Communities get help to celebrate at home with ‘Purim in a Box’
United Synagogue initiative offers festive feast for people to mark the Jewish celebration from the comfort of their living rooms
Community members dreading a Purim under lockdown will receive a helping hand to celebrate the festival – thanks to a special kit from the United Synagogue.
With its new ‘Purim in a Box’ initiative, would-be shul-goers can enjoy a festive meal and give charity without leaving their house.
The box costs £8.50, and can either be purchased, donated or sent as a gift, allowing people to complete three out of the four Purim commandments, of having a festive meal (a Seuda), giving food (Mishloach Manot ) and distributing charity to those in need (Matanot Laevyonim). Mishloach manot can be be sent to someone for £5 each and the matanot l’evyonim option can be donated online.
Included in the each box is a breakfast meal, challah for shabbat, a roll and a quiche, granola, fruit, a scone with cream and jam, and a traditional Purim hamantaschen.
This comes after the United Synagogue announced that half a dozen of its shuls will be re-opening for Purim, as it set out guidelines to ensure Covid-compliancy.
The United Synagogue’s Director of Education, Rabbi Michael Laitner said: “This year, nearly twelve months on from the first national lockdown, many of us might find it more challenging to feel joyful. It will certainly be a different Purim to what we’ve known in the past. But to help us celebrate, our communities have been busy planning wonderful local programmes and to complement them, the United Synagogue team has spent the last month arranging some quite brilliant initiatives to help our members enjoy the festival and fulfil the four mitzvot of Purim in a Covid-secure way.”
Michael Goldstein, President of the United Synagogue, praised the “innovative programmes to help our members and the wider community celebrate Purim this year safely and in full, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. The Purim in a Box initiative is a truly brilliant idea: a one-stop shop to fulfil three of the four Purim mitzvot without needing to leave your home.”
Buy now from www.theus.org.uk/purimbox
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
