We are learning Hilchot Purim (the laws of Purim). We are reading directly from Chazon Ovadia. On page kuf-yud, it says, “Be-krachim hamukafim chomah mimot Yehoshua bin Nun” (walled cities from Yehoshua), even though they are not walled now, the Megillah (Scroll of Esther) is read on the 15th. Therefore, they read on the 15th, as we just read.
“Vechen kfarim hanir’im imahem” (and likewise, villages that can be seen with them): villages that are near and visible, even if they are not close, such as villages at the top of a mountain that can see the walled city, read like the walled city. That is the Gemara. If they are within a mil, the measure here is 960 meters, even if they are not visible—they are in the valley and cannot see the city, but are within that distance—they read on the 15th.
“Ve’ayarot she’einan mukafot chomah mimot Yehoshua bin Nun” (and cities that were not walled in the days of Yehoshua bin Nun) read on the 14th, except for Shushan, also called Chamadan, which reads on the 15th, even though it was not walled in the days of Yehoshua. That is where the miracle happened: “ho’il vena’asah bo nes” (because a miracle happened there). Yes, that is Shushan. “Veha-ta’am” (and the reason) the matter was tied to Yehoshua bin Nun is that he was the first to fight Amalek. They tied the matter to Yehoshua bin Nun because he was the first to fight Amalek; they also gave him some honor, and he was the one who brought it to fruition; he was the one who brought Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel).
In Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), they read the Megillah on the 15th, since it is a city walled from the days of Yehoshua. The widespread custom is to read throughout all the new parts of Yerushalayim. There was a big machloket (dispute) about this; we saw it at the time with Ramot, Rabbi Hacham, this Hacham, and Masa’at. Even the new parts of Yerushalayim read on the 15th, including distant neighborhoods, as long as they are connected to the wall, meaning attached to the old city. However, in Ramot today they read on the 14th, as written in Shut Yabi’a Omer, and it is better for them to read on the 15th without a berachah.
For safek (doubt) cities—whether they were walled in the days of Yehoshua—they read on the 14th with a berachah (blessing), and on the 15th without a berachah. That is why they said that Chizkiyah read on both the 14th and the 15th in Tveryah. Tiberias has a machloket about its status, so he read on both days because it is a safek whether it has the status of a walled city. The question is whether it is considered walled at all: perhaps the Kinneret, Yam Kineret, is considered a wall or not.
They have also long had the custom to read in Chevron on both the 14th and the 15th. Likewise, in all the old cities, they read on both days, such as Yafo, Akko, Tzfat, Lod, Be’er Sheva, and Cheifah. That means two days. The reason is that it is possible the cities were built some distance from the original location. In Bnei Brak, since its houses are adjacent to the city of Yafo, it is better to read on the 15th as well, without a berachah. In Bnei Brak, you have to read twice!
New settlements and new cities read on the 14th. In a city that is obligated to read on the 14th, if someone was prevented from reading that day and did not read, he reads on the 15th without a berachah. Even in cities of uncertain status, if they were prevented and did not read on the 14th, they do not recite a berachah when reading on the 15th. For those uncertain cities, we said they recite the berachah on the 14th; if they did not read then and read on the 15th, they still read without a berachah.
For cities of uncertain status, even if they read the Megillah on the 15th as well, they do not read “Vayavo Amalek” (And Amalek came) from a Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) on the second day. Rather, if the second day is a Monday or Thursday, they read the weekly Torah portion. There is concern about reciting a berachah in vain if they read “Vayavo Amalek.” They do say Al HaNissim (For the miracles) in prayer in these safek places. There is no concern about uncertainty in this, since they are praising Hashem. It is good and proper to be stringent and send mishloach manot (portions of food) on the 15th as well, and matanot la’evyonim (gifts to the poor). They also have a se’udah (festive meal) because of safek. Yay!
A resident of a city who read the Megillah on the 14th according to the custom of his city, and then went to Yerushalayim that night, read in the morning on the 14th, and then went to Yerushalayim for the 15th, may want to receive an aliyah (Torah honor) for “Vayavo Amalek.” He is a perazi (resident of an unwalled town). He happened to be in Yerushalayim on the 15th. The question is whether he can receive an aliyah for “Vayavo Amalek,” even though that is not his reading. Lechatchilah, he should not go up, since this is not his Purim day for Megillah reading and the other mitzvot that apply. In any case, of course, it is not Purim for him. But if they called him, as the Ashkenazim do, he may go up.
Likewise, someone who made a mistake in prayer, for example, saying Al HaNissim on the 15th, does not repeat the prayer. It is not an interruption if he said it.
A person is obligated to send his friend two portions on Purim: two kinds of food, two kinds of cooked dishes, or two kinds of meat. As it says in the Megillat Ester, “la’asot otam yemei mishteh vesimchah umishloach manot ish lere’ehu umatanot la’evyonim.” The reason is that when a person sends a gift to his friend, it expresses his love. It brings feelings of love, and in this way he plants love, brotherhood, peace, and friendship and unity in his friend’s heart. It is reciprocal, like water reflecting a face: all the laws of our holy Torah are intended to increase peace between one person and another, as it says, “deracheha darchei no’am vechol netivotreha shalom.”
Also, there are people who lack food. Some are discreet; they do not ask, because they are embarrassed to ask for a festive meal. They do not have money for a Purim meal. If you send them something respectfully, as a gift and a happy holiday present, they will not be embarrassed or humiliated. In this way we include them in the joy of Purim, as it says, “veshilchu manot le’ein nachon lo.” So is matanot la’evyonim in your head? In other words, you have in mind that also... No, no, no, no. You’re doing mishloach manot, but the mishloach manot is in order to give, even though the Gemara says that kiyamta banu. Mishloach manot is a separate chiyuv (obligation). The main mitzvah is two portions for one person.
Some say the portions must be cooked and ready to eat, not a raw piece of meat that the recipient has to cook. Others disagree and say that one may give raw meat. If he sends a live bird, though, the recipient would have to perform shechitah (ritual slaughter), and the sender has not fulfilled the obligation. The main ruling is that one fulfills the obligation even with canned meat, such as canned sardines.
If someone sends his friend a gift of clothing, such as a suit or a tie, he has not fulfilled the obligation of mishloach manot. Jelly beans, yes; a new suit, no, because it has to be food. Even if he sends money and says, “Here, buy whatever mishloach manot you want,” he has not fulfilled the obligation—not for matanot la’evyonim and not for mishloach manot. He must specifically send portions of food and drink.
