads. Tucked-in shirts? Not one to find! Half a tzitzis out, a third in halfway the pants, and another third entangled in our zipper. And yet, everyone is laughing, and smiling, not one child is busy thinking about how they look or the others look. A wild masterpiece of joyful playtime.You and I know these days were the happiest days. Nobody cared, we were too busy living in the moment, laughing and not giving a single thought about appearances. That’s the magic we're missing. It's like when we look into a child's eyes and see that they know something we don’t, that they carry the secret to real happiness and do not need any wine to be ”drunk” for their secret authentic selves to come out, rather are drunk on pure authentic life joy…As we grow older, the mind shows up with its serious hat and baseball bat and gets us drunk on how sane vs. insane we are according to society's laws that no one created, never existed, and never will exist, it doesn’t exist anywhere but in our drunk minds! And yet we worship it with more devotion than the Holy Infinite One.And look how much joy is in the faces of your surroundings on Purim afternoon when there is one drunk person making fun, being that silly guy in the middle of the crowd. No one says, "Oh , that person is weird", the opposite! Everyone is addicted to watching him, all eyes follow him with laughter because he awakens in us a deep, precious memory of wanting to be free and playful, and strip ourselves of the slavery of being “NORMAL.”<img src="https://letcheck.b-cdn.net/2169/clu023zus01qfd28z7i2c4stk.jpg" style="width: 568px; height: 379.081px; cursor: pointer;">On a sober Friday night, after a week that feels more like a marathon in quicksand, one might wish he could just collapse on a bench in shul, from exhaustion or despair. Imagine this scene: middle of Maariv Friday night lying flat on the ground, seeking a moment of rest from a heavy sack of bones, only to find yourself on a speedy ride to the emergency room with screaming sirens. Contrast this with Purim, where laying &amp; crawling on the floor is part of the norm, whether you’re overwhelmed by joy, exhaustion, or a curious blend of the two, you lay on the ground and the only siren you'll hear is the laughter of friends in the foreground of the latest DJ playlist. This stark difference sheds light on our deep-seated need to simply BE, to exist as authentically and genuinely human, with a capital 'B' and capital 'E' to BE.<img src="https://letcheck.b-cdn.net/2169/clu023rkf01qido9n00ryb3ra.webp" style="width: 563px; height: 374.923px; cursor: pointer;">Not saying we should start rolling around on the shul's marble floors with stains on our clothes as a remembrance of what we ate that day, or dance in the streets all day (I'll leave that to the next generation, meanwhile, it's totally insane! it seems more sane to see people screaming at each other than to see a person dancing alone on the streets) but rather, let's meditate on the psychology that is available on Purim.Maybe Purim is onto something. Maybe it’s showing us how to be our most genuine selves, and not be drunk on our own thoughts of who we may or may not be, of what we can and can't do, and that’s where the real joy's at.What if this Purim, you could bring more awareness to the way you think and behave, in a subtle witnessing if there are any symptoms of relief that you are experiencing in me vs. society, and tune into a frequency of spontaneous authenticity, joy, and connection that's rare in your daily grind so you get some taste of how it feels to be sober…The liberation on Purim, it's not just about letting loose. It's a reminder of what life could be if we dropped the metal armor more often. Every laugh, every hug, every moment of unabashed joy brings us closer to our true selves, and that's something Purim teaches us to cherish. It tosses us a key to a locked door we've been standing in front of, waiting to enter. It nudges us to remember those days when being silly wasn’t just okay, it was expected. Where saying what’s on our mind came without the fear of judgment.So, I invite you, this Purim, to ride the wave and take it as an experiential adventure to have an embodied experience of being yourself without thinking twice about how you act or are. I mean, worst case scenario, you are drunk, and you have permission for that, but you will have touched a tender place in your heart that will be a permanent guide in the real drunk days for where genuine joy lives.Perhaps you will get a taste of what I mean or perhaps you will get a taste of what I don’t mean. I don’t know, but I do know that this is crucial for internal happiness, and Purim is a day to explore ourselves in a safe setting where everyone to a certain level is invited to do that.The person who always wanted to sing loud in shul and be heard, for a change has the privilege.The one who wants to make everyone laugh with a silly act, gets granted a green pass.And the person who wants to hug and say "I love you," finally doesn't feel restricted and has a chance to express their affection freely.How many expressions of love are exchanged on this holy day?How many tears of joy bubble up. And how many suppressed emotions arise and flow on this holy day.We see human beings immersed in hours of praying, some blooming with joyful tears, and others drowning in their own tears of unbearable pain all so authentically as we all let go of our “military-grade armor” and life flows organically once again. And if we tune in deeper, we can sense the oneness that holds the day as we feel more one and whole with so little judgments about one another.Perhaps be the one that gives hugs that last a bit too long, and let your laughter fill the room a bit too much. Because in those moments, we’re not just breaking free from the ‘normal’, we’re diving headfirst into a pool of happiness and fun memories.Now, of course, there are people that will try taming the wild with the seriousness as if we are now on Yom Kippur in the midst of Neilah. But these people are drunk in their own way, that's their high. They have the liberty to be themselves too, as much as you do. Purim is for everyone to experience freedom in their own way and ALL is valid and holy.<blockquote>"Purim is not about dressing in the disguise of a mask, it's about removing our mask. And this act is not for external approval, but for an internal revelation of your true nature."</blockquote>So, let's embrace every bit of joy, every ounce of freedom, and every slice of the genuine self we usually keep under wraps! I encourage you to let go, even just a little, of the inhibitions and judgments that bind you. To dance in the streets if it calls to you, to sing out loud with joy, to be for once silly and to share hugs and words of love freely. It's a time to remind yourself of the joy that comes from being your most authentic self, unburdened by the heavy military-grade armor we carry. it's not about the external acts alone but the internal shift that these acts can initiate.maybe, just maybe, this is the secret to finding that joy we've all been searching for, hidden in plain sight within the chaos of costumes and cookies.Happy Purim! May it be a day of profound joy, healing, and discovery for you and for all families.

Thoughts on how Purim could serve as a transformative internal workshop for discovering more about the ego's protective mechanisms and authentic selves, shedding light on the hidden treasure of joy.

Purim: A Free workshop on authenticity

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Purim: A Free workshop on authenticity

Purim: A Free workshop on authenticity

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