Chabad-Lubavitch institutions worldwide put the finishing touches on preparations for the fast-approaching holiday of Purim, which begins Saturday night. From the heart of Africa to North American population centers to the Australian Outback, local Jews will publically read from the Scroll of Esther, known in Hebrew as the megillah, and attend festive parties in celebration of the day.
In addition, the Judaism website Chabad.org, has updated its information about Purim with inspirational articles on the message of the holiday and explanatory guides on the basics of the various customs associated with the day, which commemorates the nullification of a Persian decree of death against Jews throughout the ancient empire.
One of the holiday’s quintessential observances is delivering food to a friend, known in Hebrew as mishloach manot. The article “Purim Gifts to the Rich?” explains the finer points of the custom, which is fulfilled by “sending a minimum of two different kinds of ready-to-eat food to at least one person.”
“It expresses friendship and promotes unity, and reminds us that no human can survive as a completely self-sufficient being,” continues the article written by Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson. “We need friends and value them, and giving food gifts is a way of showing our connection. We share our joys and our pains, and always have the time for each other no matter how much is already on our proverbial plate.”
In addition to the reading of the megillah, delivering packages of food to friends and partaking in a festive meal, the holiday’s other observances include the dispersing of charity to at least two poor individuals and the addition of a special prayer to commemorate the Purim miracle in the daily prayers and the traditional Grace After Meals.
Because this year the holiday follows the Jewish Sabbath, the traditional pre-holiday Fast of Esther and the giving of three half-shekels-worth of money to communal causes took place on Thursday. People who have not done so can also fulfill the half-shekel custom on the holiday itself.
Military Bases and Prisons
Chabad.org’s Purim site also features a directory of holiday events in more than 400 cities around the globe, a synopsis and more-lengthy retelling of the Purim story, a study section with frequently-asked-questions, and a commentary on the Scroll of Esther. The Purim audio and video section includes an hour-long excerpt of a 1973 Purim gathering with the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, Purim songs, and a video on how a bakery bakes the holiday’s signature hamantash pastry.
Rabbi Moshe Feller, who as director of Chabad-Lubavitch of the Upper Midwest, will be presiding over several holiday events, says Purim is by no means a “minor holiday.”
“G‑d created man with four basic needs: food, clothing, housing, and most important, air,” he explains, referencing a teaching he heard from the Rebbe. “The cost of these needs is inversely commensurate to their importance. Food is cheaper than clothing, which is cheaper than housing. The cheapest of all is the most vital – air. The fact that the Purim observances are so simple and inexpensive to perform underscores their importance.”
Feller has prepared small packages of nuts, raisins, candies and two coins that he will give out to local Jews to give them the opportunity to take part in the holiday’s observances. Elsewhere around the world, hundreds of thousands of such packages will be distributed by Chabad Houses. Already, hundreds of thousands more made it to their final destinations by mail.
In addition, teams of rabbis and rabbinical students will fulfill the Rebbe’s call to assist the forgotten Jews in the military, hospitals and prisons by bringing them the joy, inspiration and observances of the holiday.
Rabbi Mendy Katz of the Aleph Institute, a Chabad-Lubavitch institution that assists Jewish military personnel and prisoners, says that thousands of packages were sent to soldiers and chaplains in time for the holiday.
“Our packages include two foods that can be given to a friend, a jumbo hamantash pastry and a guide with the observances of the day,” says Katz.
He points out that in addition to Chabad-Lubavitch centers that arrange visits to local prisons, Alep will coordinate separate visits to more than 100 prisons across the United States.
In the Holy Land, representatives of the Lubavitch Youth Organization in Israel will similarly visit military bases and correctional institutions. According to the Yediot Ahronot daily newspaper, thousands of families whose members perished in military actions or terrorist attacks will also be visited by rabbis, rabbinical students and laymen.
“Hundreds of volunteers,” writes the paper, “will knock on doors and with a smile, deliver a Purim package and words of encouragement.”
The paper quotes a 12-year-old volunteer who assembled packages for delivery.
“I learned that Purim is not just about getting dressed up and partying,” explained the child. “It is also about bringing joy to those who have a more difficult time being happy.”
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