Joy breaks boundaries. I have found this to be universally true. When we stop and invest ourselves, even a little, into celebrating the special things in our lives, we change for the better. And this can be experienced by anyone who will set mundane concerns aside and simply "smell the flowers".
Our holidays are of course, the most appropriate time to bring this kind of joy out into the open. How unfortunate, then, that we so often we get caught up in the material preparations of a Yom Tov that we let them become a burden and a source of stress.
This can be said for any Yom Tov, but as Purim is now upon us, I believe it would be a good idea to have a look at what has become of the mitzvah of shalach manos.
It has become a larger-than-life campaign whose expense is second only to Pesach.
Sending gifts of food to a friend during Purim is a beautiful mitzvah, and we must pursue it with all of the pride and energy we can muster. But in recent years, and in every household, it has become a larger-than-life campaign whose expense is second only to Pesach.
While the mitzvah is to give at least two types of food to one person, every family seems to have a list of names that rivals that of the local phone listings - not including the children's class lists (an average of twenty or so per class) and the dozen or so "extras" (for those "unexpected" givers).
This yearly song and dance not only burdens those of us who can ill afford it, it also takes away from the beauty of the mitzvah. Instead of doing the mitzvah for its own sake and with joy, we make shalach manos into a chore which does little more than keep with social niceties.
Also, there is a certain self-defeating nature of such gifts. And the greatest proof lies in our own feelings towards our own post-Purim inventories. Take a second to look over that mountain of stale chips, crushed chocolate wafers, dried fruits and mini-bottles of grape juice. Does it warm and inspire you? Do you feel loved and appreciated? Or do you think, like I do: "How exactly do I get rid of all this?" Shalach manos is a mitzvah, after all. And like all mitzvos, without the right intent it's like a body without a soul.
I call upon everyone who is tired of carpet-bombing the community with nosh and grape juice to please "stop the madness". Put together one or two baskets with those special things that you yourself would be happy to receive. Give it to that special person who deserves the recognition, or better yet to that neighbor who is not yet a friend, and bring the joy and the "soul" back into the mitzvah.
Our holidays are of course, the most appropriate time to bring this kind of joy out into the open. How unfortunate, then, that we so often we get caught up in the material preparations of a Yom Tov that we let them become a burden and a source of stress.
This can be said for any Yom Tov, but as Purim is now upon us, I believe it would be a good idea to have a look at what has become of the mitzvah of shalach manos.
It has become a larger-than-life campaign whose expense is second only to Pesach.
Sending gifts of food to a friend during Purim is a beautiful mitzvah, and we must pursue it with all of the pride and energy we can muster. But in recent years, and in every household, it has become a larger-than-life campaign whose expense is second only to Pesach.
While the mitzvah is to give at least two types of food to one person, every family seems to have a list of names that rivals that of the local phone listings - not including the children's class lists (an average of twenty or so per class) and the dozen or so "extras" (for those "unexpected" givers).
This yearly song and dance not only burdens those of us who can ill afford it, it also takes away from the beauty of the mitzvah. Instead of doing the mitzvah for its own sake and with joy, we make shalach manos into a chore which does little more than keep with social niceties.
Also, there is a certain self-defeating nature of such gifts. And the greatest proof lies in our own feelings towards our own post-Purim inventories. Take a second to look over that mountain of stale chips, crushed chocolate wafers, dried fruits and mini-bottles of grape juice. Does it warm and inspire you? Do you feel loved and appreciated? Or do you think, like I do: "How exactly do I get rid of all this?" Shalach manos is a mitzvah, after all. And like all mitzvos, without the right intent it's like a body without a soul.
I call upon everyone who is tired of carpet-bombing the community with nosh and grape juice to please "stop the madness". Put together one or two baskets with those special things that you yourself would be happy to receive. Give it to that special person who deserves the recognition, or better yet to that neighbor who is not yet a friend, and bring the joy and the "soul" back into the mitzvah.