When the Rebbe announced Mivtzah Purim in 5722, some questioned the significance of these “minor mitzvos.” In a yechidus with R’ Yaakov Hanoka, the Rebbe provided an explanation he could share with his former colleagues at Penn University.
Mivtzah Purim was announced in 5722, to inspire Yidden to perform the simple mitzvos of mishloach monos and matonos lo’evyonim. They are easy to fulfill, and will be a springboard for more, the Rebbe said.
In a yechidus with Yaakov Hanoka that year, the Rebbe encouraged him to convey the importance of performing these two mitzvos to his former colleagues at Penn University.
Despite them being seemingly minor mitzvos, the Rebbe explained, in a way all mitzvos have the same value.
“Moshe Rabbeinu, who had the ultimate in da’as, knowledge, and a thirteen-year-old American boy who knows close to nothing, are equal when it comes to their obligation to lay tefilin. The same is true for emuna, since Moshe Rabbeinu needs emuna as much as a child.
“Likewise,” the Rebbe explained, “in regards to one’s submission before Hashem, all mitzvos are equal.”
(Teshura Vigler Adar 5763)
From The Weekly Farbrengen by Merkaz Anash
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