Likewise, sending a box of cigars or snuff is not considered a portion that fulfills the obligation of mishloach manot. Even though you could say that smoking might be like eating. What about the cigars I brought you on Shabbat?
Likewise, a Torah scholar who sends his friend Torah insights or holy books on Purim has not fulfilled the obligation. Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz sent something to his father-in-law—the Rama, that year, could not, because it was a pandemic, so he sent a book he had written. Sending meat and a bottle of wine fulfills the obligation, since a drink is also considered a portion. Even if he sends two kinds of drink, such as two bottles of wine, he fulfills it. Still, it is better to send two kinds of food, and add wine. It is best to send portions of different kinds of food.
If the food is one kind, even if it is divided among two plates or bowls, he has not fulfilled the obligation. But sending pieces of meat from different parts—white meat and dark meat—is different, even if they come from one animal, if the pieces have different tastes. All the more so, pieces of raw meat that can be used to prepare several kinds of dishes can count as different portions.
That is a good one: two identical pieces of raw meat could be all right because you can prepare them differently. You can roast one and cook the other; you are giving the person an option. So, two identical raw steaks from the butcher—is that mishloach manot because they could become two different dishes? No. We said that after the fact they do not have to be cooked, but you cannot give someone a live chicken. You cannot give him a cow, but you can give him the meat, even if it is raw.
If someone sends his friend fried fish with an egg on top, is that two portions? It is fish with an egg on it; that is one portion. You have to add another. According to some later authorities, fish and egg count as one portion. The same applies if you send mulyata, like a sambusak: it has mezonot and meat, but it is one portion. We just had that mulyata in the… Oh, to stuff the korban Pesach? “Shemo lo baderech kavod.” “U’mimah u’mah nosif min hata’am,” as the portions are understood. Bread and a cooked dish are two portions. A tuna sandwich? I do not know. A sandwich is together, so it is one item. Bread and a piece of meat separately, yes. It is fitting for the mitzvah of mishloach manot to send portions that are valuable and important, according to the means of the giver, to show affection and friendship. There goes jelly beans. Look, here is candy corn and cotton candy. Who eat this? Three years old? Who eats this stuff anymore? Guy comes in, “Hey, Rabbi, I got you a mishloach manot.” Like how do you get you something give me a beautiful one. Here you go, yeah. Doesn't make sense.
If the recipient is very wealthy, it is good to send according to the recipient’s means. It is good for the portions to amount to a meal. My custom, gentlemen, is to go to the store on Erev Purim and buy an ordinary meal: whatever you would need for a regular Purim meal, at a minimum—a loaf of bread, ready-made meats, mustard, whatever you need, and a bottle of wine and condiments. I put it together and take one to Rav Chaim Baruch’s wife. Then I go to a couple of the rabbis, and I have fulfilled the obligation. After that, you can give candy corn, knowing what the person has at home.
My wife should do “smaza,” something that… The best benefit is when the person takes it and eats it: “Oh, wonderful! That’s a Purim meal.” You have given the person pleasure on Purim.
Lechatchilah, it is good to send the two portions in one container, together, rather than one after the other; that is more significant. Some say that one should send two portions and put each portion in a separate container. That is the Ben Ish Chai’s view. The container joins the item, as with Shabbat. It is not required by halachah. The main ruling is that even if he put two portions in one container, he has fulfilled the obligation.
The more one sends portions to friends, the more praiseworthy it is, since this increases affection. In any case, once someone has properly sent portions to one person, he does not need all the other details. Send one properly, and then you can send extras using the leniencies we just discussed. You can send them in one container, or send two bottles of wine. You can rely on those leniencies for the additional portions.
“Can you fulfill the obligation by giving it to a woman?” We will get to that. The Shulchan Aruch says that a married woman, yes; not an almanah. A widow could be like marriage, because of sevlonot—the gifts given after the marriage, not the kiddushin. People may think this or that. A married woman: perhaps it is not tzanua, but that is what the halachah discussed regarding a widow. Giving to a friend is only a mitzvah enhancement.
It is good not to have the Purim meal before fulfilling the mitzvah of mishloach manot. Oh, so mishloach manot first, then the Purim meal, and matanot la’evyonim first as well. That is what we do here in the shul: we bring mishloach manot, give it, give matanot la’evyonim, and then go home for the meal. And the intentions as well.
But it is permitted to taste a little beforehand. The current custom is to include sweets in mishloach manot. Candy, yes; that is what they sell. In the past, that was a disgrace—“What are you doing?”—but today that is what people do. You should support our member Shalom Benyaminov. He has an unbelievable candy store and the best mishloach manot you can buy. If you can buy from one of our people, you might as well.
A person fulfills the obligation of mishloach manot by sending it to his rabbi. “Ish lere’ehu”—you might have thought otherwise, but he fulfills it. There is also a positive mitzvah of honoring Torah by sending to one’s rabbi. The rabbi can also send to a student. A son who sends to his father, and a father who sends to his son, also fulfill the obligation. A group of Torah scholars once pooled a large amount of money and bought a large mishloach manot for their rabbi. They fulfilled the obligation, even though each person’s contribution was small, provided that the rabbi received enough for a meal, or enough for two portions.
Here is the novelty: even those who contributed less than the value of two portions—“Guys, I have to... a dollar. A dollar, what is the dollar gonna get?”—fulfilled the obligation if they joined together to buy food with the proper respect for a meal. They participated, and the rabbi accepted it from them. That fulfilled the purpose, and now he has a lot to eat.
The mitzvah of mishloach manot is during the day, not at night. Sometimes organizations send it to you two days before Purim; that does not fulfill the obligation. A woman is obligated in mishloach manot. I imagine the rabbi has received every kind of mishloach manot over the years. The best one was Maxim’s Rai: when he was learning halachot, he sent me a goldfish. It was after the fact; he was trying to find something that would count after the fact. He sent a goldfish in water and a raw potato. Hacham Ovadia said you can send a raw fish and it counts, so Maxim wanted to make sure. He sent a goldfish and a potato. I still remember it; it certainly made an impression.
