From the Rabbi's Desk

As we have begun the month of Adar, it’s time to turn our attention to the wonderful holiday of Purim. Each year we gather to celebrate our continued survival in spite of the hate thrown our way. Each year we gather to recognize we are the only ancient people still around in the western world because of something that burns within us. There are four unique mitzvot to the holiday of Purim:

1. Hearing the megillah read twice
2. Attending a celebratory meal
3. Giving gifts to the less fortunate in our midst
4. Sending gifts to our friends
    

The last mitzvah, gifts, is called משלח מנות/Mishloach Manot and is something we all can do very easily. Click here and you’ll be redirected to our Mishloach Manot page. You’ll then be able to select who you want to send gifts to this year in our congregation. You can select any number of people or you can select the entire community for $118. You can also avoid the awkward issue of having someone send one to you without you having done the same. Select reciprocity and we’ll automatically send one to every person who sends to you.

The act of sending gifts to our loved ones is a simple one. The basic requirement is that we need to send packages that include a minimum of two ready to eat foods that necessitate two uniquely different blessings. The rest is yours with which to be creative. Many people choose to have themes for their gifts. I encourage all of you to take the time to send Mishloach Manot through our community and to also put some special gifts together for your friends that you can deliver yourself.

In this week’s Torah reading, Terumah, my favorite quote from the Torah is found, ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם/And they shall make Me a holy place and I will dwell in them. (Exodus 25:8) The intriguing issue of this verse is that God commands us, in the plural, to make Him a holy place, in the singular, and God says that He will dwell amongst the plural. The act of building a place together allows God to dwell in the many and not in the singular. Through a community coming together, God is found. Each and every one of us is called upon to contribute to our communities and to build holiness around us. Each and every one of us is called upon to build this holiness to enable and engage the Divine to be in our lives and in our world. One easy way of doing this is through “upping our game” and doing more this year for Purim than we did in the past.