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The Shaliach

7/6/5778 21.02.2018

Who Has His Hands On Your Money?

Yes, there is a middle-man. You can’tget away fromit, so you might as well get to know him.

We are talking about the Vaad Harabbanim messengers who actually go around door to door and deliver yourmatanosl’evyonimmoney on Purim day. These are real, live people, and they have their hands on your money. Could be interesting to know what’s up with that…

purim_5778_E_05Why Do They Do It?

They do it because they were hand-picked; they are known for their reliability and their punctuality and of course their honesty. They don’t do it to earn an income, because they don’t. It is volunteer work – they do it because they want to mach a mitzvah.

So let’s talk to one of these people, and see what he says.

How were you chosen for this job?

I was part of Vaad Harabbanim even before this. So they knew me, and besides that, I live not too far away, so I guess I was a natural pick.

When is the matanosl’evyonim money actually distributed?

Well, some of the envelopes I give out before Purim. These contain checks whose date of payment is Purim day. They are given to the recipient families as a deposit until Purim comes.

Other envelopes are given out on Purim day itself.

You see, it is not possible logistically to give out all those millions of shekels to thousands of families all over Eretz Yisrael on Purim day itself. So Vaad Harabbanim uses the donation patterns of past years as a model, and projects how much will be donated this year. They write some of the checks on that basis.

purim_5778_E_06Do the recipients know in advance that money is coming?

Usually, yes. Vaad Harabbanim tries to let them know, so they will allow themselves to spend more generously in preparation for Purim. Sometimes people call up on their own to ask if they are on the list.

But there are always people who say they didn’t know. Maybe they were told and they forgot, or maybe the office couldn’t get through to them for some reason, or maybe they had no idea that somebody put them on the list and it was too late to call.

Nothing wrong with a pleasant surprise. If someone knocks on the door to deliver money, usually it will be happily accepted. These are people who really need it; sometimes I get a peek inside the door, and I am telling you, they need the money.

Isn’t it hard to navigate the congested city streets on Purim day, especially when you would rather be celebrating Purim yourself? To put the question more bluntly, did you ever think of quitting?

No way. I would never quit. Look, I don’t have a lot of money to give myself. But this way, I am a shaliachof Klal Yisrael to distribute enormous sums of money to really poor Jews who are super grateful for everything. It totally makes my day; I would not want to give it up. Purim would not be the same!

So opt in, make your donation to Vaad Harabbanim, and you are part of this grand project. The sky’s the limit for what this one can do. Try it and see.