A woman is obligated in mishloach manot. A married woman does not fulfill her obligation through her husband’s mishloach manot; each should have a share, and she should send. It is better for a man not to send to a woman, and a woman not to send to a man, lest it lead to a doubt about kiddushin. Rather, a man should send to a man and a woman to a woman. The Rama brings this concern: perhaps the gifts are sevlonot, as we said. It is an extra stringency. But that was, if I am not mistaken, regarding a widow. Do you have the Shulchan Aruch in front of you? Tartzav? If she is married, what is the concern? No one is concerned about a married woman; you cannot marry a married woman. Even regarding an unmarried woman, they are not concerned. Tartzav says here: mishloach manot must be sent during the day, not at night; sending before that, on Erev Purim, does not fulfill the obligation, according to the Rambam. A woman is obligated in matanot la’evyonim, and a woman should send to a woman and a man to a man, but not the reverse, lest a man send to a widow and it lead to a doubt.
That is what it sounds like: do not send to any woman, because you might end up sending to a widow and then there could be a doubt. But Hacham Ovadia says that a man should send to a man and a woman to a woman, which is proper anyway.
Children who are dependent on their father’s table, boys from age 13 and up and girls from age 12 and up, are obligated to send mishloach manot to their friends. Even younger children who have reached the age of education should be trained to perform the mitzvah. A person who supports himself from charity is also obligated in mishloach manot. If he is poor and has no Purim meal except for these portions, what does he do? He exchanges with his poor friend: one sends his meal to the other, and the other sends his meal in return. In this way they fulfill “mishloach manot ish lere’ehu.”
But if someone gives his friend portions and a gift on the condition that the friend return them, that does not work. If you say, “I am giving this to you on the condition that you give it back to me,” you have not fulfilled the obligation. If a person takes his own portions and brings them to his friend, he has fulfilled it; he does not have to send them through a messenger. Some say that mishloach manot must be sent through a messenger.
Likewise, if he puts the portions in the hands of a minor who has not reached the age of mitzvot, or even sends them through a non-Jew, such as a UPS driver, he has fulfilled the obligation. Normally, agency does not work through these people, but here the purpose is that it gets from A to B, and the recipient receives it. Sending portions to a minor does not fulfill the obligation. He is the recipient, so you have to send to an adult.
When someone sends portions through a messenger, he does not have to check whether they reached the person they were sent to. We assume that the messenger carried out his mission. But with a minor, you have to check, because a minor is not reliable. If someone sends portions to an important person, the recipient’s acceptance does not itself fulfill the sender’s obligation. The benefit to the sender from the important person’s acceptance is not considered the important person having given him anything. In any case, he still has to send.
If someone sends mishloach manot to his friend and the friend refuses to accept it—“I don’t want it”—then the friend has declined it. “Nu berachah?” If he refuses to accept it, the sender should leave it and fulfill the mitzvah with someone else.
This happened one year: I sent mishloach manot to Kambaros’s wife and rang the bell. She was not there. I thought she was reading the Megillah, because she goes to read it in the morning. Sometimes I miss her, so I left it by the door. The next day she called me: “Thank you for the mishloach manot.” I said, “Oh, you just got it now?” She said, “Yes, I was in Lakewood for Purim.” I was in Deal. Was I yotzei? She did not get it until the next day! I am glad I gave more than one. I am just saying: I am the yotzei then. She did not get it.
If someone sends his friend sweets, even if the friend does not eat them—for example, he has diabetes, or he is vegan and cannot eat any of it—he has fulfilled the obligation. What if someone sends nuts to people who are allergic to nuts? Give them to his family.
If someone sends a chicken that was slaughtered, and afterward it is found to be a treifah (non-kosher animal), he has to send another one. You have to call them up to find out how it turned out. If the recipient returned it, the sender fulfilled the obligation of mishloach manot.
If someone sends mishloach manot anonymously, he has not fulfilled the obligation. Sometimes the sender does not mean to send it anonymously; the sticker falls off, especially when people reuse the packaging and tear off the label. But the point is “ish lere’ehu”: who do you love? You do not love an anonymous person. It is not a mitzvah to be anonymous on Purim, so he should send it again.
If someone sends mishloach manot to a Sephardi with non-kosher meat, he has not fulfilled the obligation. What if he gives it to an Ashkenazi? He said he has a lot of kosher food, so he can give it to someone else. That is, I guess, what you give. Nuts are kosher. “Or she’ein Yaakov.” No, he is a Sephardi.
Someone who has already fulfilled his obligation of mishloach manot and wants to send his friend peirot shevi’it (seventh-year produce) may do so. With seventh-year produce, you have to eat it, so tell the recipient to make sure to eat it and not throw it away. There are rules about eating seventh-year produce. Someone who wants to give up sending mishloach manot of seventh-year produce may send something else, if he has already fulfilled the obligation in another way. The return of seventh-year produce to the sender is only an act of kindness to a friend. There is a question because one is not allowed to benefit from seventh-year produce: if a person sends you mishloach manot and you now send him seventh-year produce, it could seem as if you are benefiting from it, because it is like a debt being repaid. He says it is all right if you have already fulfilled the obligation; it is an act of kindness, not a transaction.
If the portions sent to a friend are stolen or lost, the sender has to send other portions. The friend never got them. If someone sends mishloach manot to a poor person, he fulfills two mitzvot: “mishloach manot ish lere’ehu” and matanot la’evyonim. Afterward, he should give another gift to another poor person, because he still has to give two gifts to the poor. One act of mishloach manot to a poor person can count for both, so he needs only one more gift. Some are stringent and say not to do that, and it is good to be concerned for their view. Therefore, give another two gifts to the poor; according to some opinions, the first way is acceptable.
A resident of an unwalled city, who reads the Megillah on the 14th, sends mishloach manot to a friend in Yerushalayim, or reads the Megillah on the 15th. For example, you live in Tel Aviv, where the day is the 14th, and you call a rabbi in Israel: “Do me a favor, go to the store, make mishloach manot, and send it to the rabbi in Yerushalayim.” You are sending it on the 14th to someone who will eat it on the 15th.
A resident of an unwalled city who reads the Megillah on the 14th and sends mishloach manot to a friend in Yerushalayim, who reads on the 15th and is known to intend to eat it on the 15th, has fulfilled the obligation. He sends it on the 14th. For example, someone in Ramot sends it on the 14th to someone in the part of the city that observes the 15th, knowing that he will eat it on the 15th. And the reverse? He sent it on the 14th, so the other person received it on the 14th.
