Shalach Manos & Fancy Seuda vs. Matanos L'evyonim

It's that time of year again ... Time to figure out a theme, get costumes, plan a gourmet meal, give out shalach manos to 500 of your nearest and dearest friends, and then complain you don't have money to give for tzedakah.

People have it so backwards.  Matanos l'evyonim needs to come first and foremost.  It's more important to give food or money to a needy person than it is to have the cutest themed shalach manos or the most unique costume ever.

IMHO, ok, cancel that, cuz my opinion is never humble, IN MY OPINION, figure out how the meal and shalach manos are costing you, and then double that. Give the same amount to matanos l'evyonim.

Sheindy, 8 years old, saw an Od Yosef Chai video today.  She was explaining to me how kids go to sleep hungry.  How they don't have bubble gum and other treats that we take for granted.  Today I got an email from Colel Chabad about giving to the needy in Eretz Yisroel.  Did you know that $54 will give a COMPLETE purim seuda to a large family in Eretz Yisroel???  FIFTY FOUR DOLLARS!  I spend more than that on Shabbos and I am not a large family.

Please. Please.  Give to our brethren in Eretz Yisroel this Purim.

Colel Chabad / Rabbi Meir Baal HaNais Tzedakah

OK, back to baking hamantaschen.

Where is Moshiach already???

Thirteen years and one week ago I began to dread this upcoming motzai Shabbos.  I am too lazy to do the actual math, but I do think it really came out about 6 weeks ago.

We have hit that magic number I never wanted to hit.  Yossi (a'h) has been dead longer than he was alive.  How could that be??  How could it be that Moshiach STILL hasn't come yet?  When I asked my friend who is bereaved over 30 years how she did it, she told me that she thought Moshiach would be here by now.

There is still time.  We can still do it.

So what does this Jew with a HUGE attitude feel right now?  Immense pain and sorrow.  That weighs on me very heavily, because I made a decision that I was NOT going to get this sad.  It isn't working.  I got gypped out of a bar mitzvah for him.  I got gypped out of seeing who he would have grown into, the man he would have become.  I got gypped of getting to know him on a different level as an adult.

I don't know.  Maybe I didn't get gypped.  We all know and believe that everything Hashem does is for our good, even if we don't see the good.  I actually have seen so much good come from Yossi's illness and death.

I'm rambling.  Sorry.  Can I ask anyone who reads this a favor, please?  Can you please commit to one mitzvah to do l'iluey nishmas Yosef Chaim ben Michoel Dovid haLevi?  At least that way, I will feel that something good is still coming along.

I believe I have shared this before.  Yossi used to kiss the mezuzahs as he walked around the house.  I sorta thought it was weird ... who actually does that?  Sruli does it too.  L'iluey nishmas, I am going to try and do it as well, b'n.

I used to be a lot better at this part ... I do always try to kiss the mezuzah when I leave the house.  I used to try and think of one good thing in my life that I am thankful for.  Yossi was ALWAYS thankful for everything.  B'n, I am also going to try to start doing this again.

I don't know who the rebbe is in the picture.  I don't even remember who sent this to me.  Someone saw it in someone else's house, and was surprised to see it there.  

I have the matching pictures.

I love you Yossi.

Whose money is it anyway?

I HAVE THE MOST AMAZING STORY TO SHARE!

A few weeks ago, we had a bill to a local hospital for $480.  I really didn't think we owed the money, and I was on hold with the insurance.  I was thinking about it, and I decided I would much rather give it to my son's memorial library than the hospital.

(I firmly believe money really isn't ours.  G-d decides at the beginning of the year how much money we are going to earn.  So if I was supposed to get $X amount of dollars, and I got $XY, then I have to "give" $Y back, right?  How does G-d "take back" money?  Those are the not so fun things in life, like when your oven breaks the day before a 3 day yom tov.  Or your washer breaks right before the 9 days.  [BTDT on the last one!]  People get sick, have medical bills, car accidents, even straight out lose money.  That money isn't yours.  G-d is just collecting what you weren't supposed to have.  So back to the story ... )

So while I on hold, I thought in my head, "If she comes back and says I don't own the money, I'll give $480 to Yossi's (a'h) Memorial Library."  Never mind that I no long work, and have no way to get that money!  It was just a nice thought that popped into my head.  Right then she comes back and says, "You don't owe the money."  My jaw dropped.  Where in the world was I going to get $480???? We aren't talking a little sum here.  We are talking big bucks for someone who doesn't work.

YIKES!

So I figured I would sell some stuff on Ebay, and then use the money to pay off my pledge.  The first thing to go was a pair of John Harding earrings.  That pulled in a profit of $179.95.

Next to go was a 14K gold chain.  Three local stores offered me around $220 for it.  So that went up on Ebay as well.  It sold for a whooping $361.50!!!!!!  I did the math, and once you take away Ebay fees and PayPal fees, my gross profit on that one was .... drum roll here ....
$301.23.  Now you don't need to pull out your calculators; I already pulled up mine.  Add those two together, and what do you get?  Sit down folks.  Cuz here it is ...
ta da -- $481.18 !!!!!!!!!!

Do you get it?  G-d gave me the means to pay off the pledge because, IMHO, I was meant to have that money.  When I pledged it away, He had to "give it back" to me.  It's late; I'm rambling, and I really wanted to watch the last episode and a half of Project Runway that I have waiting for me.  I am just so excited about this.  I love when things work out and you can see the hand of Hashem, literally!

Stay warm friends!