Rabbi Chaim Druckman during his last Purim
Rabbi Chaim Druckman during his last PurimYitz Goldberg

During one of his lessons for the Purim season, religious Zionist spiritual leader Rabbi Chaim Druckman, who passed away in December at the age of 90, would tell a parable in order to teach about G-d's salvation on Purim. The story concerned a king who would disguise himself and walk down the streets of his kingdom. At the end of the story, Rabbi Druckman would act out the surprised reaction of one of the commoners who recognized the king. Pretending to be shocked, the venerated rabbi would stutter: "It's... it's... it's.. the king!"

I sometimes playback the story's ending in my head, in Rabbi Druckman's famous hoarse voice, and I tear up. With its comical ending, this story sticks out in my mind as one which would set the tone for the whole Purim season.

The atmosphere of the holiday season is generally defined by the food and songs, among other things. For those in Rabbi Druckman's Or Etzion yeshiva, the holiday atmosphere is also defined by the rabbi's classes and other experiences that pertained to him. For those students, Rabbi Druckman was a central component of every holiday, especially Purim.

The Purim season would begin at a party marking the start of the Jewish month of Adar, which would be held at Rabbi Druckman's home, a home away from home for the students. In the beginning, Rabbi Druckman would dance with us, but with the years, he had difficulty standing but would still light up the room and rejoice with us from his seat in the front. After several hours of dancing and short Torah ideas from the Yeshiva faculty came the moment we all waited for, Rabbi Druckman would add to what was said and expound on the meaning of Purim.

On the Saturday before Purim, the celebrations would continue again in the rabbi's home; everyone would stand on makeshift bleachers around a long table covered with different foods, and Rabbi Druckman at its head. Song, dance, wine, and Torah would mix until the late hours of the night.

Several days later came the day we all looked forward to - the holy day of Purim.

On the Purim night, we would gather in the rabbi's home and wait for him to appear from his office, dressed up as a Hassid, in a fur hat and long velvet coat, bottle of wine in hand. We would escort Rabbi Druckman to the yeshiva's Purim party, which would begin upon his arrival and end with his departure many hours later.

The party would kick off with the rabbi opening his bottle and making the blessing. Everyone would answer "amen," and the band would begin to play. At certain points, he would be handed the microphone and lead the singing of select songs, and through the extent of the party, he would sit and bless all those who asked, patently, no matter who asked and how drunk they may have been.

In the morning, Rabbi Druckman would join us for the holiday meal. He would sit and listen to the other rabbis' short Torah lessons and interject, when needed, always with humor appropriate for the holiday.

The pinnacle of the day, like the Yom Kippur prayer, was when we would again return to the rabbi's home in the afternoon for another holiday meal during which heaven and earth would meet. It is impossible to describe the holiness of the event. In the classroom in his home, which was the center of thousands of students' lives, the inebriated students, whose everyday restraints were long gone and could finally reach a high level of holiness, would stand around the great rabbi, his face shining with the holiness of the day. The meal would continue after nightfall and end with an uplifting evening prayer.

פורים עם הרב חיים דרוקמן זצ"לללא