A resident of Yerushalayim who sends mishloach manot on the 14th to the other cities of Eretz Yisrael, which read the Megillah on the 14th, has fulfilled his obligation. Go according to the recipient. No, it sounds like the sender too. A resident of Yerushalayim observes the 15th, but he gave it on the 14th to someone who reads on the 14th. In the other case, too, he gave it on the 14th to the Yerushalayim resident. It is not only the recipient; the sender matters too. Either way, the recipient eats it on the 15th—that is what the rabbi said. He gave it on the 14th, and it reached the person who eats it on the 15th. Follow the recipient. As long as the recipient gets it on a day when he can benefit from it, and he benefits from it, he is fine.
That is not quite the same as the case where someone whose day is the 14th sends something to a Yerushalayim resident on the 15th, after the time has passed for the sender. But it sounds like he sent it on the 14th. A resident of an unwalled city who reads on the 14th sent portions on the 14th to his friend in Yerushalayim, and the friend will eat them on the 15th. The sender is going according to his own day. Either way, the recipient has to eat them on Purim. If he knows the recipient intends to eat them on the 15th, he has fulfilled his obligation. But if he sends portions to them on the 15th, he has not, since for them the day of Purim joy has passed.
So a Yerushalayim resident cannot give them to a Tel Aviv resident on the 15th. He can give them earlier. A Yerushalayim resident can send them before the 15th to someone whose day is the 14th, and the recipient can eat them on the 14th. When should we send to a Yerushalayim resident? On the 14th or the 15th? You can send either, but the best way is to send on the 14th and have them eat it on the 15th. That is what we should do.
The mitzvah is to give two gifts to two poor people on Purim, meaning one gift to each poor person. One fulfills the obligation with money, a cooked dish, or something worth money, but not with clothing. Interesting: it has to be something worth the value of food. Not a suit or a tie—you cannot eat it. By law, one perutah would be enough. Nowadays, one agorah is worth as much as a perutah, since there is no smaller coin. Today, a perutah is a coin of five agorot. Who is going to give five agorot? Probably that is the smallest coin they mint. A God-fearing person should give generously.
If someone gives two gifts to a poor man and his poor wife, he has fulfilled the obligation. The same applies if he gives to a father and son who are dependent on the same table; that counts as two. If two poor people come before him and he gives one poor person a large coin equal to the value of two gifts, with half for him and half for his friend, he has fulfilled the obligation. He gave the money to one person, but that person will make change for him, so it is all right. But if he gives two gifts to one poor person, he has not fulfilled the obligation. One may fulfill the obligation by giving to a poor minor. Giving a gift on condition that it be returned does not work.
We are not particular about the Purim money: whoever stretches out his hand, we give to him. It is better for a person to increase his gifts to the poor. The greater part of the Purim budget should go to matanot la’evyonim. If you have $1,000 allotted for Purim, the lion’s share should be for gifts to the poor, and the rest for mishloach manot, the meal, and costumes. What about giving money to the children? Giving children money on Purim is just to increase joy, learning kiyyemu vekiblu.
The mitzvah of matanot la’evyonim is during the day, not at night. What about the non-Jews who line up? If you know they are non-Jews, give to them for the sake of peace. Do we know that they are non-Jews? Some of them probably are, but we give for the sake of peace. Do it after reading the Megillah. Give them, you know, the counterfeit bills. In other words, give matanot la’evyonim after reading the Megillah.
You may not take matanot la’evyonim from ma’aser money. The original obligation—the first $10—has to be from money that is not ma’aser. Anything beyond the amount of the obligation does not have to be. Let’s assume the minimum is $5, enough to buy a pizza, french fries, and a soda. Whatever the required amount is—it is probably even less than $5, but let’s say $5 is enough. You gave $5, so you fulfilled your obligation. That amount has to come from clean money, but anything after that is not obligatory.
“Rabbi, the Rabbi is our agent because we give the money the day before, or people do it online, to make sure that the Rabbi distributes it after the Megillah in the morning. Is the Rabbi our agent, or should we also give him money that day?” The mitzvah is not to give the money; the mitzvah is to distribute it. When the Rabbi gives those checks, it is for everybody. If you explicitly said, when you began setting aside ma’aser, that the additional amount would be ma’aser, that is different. Okay, let's say giving you a ma'aser bli neder, fine.
What if the recipient does not cash the check? If you give a check to someone, he can go to the bank. The bank is open 24 hours a day now; he can use a machine or a cashing place. These people can get the cash before they leave the shul. The person who comes in with the machine can cash it, or the recipient can call a friend. If he does not cash it, that is his choice; he can deposit it on the phone. Today there are ways to do it, so they do not have to worry as much as they did in the old days, when the banks were closed.
If a poor person owes you $100 and you say, “Keep it; that is for matanot la’evyonim,” you have not fulfilled the obligation. He did not receive anything, because forgiving a debt is not considered giving. The same law applies to kiddushin with a loan. If a woman owes you $100 and you say, “Keep the $100; behold, you are betrothed to me,” you have not given her anything new, and she is not betrothed. “Where is the ring?” “No, I forgive the debt.” Even if the loan was written in a document, giving him the document back does not work.
If someone gives money to a charity collector who distributes it to the poor that day, he has fulfilled the obligation of matanot la’evyonim, even if the poor person does not know where the money came from. On the contrary, it is better if he does not know, because then there is no embarrassment. In any case, the giver has fulfilled his obligation.
If a poor person receives matanot la’evyonim on Purim and wants to buy clothes or shoes for himself or his home, he may do whatever he wants with the money, even if it was given for the meal. You cannot give him shoes directly; you have to give something that can be turned into food, such as money or something worth money. But he has the right to do what he wants with it.
It is a mitzvah to increase the Purim meal, and one fulfills the obligation with one meal. Lechatchilah, one should eat bread. How does one fulfill the obligation of the meal? He should eat meat and prepare a fine meal according to his means, and drink wine until he becomes intoxicated and falls asleep. That is Hacham Maran’s opinion, like the Rambam: until you fall asleep. Tell someone, “Arur Haman, Arur Mordechai.” There is no difference; you are sleeping. You did it.
It is preferable to seek out the meat of a domesticated animal, not chicken. Some say one does not fulfill the obligation with poultry or fish, because joy is only with the meat of a domesticated animal. Women are obligated in the Purim meal, and they should drink only a little wine. Ladies, a little wine—not to the point of losing proper conduct.
