Purim

Hi, Our neighbour and friend sadly lost his wife last week to a long illness. They have 3 young children. Is it appropriate for us to send them Mishloach Manot? I have read that we should address it to the family, but what is the appropriate protocol and what would be correct to write on the message? If we can we would like to deliver it as soon as possible. Many thanks & Purim Sameach

I have always understood that a person who has lost a parent within the past year is not supposed to receive Mishloach Manot. There is a single middle aged woman on my block who lives by herself. She is a non-observant Jew who knows almost nothing about Judaism or holidays. I am not a close friend of her because she mostly keeps to herself. But I have given her a Mishloach Manot every year I have lived here and it has always made her happy. Less than a year ago, she lost her mother to old age. Her mother was the person she was closest to and now she is crushed. I don’t see her often, but when I do, I can tell she is quite depressed. Common sense tells me depriving her of her annual Mishloach Manot just when she is grieving would be cruel. Regardless of this law, I just cannot see myself following it when it’ll only upset her as she is going through a rough time.   What is the proper thing to do?

I have some hearing loss that causes me not to hear the pitch of male voices clearly. But I can still hear female voices very well unassisted. My audiologist explained this to me well. I am in the process of acquiring a hearing aid that will correct the problem, but it takes several weeks to order and I won’t get it by Purim. There are women’s megillah readings in town open equally to men and women. Can I fulfill the mitzvah of hearing a megillah reading by listening to a woman read it?

Dear Rabbi, What is the story of Purim? Thanks and Happy Purim!

Dear Rabbi, Is it true that God is not mentioned in the Book of Esther? If so, why not? Thanks.

How do you spell the gifts that we give each other on Purim? Is it Mishloach Manot or Mischloach Manot? Thanks.

Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. The Artscroll "Purim" brings "Oheiv Yisrael" as saying that when Haman requested Achashverosh's permission to kill out the Jews, he used the word "l'abdam," which can mean either "to destroy" or "to enslave" depending on whether the word has an aleph or an ayin, both words being pronounced the same. Haman used this word because if Achashverosh balked at killing such a large portion of the population of the kingdom, Haman could say he meant "to enslave," rather than "to kill." But this only makes sense if Haman was speaking in loshon kodesh to the king. Was Haman in fact speaking to the king in loshon kodesh, rather than Persian? Thanks a lot.

Hi Rabbi, I have an Israeli friend, and we had an argument over the Hamentashen. I said that the Hamentashen symbolize Haman’s hat with the three corners. She said it symbolizes Haman’s ears. She believes this because she speaks Hebrew, and apparently the translation is “ears”. Please settle this Jewish scholarly debate. What does the Talmud say on this? Also, who would have the greater authority on Jewish theology, a Bronx NY Jew, an Israeli Jew, an Orthodox Jew, or a Chassidic Jew? Thank you for your support!

Last week when I attended the Megillah reading, there was a woman in the synagogue who was knitting throughout the reading. No one bothered her about it. When I saw that, it made me regret not bringing my own knitting project to work on. I find the Megillah reading boring and I always struggle to stay awake as I sometimes doze off for part of it. If I were knitting during the reading, it would surely help keep me awake. Do you think it would be okay for me in the future to knit during the reading to prevent myself from falling asleep? If I doze, I would miss some of the words of the reading, but if I knit, I can keep myself awake and alert for every word.

Hi Rabbi, what do you think is an inspiring lesson we can learn from the Purim story to improve our everyday lives? Thanks and Happy Purim!