Jewish unity defeats Amalek and falsehood

עיקר הישועה בפורים נעשה ע"י הכינוס כמ"ש כנוס כו' כל היהודים.

The essence of the salvation on Purim came about through gathering together, as it is written: "Gather... all the Jews."

The Purim deliverance was achieved specifically through unity — Esther's call to gather all the Jews as one.

וכתיב נקהלו ועמוד על נפשם.

And it is written: "they gathered together and stood up for their lives."

By assembling as a single body, Bnei Yisrael were able to defend their very lives against their enemies.

וזהו בחי' תורה שבע"פ כי במתן תורה כתיב הקהל לי את העם ואשמיעם את דברי.

And this is the aspect of Torah she-be'al peh (the Oral Torah), for at Matan Torah it is written: "Gather the people to Me and I will let them hear My words."

Gathering is the hallmark of the Oral Torah; at Sinai too, Hashem commanded an assembly of the people in order to receive His word.

והי' הקהילה בציווי הקב"ה.

And there the gathering was by the command of Hashem.

At Sinai the assembly came at Hashem's explicit command from above.

וכאן נקהלו מעצמם.

But here they gathered together of their own accord.

On Purim the unity arose from the Jews themselves, from below, rather than by direct command.

והדר קבלוה בימי אחשורוש בכח הקהילה.

And "they re-accepted it in the days of Achashverosh" through the power of that gathering.

Chazal teach that the Jews willingly re-accepted the Torah in the time of Achashverosh — and it was the power of their self-made unity that made this renewed acceptance possible.

לכן כתיב וקבל היהודים לשון יחיד. שנעשו אגודה אחת.

Therefore it is written "and the Jew accepted (vekibel)" in the singular — for they became one bound bundle (agudah achas).

The verse uses the singular because the Jews had fused into a single united entity, acting as one.

ואז אין עמלק יכול לשלוט בהם.

And then Amalek cannot dominate them.

When Bnei Yisrael are truly unified, Amalek — who preys on division — loses all power over them.

ואיתא בגמ' באותו גר שאמר למדני תורה כשאני עומד על רגל אחד. והשיב לו ואהבת לרעך כמוך.

And it is brought down in the Gemara about the convert who said "teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot," and Hillel answered him: "Love your fellow as yourself."

Hillel summed up the entire Torah in the mitzvah of loving one's fellow — the principle of unity at the heart of everything.

הרמז בעוה"ז דשיקרא שלטא.

The hint is that in this world falsehood (sheker) holds sway.

In olam hazeh, the realm of concealment, falsehood appears to dominate — and this is bound up with the request to stand "on one foot."

דאיתא שקר עומד על רגל אחד שהקו"ף נמשכת למטה מכל האותיות.

For it is taught that "sheker stands on one leg," since the letter kuf of שקר extends downward below all the other letters.

The very letters of "sheker" (falsehood) are unstable — the kuf juts down on a single leg — symbolizing that lies have no firm footing.

ולכן איש לשון בל יכון כו'.

And therefore "a man of a false tongue shall not be established."

Because falsehood has no stable base, the one who lives by it cannot endure.

אבל האמת עומד בכל צד. ושקר אין לו רגלים.

But truth (emes) stands on every side, while falsehood has no legs.

The letters of "emes" each stand on a broad base, representing truth's stability, whereas falsehood cannot stand at all.

וזה אות הק' שולט באדר כמ"ש בס' יצירה המליך אות ק' כו'.

And this letter kuf rules in the month of Adar, as it is written in Sefer Yetzirah: "He made the letter kuf to reign..."

According to Sefer Yetzirah, the letter kuf — associated with falsehood — governs the month of Adar.

והטעם כי הוא סוף השנה והסט"א נמשכת בסוף כקוף בתר בני נשא.

And the reason is that Adar is the end of the year, and the Sitra Achra (the "other side") attaches itself at the end, "like a monkey (kof) after a person."

Since Adar concludes the year, the forces of impurity cling to it, mimicking holiness the way a monkey imitates a man.

ואז העצה רק ע"י ואהבת לרעך כמוך.

And then the only remedy is through "love your fellow as yourself."

The sole counsel against this end-of-year power of falsehood is unity — the mitzvah of loving one's fellow Jew.

שכח כלל ישראל דוחה השקר.

For the power of Klal Yisrael as a whole pushes away falsehood.

The collective strength of a united Bnei Yisrael drives out the sheker that otherwise reigns.

ולכן תיקנו משלוח מנות ומתנות לאביונים לעורר אהבת בני ישראל.

This is why they instituted mishloach manos and matanos la'evyonim — to awaken the love among Bnei Yisrael.

The Purim mitzvos of sending portions and gifts to the poor were enacted precisely to arouse and strengthen ahavas Yisrael.

וזה הי' יסוד בית שני.

And this was the foundation of the Second Bais Hamikdash.

The unity awakened in the Purim era was the very foundation upon which the Second Temple was built.

ולכן נחרב ע"י שנאת חנם. כי יסוד בית שני בכח אהבת ישראל:

And therefore it was destroyed through baseless hatred (sinas chinam), for the foundation of the Second Bais Hamikdash was the power of ahavas Yisrael.

Because the Second Temple rested on the foundation of Jewish unity, it was specifically sinas chinam — the opposite of that love — that brought about its destruction.

Summary: The salvation of Purim came through the Jews gathering of their own accord into one united bundle, which is the aspect of Torah she-be'al peh and the basis of their renewed acceptance of the Torah. United, they are immune to Amalek and to the falsehood ("sheker") that has no firm footing and rules at the year's end in Adar. The remedy is "love your fellow as yourself," embodied in mishloach manos and matanos la'evyonim — the same ahavas Yisrael that founded the Second Bais Hamikdash, whose loss to sinas chinam proves the point.