What is Mishloach Manot?

Mishloach Manot (Sending Gifts) is a custom during the holiday of Purim whereby gifts are given to friends and family.  The gifts are typically filled with sweets, hamantashen (triangular shaped cookies) and other small gifts.  In fact, it is the holiday of Purim (not Hanukkah) when gifts are traditionally exchanged!  At Or Chadash, Mishloach Manot is our biggest fundraiser of the year.  The project begins about one month before Purim and concludes on the day of Purim.

 

How does it work?

Each member family will receive in the mail a letter describing Purim Project and a listing of all of the names of the members of Or Chadash.  The letter will include your user name and a password so that you can complete the form online and select your recipients.  You can use Paypal  — even if you don’t have a Paypal account. If you prefer to not use Paypal, you can mail a check to the synagogue.  Or you can complete the form manually and include your check with the form. In that case, you will mail the form and the check directly to Or Chadash.  Or you can bring it to the synagogue office.  There is a designated mailbox for Purim Project.

 

What exactly should I do?

You will be given the option to participate at many different levels.   For $18, you can designate three Or Chadash family units to have your name listed on their gift card letters, and for $180 you can include your name and greeting on the entire Or Chadash community’s gift cards.  It is $6 for each additional family you designate to receive one of your gifts.   Approximately 50% of our community participates at the $180 level.

 

What type of greeting should I write?

Your name will be printed on the card, and you have the option to include a greeting.  (Happy Purim, Thinking of you, etc.  And you can customize greetings for individual recipients if you prefer to do so.)  Some people include greetings and some do not.  It is purely optional.

 

What happens next?

Regardless of your participation, you will receive a gift container on or around Purim, plus an envelope with a letter inside listing all the people who selected you as a recipient of the Purim Project gift.

 

Do I have to come to Or Chadash to receive the gift container and envelope?

We distribute Mishloach Manot  (the gift containers) in a very strategic manner by using zip codes and maps (and lots of GPS) and by leveraging our Religious School families to deliver containers and gift letters directly to our member’s homes.

 

I would like to purchase gift containers for my friends/family.  They are not members of Or Chadash.  Can I do that?  

Yes!  There is an option on the form to purchase additional gift containers.

 

Tell me about the gift container.

The gifts are simple and thoughtful.  Recent themes include: Springtime, Chinese New Year, and The Jersey Shore.   The fundraiser is all about building community and increasing participation.

 

What does reciprocity mean?

Let’s say you decide to select 10 families to receive your name on their gift.  And 20 families put your name on their lists. If you select “Reciprocity” as an option, your names will automatically be included on any family that included your family, even though you did not select them, and you will be billed for the difference.

 

What does Or Chadash do with the proceeds of the fundraiser?

A designated amount will be used for a social action component.  The remaining funds will go towards the operating budget of the synagogue.