Posted on March 11, 2014
I know I’m a few days late and that we have been in the month of Adar for a bit over a week now, but Purim is only a few days away! For those who aren’t sure, Purim is a holiday celebrating the Jewish triumph over Haman and the Persian Empire. Haman, an evil, evil royal adviser, was bent on destroying the Jewish people and King Achashvarosh was quite okay with this. Mordechai and Esther (our hero and heroine) were able to save the Jewish people and Haman was destroyed instead. (For a more detailed version of the story, you can check out everyone’s favorite fact-finding site)
Now, of course this is a time for celebration, and Jews all over the world take part in the various mitzvot associated with Purim. They hear Megillat Esther, send shalach manot to their friends, drink ad d’lo yada, have a festive meal, and give matanot l’evyonim- gifts to the poor.
In fact, this last mitzvah of helping the poor is one of the most important of Purim. Unfortunately, sometimes it gets lost in the glorious costume hubbub that is Purim (I’ll admit, it’s up there with Chanukah for me), so here at Areyvut we wanted to put together a list of some ways that we could fulfill the mitzvah of matanot l’evyonim. The gift can be either food or money, but it should be something that will help the person better celebrate Purim.
