revealed love vs hidden love
In the Purim Discourse, Chayav Inash Livsuei, the Baal HaTanya compares the difference between the acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai and during Purim. At Sinai the Jews accepted the Torah against their will, as if the mountain was uprooted and placed over their head, seemingly as a threat. Whereas on Purim, the Jews reaccepted the Torah, rectifying and completing the original commitment. The Baal HaTanya asks a couple of questions (among others) about this difference and then reinterprets the simple understanding of these events completely.
Purim is considered the most joyous event of the year, so much so that we are obligated to become very intoxicated. Even though Yom Tov (i.e, Shavuas - kabbalos haTorah) has greater sanctity, why is the joy of Purim unrivaled? And even though at Mount Sinai when the Jews received the Torah there was an element of coercion, during Purim the Jews were facing a genocide at the hands of Haman so why is its recommitment to Torah any better than the first time? The Baal HaTanya teaches that at Mount Sinai, when Hashem revealed himself in the clearest way possible, this was not a fearful event, rather it is was a tremendous spiritual event that overwhelmed them with love. In this light, the mountain that was suspended over their heads that forced them to receive the Torah was rather a symbol of that love like the chuppah, the wedding canopy. Therefore the giving and receiving of the Torah at Sinai was like a marraige between God and the Jewish people, such an intense manifestation of divine love that the Jews were compelled to accept the Torah.
From this perspective, in what way is Purim superior or more joyous than this first commitment? The Baal HaTanya teaches explains that on Purim the situation was exactly the opposite that that at Sinai. During Purim there was no revelation of Godliness rather there was the most complete form of concealment of God's presence. This is Purim's joyous superiority, a voluntary commitment to the Torah, despite the hiddeness of God and possible annihilation.