A woman whose immersion night falls on Purim night should be careful when eating meat because it can get stuck between the teeth. It is permitted for her to eat meat because it is a mitzvah, but she should clean her teeth well. That applies to Motza’ei Purim, when her immersion night is then. If her immersion night is Motza’ei Purim and she has the Purim meal on Purim night, she has not fulfilled the obligation with that meal. The later authorities say one should have a meal, but it does not fulfill the obligation, because it says “yemei mishteh.” In any case, one should increase the meal on Purim night as well. You are breaking the fast anyway, so naturally you have a nice meal. It does not have to be meat at night.
There is a good custom to eat seeds, because Esther ate seeds in the palace, where there was no kosher food, and then she ate on Purim night. It is good to have the Purim meal together with one’s friends and household, with family, in the morning. Even a mourner for a father or mother within twelve months may attend a Purim meal outside his home. If there is musical entertainment, he should not attend. If drinking wine will cause him to miss a mitzvah, such as Birkat HaMazon or Arvit, then he should not become intoxicated.
During the seven days of mourning, he should not go to a festive gathering. During the thirty days, he should not attend a meal except in his family’s home. After thirty days, within the twelve months, he may attend a mitzvah meal without music. Any mitzvah meal—milah, pidyon, anything—is permitted as long as there is no music. Can he invite someone? Yes.
It is proper to learn Torah for an hour before the meal or during the meal. “La-Yehudim hayetah orah”—“orah” is Torah—and then “umishteh vesimchah.” It is proper to increase songs and praises. It is good to thank Hashem for all the good.
When setting the table for the Purim meal, one does not have to leave an empty space as a remembrance of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. It is the only meal of the year for which you do not have to leave such a space. Even on Shabbat, do they leave a place for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash? We have to? I said we have to? Someone has been saying this the whole time, and I never did it. What do they call it? You leave an empty place, without a dish. I see people being particular about this? I have not seen anyone do it.
What do we do in practice? We never did it, Rabbi. They leave a place where they normally put food, but no place setting; they do not put food there, as a remembrance of the destruction. “We’re not serving dessert tonight.” What about that fellow? Put it on the table. “We’re not serving dessert tonight”—that is a remembrance of the destruction. All for the boss. He gave the money to charity; he did not save the money. Leave one dish out. “No Jell-O tonight, gentlemen,” as a remembrance of the destruction. Good, keep that in mind.
What caused the destruction? This year, when do they celebrate in Yerushalayim? They celebrate on the 15th; it is a three-day Purim this year. Wait, the 15th is Shabbat. I understand; it is a three-day Purim now: Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It is a long weekend. We will see.
He says that even though someone setting the table for a meal leaves out a little, as it says in the Shulchan Aruch, open up tav-kuf-samech. Is that the one? Tav-kuf-samech? Maybe. Tav, kuf, samech. Maran says that when the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, the sages of that generation enacted that people should not build a complete building, but should leave something incomplete. Likewise, when setting the table for guests, one leaves something out and leaves an empty space. Is that only for guests? This applies on weekdays; Shabbat and Yom Tov meals are included.
And why not the Purim meal? Even at a mitzvah meal, such as a brit milah or wedding, one leaves something out: one does not put out all the dishes appropriate for the meal, but leaves out one of them. “Where is the rice?” “Don’t you know there is a destruction, buddy?” “Where’s the sashimi?” “It’s in the kitchen.” He says that even if you leave out kasa de-harsena, the sardines, you have left something out. But the absence has to be noticeable. If you leave an empty space, people will realize another dish could have been there. Then it counts. It is a big novelty.
So, in practice, how do you do it? No techinah? Fine, no techinah. Someone who eats techinah might miss it, so I will leave out something else. Seventeen salads! You bring out the dish and people ask, “What happened? Where is it?” That is the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. What do you think of that? Would you leave that one out? Leave out the one we do not eat? You left out the best one! It does not say which one you have to leave out. They mention Al HaNissim in Birkat HaMazon.
“Hacham, did you say that this year, for Seudah Shelishit (third Shabbat meal), we have to make sure to have it early?” We will discuss it; we will get to it. They mention Al HaNissim in Birkat HaMazon. If someone forgot and remembered after saying “Baruch Attah Hashem al ha’aretz ve’al hamazon,” he has fulfilled his obligation and does not need to repeat it. He can say “Harachaman,” “Harachaman hu ya’aseh lanu nissim,” in the days of Mordechai and Esther, and that Hashem performed miracles and wonders with them. Some say “nes venifla,” but you should not say that; say “nissim veniflaot,” as in our version.
Someone who continues the Purim meal into the night of the 15th, because they are the Yerushalayim residents, still says Al HaNissim. It follows when you began. But if he prayed Arvit in the middle of the meal, that is it. Once it has become night, you cannot go back and say Al HaNissim; that would be contradictory.
Someone who eats pastry, or one of the seven species, in the quantity of a kezayit, does not mention “vesamcheinu beyom haPurim hazeh” in the blessing after eating. They did not institute that addition.
At a groom’s meal on Purim, if there are no new guests, one does not recite the seven wedding blessings, assuming all the other conditions for those blessings are met. It is a mitzvah to gladden children on Purim too. Give them candies and all that. Someone who completes a tractate on Purim and wants to make the meal a siyum may do so. There is no concern about combining mitzvot. Let him make a siyum.
Although an onen is forbidden to eat meat or drink wine, as we know, in any case, on Purim an onen is permitted to do so. The positive commandment of an individual’s mourning does not override the positive commandment of the community from the words of the Prophets, since the mitzvah of Purim joy is from Divrei Kabbalah. The Chatam Sofer famously explained that Divrei Kabbalah are like the words of the Prophets, so they are closer to Torah. Who established it? The Sages did—but which Sages? The Prophets, so it is called Divrei Kabbalah, a different, higher level. The individual mourner does not override the community’s obligation. No, he is saying that the mourner has to eat and fulfill the obligation.
Mourning is not observed publicly on Purim, either at night or during the day, but private mourning practices do apply. For example, a man should not have marital relations on Purim, since that is a private matter. A mourner is obligated to put on tefillin, of course, even on Purim. The exception is the day of death and burial, which is the day of burial. He does not put on tefillin even after the burial on the day of death.
In Yerushalayim, they customarily do not serve the meal of consolation during Chol HaMoed, except for a father or mother. They give them a piece of cake and a cup of tea. The same applies on Purim: it is better to serve only cake and coffee, not eggs. They do not want eggs on Chol HaMoed or Purim.
