)
Since we celebrate Purim only one day a year, and we cannot send out an infinite number of mishlo’aĥ manot or participate in a festive meal with every single one of our friends and relatives, questions arise. To whom is it best to send mishlo’aĥ manot? To our closest circle of friends who always stand by us, or to those more distant, with whom relations may be a bit more tense? Is it better to send mishlo’aĥ manot to a couple of friends, or is it better to send to ten, twenty, or thirty people? Similar questions arise when it comes to the festive meal. Is it better to have it with family (of one side or the other), or with good friends, or with new immigrants? Should there be twenty participants or fifty? The answers to these questions are that all options are reasonable.
Thinking about these issues on Purim can inspire us throughout the year. On Purim, we will not be able to give mishlo’aĥ manot to everyone. But it can help us understand the beauty of giving food, so we will think about sending food to family and friends any time of year. For example, if we are baking challahs or cooking something special for Shabbat, we can increase the quantities. We can send some of it to a friend who had a busy week, to someone who just celebrated a birthday, someone who started a new job, or someone fired from an old one. This allows us to extend the closeness created on Purim to the rest of the year.
This is also true for the festive meal. On Purim, we can eat with only a minority of our friends and family, but the joy of this meal can help us understand the value of celebrating with them. This understanding will lead us to make the effort to participate in our friends' and relatives' weddings, circumcisions, and other social celebrations.
This is also true for matanot la-evyonim. Giving to the poor on Purim will hopefully encourage us to be generous throughout the year, giving a tenth or even a fifth of our income to charity (6:12 above).
Finally, reading the Megilla on Purim can help us throughout the year. If we internalize its messages (section 5 above), we can better understand how God runs the world, and be inspired to study more Torah all year long.
