Why is there no havdalah after Purim?
There is a vertel (short vort) that I have seen that goes like this -
Why is there no Havdalah after Purim? Because there should be no end to it, we should take it with us through the year.
I saw it in the name of a Rosh Yeshiva who is already in the next world, but I think it originally is from Polish Chasidus.
Sounds nice, but does it add up?
1) If there is no kiddush on Purim, how could there be havdalah? Usually the two go together.
2) We have kiddush and havdalah as part of yamim tovim that are mideoryasa, from the (chamisha chumshei) Torah, aka Biblical in origin (e.g. Shabbos, Pesach, Sukkos, Shavuos). Purim is from a later time period, and not in that category.
3) Is there havdalah after Chanukah? Is there havdalah after Tisha BeAv?
4) Rav Hutner, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, taught (with a Yiddish expression) that after Yamim tovim in general, our attitude should be that we do not say that a Yom tov has gone, passed us by, but rather that a Yom tov, with its spiritual gains, has come to us, has become part of us, brought us to a higher level, and we should take along spiritual gains acquired then. So the idea of taking the yom tov spirit along even after Yom tov ends is not just for Purim, but is for our holidays in general.
Purim havdalah that we could use more of
There is a different type of havdalah that we need more of. We need havdalah, discernment and distinguishing, among our own people, about what Purim is, and what it isn't. It is not (Chas veshalom) a Jewish version of St. Patrick's Day, Carnival, Halloween, or Independence day. It is not a wild free for all (G-d forbid). It is a day where we act in a holy manner, as opposed to throwing off all restraints.
We need havdalah between solid Torah teachings, and cute quips, or inspirational sayings, which may not have a firm basis, or withstand scrutiny.
May we merit to have the havdalah we need, not just around Purim, but year round.
