יָּבְו חַ
דֶא חָ
רֶנּ אֱמַ ֲע נִיִּים .
ְֵ ו א
לֵּקְל חַ תַָּמ
אְֵו
הָנ
י ןִ נּ שׁ ְַמ
עֲנִיִּיםָל
תַא חַ
קְ דְּ קִַד
ע וֹ תָמ
ע וֹ תָמ
מְ עוֹתִבּ
פּוּרִַה
צ ְ ד ָ ק ָ הִל
אֶ בְָל
לָּאֶא
רֶַא חֶ
פּוֹשֵׁ טַה לָכּ
יֵנ נִיִּיםֲע שְִּׁמ
יןֳא כָלִ ַָמ תּ
דוָֹי
ְִל שׁ טּלִל
יֵנ
כָלְל
יןִנ
The best example of this dichotomy is when Maimonides informs us that on Purim we do not merely give to the poor . We are not allowed – on this one day a year – to question their motives !
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ֶשׁ
ל וֹ .
ְבּיוֹם ים . ֵאין פּוֹחֲתִ ין א וֹ א וֹ ִמינֵי תַּ בְ שִׁ י ל א וֹ ִמ י נֵ י
) א ס ת ר ט כ ב )" וּ ַ מ ָ תּ נ וֹ ת י וֹ ִ נ י ם " , ְ שׁ ֵ תּ י ין ְמ ין פּוּרִ ים
י ן פּ וּ רִ י ם ת :
נ וֹ ת
נוֹתֵ ן
נוֹתְ
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One is obligated to distribute charity to the poor on the day of Purim . At the very least , to give each of two poor people one present , be it money , cooked dishes , or other foods , as implied by Esther 9:22 " gifts to the poor " - i . e ., two gifts to two poor people . We should not be discriminating in selecting the recipients of these Purim gifts . Instead , one should give to whomever stretches out his hand . Money given to be distributed on Purim should not be used for other charitable purposes . 17
We give to the deserving and undeserving alike ! Absurd , yes but also instructive . In an ideal world we favor compassion over judgment ( and hope God does the same ). For one short day , we behave as if the world were ideal .
In short , we drink , say “ l ’ chaim ”, write our Purim Torah , and without judgment or discernment share our blessings with others and we thus remember that not all can be explained but God ’ s love , although mysterious , is absolutely real .
17
M . T . Megillah 2:16-17
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