A mourner, even within the seven days, is obligated in mishloach manot and matanot la’evyonim. This is a major dispute in Maran, and Rav Ovadia follows the bottom line: he is obligated even during the seven days, since a mourner is obligated in all the mitzvot. It is good to send simple portions, such as meat and fish, not delicacies or sweets. Our Ashkenazi brothers have the custom not to send mishloach manot to a mourner during the twelve months for a father or mother, and during the thirty days for other relatives, since he is not allowed to receive gifts. Sephardim customarily send mishloach manot as usual. Not everyone has this custom; it is Hacham Ovadia’s ruling.
I told you that I once sent mishloach manot to Hacham Avraham Raful, alav hashalom. We used to learn with him in the kollel, and we were very close. I brought it to the door and said, “This is mishloach manot for the rebbetzin, from my rebbetzin to your rebbetzin.” He said, “Ah, don’t be a wise guy!” I thought I had outsmarted him: it was not for him, but from the rebbetzin to his wife. “Get out of here; don’t be a wise guy. You’re making a joke of me.” He would not accept it. He said, “Come in,” but when I was leaving he said, “Take that, take that, take that, take that, get out of here.” In any case, if the mourner is poor, one should also send to him.
So Hacham Ovadia ruled that one should send to a mourner and that the mourner should send, even during the twelve months. Should he now be particular not to accept? Hacham Ovadia says to accept. But Rav Hacham Avraham said—there is a contradiction in Maran. Maran contradicts himself: in Purim he says one thing, and in the laws of mourning he says another. Which is primary? In Tartzav, section daled, Maran ruled that a mourner is obligated in mishloach manot. That is also the ruling of Maharam miRothenburg, the Mordechai, and all those rabbis who say he is obligated.
However, he also says that the mourner should not send mishloach manot, only receive it. We have only Maran’s words: the mourner is obligated to send, since he is obligated; nevertheless, it is good not to send a lot. The Rema wrote that one does not send portions to a mourner, as will be explained in Yoreh De’ah. The Gra wrote that the same applies to greeting him. A gift is like greeting him. The Taz wrote that since the Rema in Yoreh De’ah says the custom is to be lenient about greetings, one can be lenient about giving gifts too.
The Magen Avraham wrote that, according to the conclusion, the main view is like Maran’s ruling in Yoreh De’ah, where the dispute is whether there is mourning on Purim, on neither the 14th nor the 15th, at least publicly. Maran HaChida wrote this in Shiyurei Berachah and ruled this way in practice, as did most later authorities. Therefore, one should rule that they may send mishloach manot to a mourner on Purim, because if they do not send him portions, it is as if he were publicly observing mourning.
It is also explained in the Yerushalmi Berachot that throughout the land of Yehudah they used to greet mourners on Shabbat. If the person said, “I am within the year and cannot say shalom,” they would still say “Shabbat Shalom.” It could be that this custom of greetings no longer applies. According to this, it is permitted to send mishloach manot to a mourner within the twelve months for his father or mother. That is what Rav Chida holds.
Know, however, that even according to someone who is stringent and does not send mishloach manot to a mourner, if the wife is the mourner, it is certainly permitted to send to her husband, since he is not a mourner. That is why I did it the other way.
In Yaskil Avdi, Hacham Ovadia Hadaya discusses mishloach manot on Purim when the sender would be distressed if the mourner refused to accept it. The mourner does not have permission to be stringent about this. He says that if the sender would be distressed and the mourner does not want to accept it, the mourner should accept it. The person sending it would be distressed if it were not received. He says there is no permission to be stringent; go ahead and accept it. Make the person feel good.
Hacham Ovadia Hadaya writes: “Therefore, I agree that it is permitted to send to someone whose wife is a mourner, and there is no need to be stringent.” So he was referring to that case. Hacham Ovadia was discussing that case. The husband should not accept it in that case, even though his wife is in mourning? He is going to make the person send it again and feel bad. Do we really need to be that stringent? Hacham Ovadia is more lenient: let them send it to the mourner himself. Is that straightforward? No, it is a novelty.
A mourner who is a musician—can they bring him to play at the Purim meal while he is within twelve months? He is working. Work is permitted on Purim. Where people have a custom not to work, one should not work. If someone does work in a place with that custom, he will never see a sign of blessing from that work. Do not go to work. But building for joy, such as building a wedding hall, or planting an attractive shade tree and similar things, is permitted. The custom everywhere is not to do work on Purim. At night, work is permitted.
By law, one may do business. Our work is not farming; stock trading or business involves a few phone calls. In any case, it is good to be stringent, unless one is selling in order to earn money for the Purim meal; that is permitted. For someone who has nothing to eat, everything is permitted. Anything permitted on Chol HaMoed as a lost-prevention matter is also permitted on Purim, even where there is a custom not to work. One may shave on Purim if one did not do so beforehand. One may have work done by a non-Jew. One may write Torah insights, rulings, and letters. One may perform work needed for Purim. In a place where the custom is not to work on both days, the 14th and the 15th, there is no such custom; each person follows his own day, the 14th or the 15th.
The custom of dressing up and wearing costumes on Purim is not prohibited. However, a man may not wear a woman’s garment, and a woman may not wear a man’s garment. The Rema was lenient. It is also proper not to do this with children. It is forbidden to bring a magician. He is against magicians. Unless the person is a non-Jew and says beforehand that it is only an optical illusion. We did it once, but he gave the speech beforehand; he was Jewish, though. There is no leniency like that.
One may marry a woman on Purim; there is no concern about combining one joy with another. Even if they hold the wedding meal on Purim, that is fine. As a pious practice, though, it is good to have the meal on the night after Purim.
Someone who drank wine on Purim, became intoxicated, began dancing, and in the process injured his friend or ruined his garments is obligated to pay. A person is always responsible for his actions, as they say. Leave the leap year aside.
Now, the laws of Purim Meshulash (three-part Purim), which is this year. We are going to have to read now. Here is the section. “Even though in Yerushalayim, a city walled from the days of Yehoshua, one must read the Megillah there on the 15th of Adar every year, in a year when Purim for the walled cities falls…” Hold on, let’s close the book before we get to this. What do we do this year about the meal? Let’s answer that question.
