Today and tomorrow begins the Hebrew month of Adar, of which the Talmud (Ta’anit 29a) says, “When Adar enters, joy increases.” The primary reason for this joyfulness is that it contains the holiday of Purim, when the Jews of Persia in the 5th century B.C.E. were almost destroyed by an evil prime minister manipulating a feckless king (nope, not resonant at all), but were saved by the hand of God working through a courageous young Jewish woman. For more about Adar and Purim, I commend you to one of my favorite websites, Jewish Heritage Online Magazine, a rich repository of insights on Jewish cultural themes.

For myself, I have two Purim-related art projects to share with you.

One is a piece that I created in 2021 of my favorite verse in Megillat Esther: “And who knows but that you have come to power for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). This is available on my Etsy shop as either a 5×7 greeting card or a framed digital print. Read more about the design of this artwork »

The second is a free Purim printable: mishloach manot cards that I created this year. One of the four central mitzvot (commandments) of Purim is “mishloach manot”, also known in Yiddish as shalachmones: sending portions (food gifts) to one another, as described in Esther 9:22. These can get incredibly elaborate, but the actual requirements are simple: you have to give portions of at least 2 different ready-to-eat foods, to at least 1 other Jewish person, during the daylight hours of Purim.

For many years in my young adulthood, I participated in the mitzvah of mishloach manot strictly by receiving (heh), but as a parent, it’s become more of a family activity. What else is my family of 3 going to do with 8 flavors of hamantashen?? I am strictly a “quart size ziploc” giver, but I always create little inserts saying “Purim sameach from the Yakovetz family” to print on our home laser printer… so now you can, too. These include space to write your own “From” message on the slips before you package your goodies. Download the PDF »

To recap, the mitzvot of Purim are:

• To hear the reading of the Book of Esther (megillah)
• To enjoy a festive meal
• To send food gifts to fellow Jews (mishloach manot)
• To give charity to those in need (matanot la’evyonim)

Note that this last is not least; you are supposed to spend at least as much on your Purim charity as on your gifts and feasting for your own family and friends. (This is another reason I like to be modest with my mishloach manot.) I still support Boston’s Yad Chessed with my Purim tzedakah, as they have worked out a clever system for distributing the value of their vouchers on the actual day of Purim, as stipulated in the mitzvah.

The Talmud (Megillah 7b:7) also says that on Purim, one must drink alcohol ad d’lo yada, until one cannot distinguish, “Blessed be Mordechai” from “Cursed is Haman”. But this is not strictly a requirement, whatever Rava might say. :-D

This year, I’ll once again be celebrating Purim at Congregation Beth Israel in Munster, IN, where we are doing a Wicked-themed Purimspiel (my 9yo daughter is very excited about this). Wishing all of us a safe and happy Purim, and freedom from genocidal maniacs everywhere.