I am so ridiculously fed up. Why does Purim have to be this way? I flip though magazines, I scroll through websites, and all I see are insanely expensive mishloach manos gifts being hawked and peddled to the frum community. I don’t have a problem with expensive things; I enjoy the finer things in life too. But this is beyond the pale. In the past week alone, I have come across advertisements for $5,000 meat boards, $1,000 meat platter (different than a board, apparently), and a $2,500 “King Achashveirosh” platter. Those are at least the ones I can remember off the top of my head. I’m afraid we’ve all fallen on our heads. Just a few years ago, Purim was a day of celebration. Now, it’s a day of agitation, when families feel the need to throw their hard-earned money down the drain to impress their friends because, you know, “everyone else is doing it.” Think about it this way. If everyone else was jumping off 10-story buildings, would you do it too? I can’t help but think that many of you reading this would begrudgingly answer ‘yes.’ Because that’s the same thing that’s happening with mishloach manos. Nobody needs your $5,000 meat board. Barely anyone would even appreciate it. You’re just trying to impress others by flaunting the money that you have – or don’t have, and had to take out a second and third mortgage to pay for your fancy mishloach manos. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to take a step back and take a deep breath. Nobody cares. Stop thinking people do. A nice, simple mishloach manos will do just as well as the fancy shmancy garbage you’re buying. And if you’re so intent on spending that much money, here’s an idea: give it to tzedakah. There are more than enough people who need financial help. Give the money to them and stop blowing it on your insane meat boards. Grow up. NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN. DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE POSTED ON YWN? SEND IT TO US FOR REVIEW. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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