Purim falls on a Friday. If you have the meal in the morning, how good and pleasant; what difference does it make? Or have it after midday, even though normally we do not have a meal after midday. Pray Minchah at 12:30, or whatever time Minchah Gedolah is, and have the meal. What are you going to do? Have it before… You want to have it beforehand, call it Seudat HaRashash. You mean with your wife and family? Then do it afterward. Pray Minchah Gedolah. There is no stringency against having a meal on Purim. Eat it, and not the se’udat Purim, they're not—it's not Purim, it's not—all bets are off. Open up Maran.
The earliest Minchah for Friday is 12:39. So we are going to pray at 12:40; our minyan is at 12:40. The money for Purim, the law of the Purim meal. One o’clock is 1:37, Mincha Merkazit.
“A Purim meal held at night does not fulfill the obligation. A person is obligated to become intoxicated. He says Al HaNissim in Birkat HaMazon. The Rema says: Maran says that when Purim falls on Friday, one should have the meal in the morning. The Mishnah Berurah explains that ideally this means before midday, for the honor of Shabbat. Whoever wants always to have it in the morning may do so. If he did not have the meal in the morning, he should have it before midday, at least before the tenth hour of the day, and after the fact he may have the meal until sunset.” That is it. What about the Purim smorgasbord people? Those are the people with the drinks.
Ideally, have the meal in the morning, as we do. If you do not want to do that, have it at 11:00, before midday. If you do not want to have it before midday, have it after Minchah, but before the tenth hour of the day. I think he gives you the time for eating on MyZmanim, the latest time to have a meal on Erev Shabbat. The latest meal is 2:56. Okay, 2:56. Then he says that after the fact, one can have the meal until sunset. Al hapachot. Whatever works and is convenient for your family. Tell your wife, “We’ll finish in the morning.”
So what does the Rabbi think? God willing, we are going to pray Minchah at 12:40 and then have the meal at 1:00. Why do we pray Minchah early that day? I already had my meal. Right, I want to have bread, whatever it is, but that is what we do. Visit the rabbi before Minchah, then. If the family is having the meal at 1:00, we will have it right after Minchah. But make it quick: 1:00 to 2:00, not a drawn-out meal, so we are ready for Shabbat. We have to come back; we have a haftarah around 4:00. That means “teh bus.” How long are we waiting? It is 4:00. What are you going to do with the rabbi? Purim is over. Halach, baruch.
Again, if you want to have the meal at 11:00, kol hakavod. I think I am going to move it to 10:30. Good. Again, that does not work for every family. The kids are going around with mishloach manot; the ladies have to go to the 10:30 late Megillah and prepare everything. You have to be wise about it. The Rabbi said, “Make it at 10:00 in the morning,” and then there is no Purim meal, no joy, and she is making an endless meal, not for Shabbat. You have to be wise. If you can do it before… My house does not work on that schedule.
Sunset is 5:45. Make it 10:30; I tried to lobby for a 10:30 meal. No, that does not work. We have to come home, read the Megillah, and the kids have to hear the Megillah. People are coming in and out of the house all morning. There is a sheva berachot on Friday night too. It is easier to do it that way. Every house has to go according to its circumstances. In practice, the goal is to finish by 2:56. Get hamotzi by 2:56 and finish. Sunset is 5:45. But there are other opinions that say to continue into the night, right into Shabbat.
They announce at Shaarei Torah, the kollel there, “Get dressed for Shabbat at 1:00,” and that is it. Come to the kollel ready for Shabbat at 1:00, and they are going to go all out from 1:00 onward. No wives. The last man standing. Oh, no, that is what you meant. I thought they were learning. They learn a little too, I am sure, but that is it. The joy of Purim starts at 1:00. They are ready for Shabbat, but they are not going home. I do not think their wives will let them back home. “Come back at 2:00 at night, smashed. Okay, I’m home. Kiddush.” You see them on the balcony.
What other halachot do you really have to know for Friday besides the meal? Just Shenayim mikra (twice the Scripture), the organization of the day. The other things we need to know: Shenayim mikra in the morning. We are going to pray, so you have to be careful with the drinking. We are going to pray Minchah at 12:00; that is very early. If you plan to eat early, why do you have to pray Minchah early? Just because you are going to drink afterward and want to get Minchah in. You have to be careful to pray Arvit too. Do not become so intoxicated that you cannot pray.
So we are going to have Minchah in the shul, right? The Minchah was to make sure we fit the meal in. If the Rabbi eats the meal afterward, nobody should have a large meal before Minchah anyway. But if we are going to have the meal early, there is not much time. If you are doing it just to make sure you do not get drunk, then if you do not get drunk, you can pray Minchah at 3:00, 4:00, or 5:00, as long as you are not too intoxicated. So we will do Shenayim mikra when we eat at 1:00? No, you should not have a large meal before praying Minchah. That is the regular rule all year long, including Purim. We will do Shenayim mikra first here, then have the meal.
We will read the Megillah from 10:00 to 6:00, let’s say. And party Thursday night, right, Rabbi? Party Thursday night instead of Friday. Okay. What is the COVID situation? I know, but COVID. “Zecher le-COVID, zecher le-COVID.” Anything anybody never wanted to do, now that they have COVID-19, they use it as a way to cancel Purim for the next 100 years. Hatzalah never liked Purim anyway, right? Rightfully so, because they have a lot of work then. That is what I am saying—rightfully so!
What else do we have to know? Shenayim mikra will be right after Shacharit, before the meal. What are we reading? Tetzaveh. We go to the mikveh early. According to the Arizal, you have to finish Shenayim mikra anyway, so you do not have to wait until midday. The mikveh too? You can go to the mikveh after the meal if you want. Usually you wait until midday, but the Arizal says you can do it earlier.
We will start the meal much later. No, I mean we will start it about an hour after Shacharit, after we finish mishloach manot, giving matanot la’evyonim, and reading Shenayim mikra. We will go inside and have the meal—what time, 8:30? 8:30. This year that is early. Usually we are later, but we are already early. We will have the meal by 8:15 or 8:30 at the latest; it may be done by 7:30 or 7:40. Whatever it is, 8:30 at the latest. How long will we sit, an hour? Be ready for the meal. What about Daf Yomi? HaDaf Yomi, that is the question. Before netz? What would you do before? We do that anyway.
