On Purim day, men and women are obligated in the mitzvah of Matanot L’Evyonim (charity to the poor).
The minimum requirement here is to give a gift of money to two poor people, each one receiving his own gift.
The poor must receive the money on Purim day. You can do this yourself or through a messenger to whom you can give the money to before Purim and the messenger will deliver the charity to the poor on Purim day. To facilitate this mitzvah for our congregation, Rabbi Rabinowitz will make sure that the funds are distributed on Purim day.
(Matanot L’Evyonim should not be confused with Ma’ot Chitin, the Passover charity fund for the needy.)
There are a number of options to make your donation:
- You can donate through the website (be sure to indicate “Matanot L’evyonim”).
- You can send in your donation by mail in time to arrive before Purim (mark your donation as “Matanot L’evyonim” or “Purim Charity”).
- You can donate the money (cash or check) on or before Purim at the shul.
- Pledges can be emailed to rabbi@bethisraelmalden.org or phoned in to the rabbi at 781-223-1471 (do not leave any pledges on the synagogue phone number).
All pledges and online donations must be received by the Rabbi no later than 10:00 pm on Thursday, February 25th. Donations in person my be received up until 8:30 am on Friday, February 26th. Please do not wait until the last minute to donate or pledge by email or postal mail, because you risk missing the deadline.