This year, we have mishloach manot available for purchase at shul on Purim night and Purim morning, before and after services. They’re easy to pick up and easy to give, and cost $6 each.
The mishloach manot are just like our shul - simple, a little traditional, a little fun, and designed to build community.
Feel free to pick up one for a friend, neighbor, or someone you’ve been meaning to reconnect with!
Shalom friends, With Purim upon us, I want to take this opportunity to share a basic review of the mitzvos and practices of the day. As always, if any of it is unclear, or if you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out at stantonrabbi@gmail.com.
Zecher LeMachatzis HaShekel - There is a minhag to give charity on the afternoon before Purim, in memory of the half-shekel that was collected each year in the times of the Beis HaMikdash. The Ashkenazi custom in America is to donate three half dollars. We will provide three half dollars in shul that can be used in exchange for a conventional buck and a half.
There are four core rabbinic mitzvos on Purim itself:
1. Megillah - It is a mitzvah to read or to hear Megillas Esther at night and during the day. We will be offering a communal and a women’s reading on Purim night as well as a communal reading on Purim morning.
2. Seudah - It is a mitzvah to have a festive meal, celebrating the heroic acts of Esther and Mordechai as well as the deliverance and victory of the Jews of Persia. Famously, the gemara says there is a requirement to drink wine at this meal until one is unable to distinguish between “blessed is Mordechai” and “cursed is Haman”. One can fulfill this requirement simply by drinking a little bit more than they normally would and then taking a nap. Someone who is in recovery has no requirement at all to drink on Purim and the community should be supportive of their decision not to drink.
3. Mishloach Manos - It is a mitzvah to give two kinds of food to one other Jew on the day of Purim. The foods should be ready to eat (i.e. not raw/in an inedible state) with the idea that they can be used for that person’s seudah. Drinks count as well. It is certainly permitted to give out food to more than just one person, as is the common practice, but the fundamental requirement is fulfilled with just one.
4. Matanos La’Evyonim - Perhaps the most important of the day’s mitzvos is that of matanos la’evyonim, or gifts to the poor. If there is a choice between adding more to your seudah or giving more to the poor, one should prioritize the giving. One should give monetary gifts to at least two different people on Purim day and should ideally give each person enough money to buy a meal. If you are contributing to a Purim fund, you can give before Purim (to be handed out on Purim) and should ideally give an amount that would allow two people to buy a meal.
As in years past we are partnering with Rabbi Bellino at Sixth Street Synagogue. He is collecting for a number of charities here and in the US. and you can contribute in one of three ways:
You can also venmo @sixthstreetsynagogue (be sure to specify Purim Charity!)
You can also bring in a check (made out to Sixth Street Community Synagogue Rabbi's Discretionary) or cash before or on Purim
The mitzvos of the day really are an exercise in building community. They embody the concluding verse of the Megillah in which we are told that Mordechai sought the good of his people and advocated for their welfare. They stand as a testament to the fact that in order to answer those who seek to divide and destroy, we must connect and to build. On Purim we celebrate Esther and Mordechai who were unafraid to stand up to power and who, with the help of the hidden hand of God, turned Haman’s evil decree right on its head. Through our celebration and observance of the day, may we merit to see the evil decrees of our own age turned on their heads and may we wake up to a world turned back onto its feet.
A freilechn Purim, Rabbi Birkeland
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