Now, with netz, are we starting from 10:00 to 5:00? From 10:00 to 6:00. Okay, we have to come early, at 5:00. Friday night you can sleep; do not worry. Sunrise is 6:34, so we could start Thursday night. Thursday night? Come on; even midday is not here yet. Why are you starting netz earlier, Rabbi? We are just doing the daf early. But why? Sal just said we are starting netz ten minutes earlier than usual. No, compared with now; it is always 35 minutes before, but it is earlier than now. Okay, so we do the daf before netz every day. What is the difference? Soon we are going to switch to the summer schedule, after Purim. We learn and pray. But Purim will still be early. When you switch, I am back on daily, by the way. That gives us an incentive to switch quicker, Norman.
So that is what we will do. What else do we have to talk about for Purim? Shenayim mikra, mikveh, the meal, and the latest time, 2:56. But, by the way, even that is not the only view; you can go until the end. If someone calls and invites me to a meal at 3:00, I can sit down and have the meal, with meat and wine and everything. He says you can go until sunset. That is the law. Fifteen cups. What else do we need for Friday? You just have to be careful about Shabbat. It is tricky. Be wise, and do not be so stringent that you make your wives crazy.
That is the challenge of this Purim: the whole purpose of the holiday is mishloach ish lere’ehu and matanot la’evyonim. If your wife is upset with you, what have you done? You made friends with the neighbor and the poor people, and your wife wants to throw you out because you changed everything. You have to arrange it so she is preparing all these meals. Then I have a schedule. The woman’s schedule does not always match the husband’s. You are having your meal right after this, and then you are done; do whatever you want. As I always say, do whatever you want. Invite whoever you want and bring whoever you want. I have my meal in the morning. Family, as you say—everyone in the family, good, come. I am happy. I am just saying this because someone texted me, rightfully so. That is why I am discussing it with the men.
Our daily halachot address this, so maybe they should send them again. Unfortunately, many people are in mourning for the year and do not know how to observe Purim, the meal, or mishloach manot. They suggested giving halachot on this. I will do that tomorrow, for people outside. The halachot of Hacham Ovadia say that a mourner, even for a mother or father within twelve months, has to give and receive, give and take. Do you mean the thirty-day period and the seven days? Yes. Hacham Ovadia holds that there is no mourning on Purim, even publicly, so the mourner is obligated to give during the seven days. Receiving during the period from seven to thirty days is the tricky part. Giving, yes. Receiving within the twelve months, yes. What else do you want to know? Mishloach manot, yes. That is the main thing he has to know. He said even an onen.
I believe Pesachim, daf 101, discusses what happens if your meal continues into Friday night. What does it say there? There is a lot of discussion. You remove the table or cover it, and then begin Kiddush (sanctification over wine) again. Cover the table, say Kiddush, and continue. That sounds like Jose Reyes. Yes, Jose Reyes. Some rabbis still do that, but we are not accustomed to it. Technically, you can do pores mapah umekadesh. That will never work for them. They pray in the middle of the meal. The backyard minyan—they love it. He loves it, too. Come on over; there is pores mapah umekadesh. If you go there on Friday night, they will be in the middle of the Purim meal. The same table, he makes Kiddush in the middle, and they continue. Okay, Maran.
By the way, Hacham Ovadia, alav hashalom, does not discuss Purim of the 14th very much, because he was in Yerushalayim. He does not discuss these meals much. He does discuss the meal and says to have it in the morning. Let me look at the notes, and then we will continue. It can fall on Gimmel, Daled, or Vav. Gimmel, Daled, Vav, Alef? Those are the days it can fall on. So Daled, Hei, Vav. It cannot fall on Shabbat, Friday, or Wednesday. Let’s see what he says about the Purim meal here. Thursday can have it. He does not say much about the timing. On Purim day, Purim morning. We can have the meal next door. Why not?
He says in the Siddur HaRashash that one should have it in the morning, and this is brought in Kaf HaChaim. The Shelah also wrote that since one intends to make the days days of feasting and joy, he should have the meal in the morning, and he will receive reward. Seder HaYom says that one should gather the whole household to eat the Purim meal together joyfully, because a person cannot do it alone; he should make a fine meal. That is all. He says to have it with his household in the morning.
Hacham David discusses it in Torat HaMoadim. He writes that it is a mitzvah from Divrei Kabbalah to eat a fine meal on Purim, and it is good to eat the meat of a domesticated animal. By law, one can eat bread. One should eat until he does not know, until he becomes intoxicated.
Some people customarily have the Purim meal in the morning, before the time of Minchah Gedolah. Others have it in the afternoon, after midday, preceded by Minchah. If Purim falls on Erev Shabbat, they eat the Purim meal in the morning for the honor of Shabbat, so that they can eat the Shabbat meal with an appetite. If he did not have the meal in the morning, he should have it before midday, or at least before the tenth hour of the day. After the fact, he can have it until sunset.
So it starts before the time; that is not after the fact. He does it beforehand and then continues. The Mishnah Berurah says that if Purim falls on Erev Shabbat, the meal should be before midday. But people who follow the Rashash, may his merit protect us, have it in the afternoon. We know that we have it in the afternoon. Then he brings the Samech-Mem Sefer and says to have it before the tenth hour, according to Nahar Mitzrayim. He also writes that the custom in Yerushalayim is to have the meal after Minchah, and after plag haMinchah to stop eating and drinking and accept Shabbat. That is Nahar Mitzrayim: they have the meal after Minchah, stop eating and drinking after plag, and accept Shabbat. So they pray Arvit at plag.
In any case, it certainly seems that lechatchilah this should not be done, since even in other years it is not proper to have the meal after midday. I do not know why these people have it after midday. Why not pray Minchah and Ma’ariv? He also writes that the earlier one hastens to have the meal in the morning, the more praiseworthy it is. That is the Shelah. The Pri Megadim says the same. The Gra says it is proper to intend to have the Purim meal in the morning. The Rashash says this too; it is proper according to the sod. That was the custom of my teacher, Maran: Hacham Ovadia had the Purim meal in the morning every year.
In any case, after the fact, even when Purim falls on Erev Shabbat, the Mishnah Berurah says one may have the meal until sunset, and that is the main ruling. Ad kan, Baruch Hashem le-olam amen ve-amen (Blessed is Hashem forever, amen and amen). Stop here, boys. Beautiful. When was the last time Purim fell on a Friday? Seven years ago? Six years ago? Eight years ago? Ask someone Chalabi what they did 50 years ago.