There is something very special about Purim. To begin with it’s a festival that is all about joy, all about being happy and bringing happiness to others. Purim is a day that we discover the hiddenness of Hashem and reveal His kindness and mercy in a way that is filled with sensitivity. Purim is a time to internalize that even when everything seems impossible, the tables can and do turn and redemption is possible. One of the greatest gifts of Purim is that it is the great equalizer.
During the rest of the year, we get to know the level of a persons blessing in this world by their clothing. On Purim, everyone wears costume. Everyone is in fancy dress. Everyone becomes someone that is not generally seen throughout the rest of the year. Everyone gets to have a special, festive meal. This meal is so important that those who can not afford to have a special meal are assisted through one of the Mitzvot of the day. It therefore becomes the responsibility of those who have financial means to enable those who do not have to enjoy a Purim Seuda in just the same fun, way that others are.
Giving to the poor is therefore an important part of the day. Living in Jerusalem the poor that we think of are, of course, those who live here in Jerusalem. Let’s take a look at the statistics of poverty in Israel as close to current stats as I could find. Is it significant? Are there really those who need help?
Actually, Poverty in Israel is listed as being: 1.8 million Israelis who live in poverty. Half of that number are children and approximately 469 400 families. I did not find statistics for the elderly who live in poverty. This is an important detail that needs to be looked at. If anyone knows please share in the comments below. What I did find is that the statistics of those living in poverty in Israel has risen since 2017, according to Bituach Leumi
What is poverty, you may well ask? The definition that I found is an income of ₪ 3593 a month for a single person and ₪ 5750 for a couple. If we use that as a guideline, then we can deduce somewhat of an answer as to the facts about poverty and the elderly. The amount a retired person receives from Bituach Leumi is anything from ₪ 1500 to ₪ 3500. Of course, they have to pay Bituach Leumi so their amount received in the bank will be only ₪ 3000. That means any retired person in Israel who does not have significant pension, will be living in poverty. How does that translate?
Aside from cost of food, let’s take a look at health expenses. Calling a doctor to the house if the doctor and / or social worker have not signed a form to permit house calls, will mean a cost of ₪ 250 per visit. An ambulance can be ₪ 1000. If the doctor wrote a letter stating that the ambulance is necessary, you can get 50% discount, so that means ₪ 500. That’s already ₪ 750 for an elderly person to go to the emergency room for treatment which can be for anything from the need to stabilize blood pressure, to a fall, an infection or some other health related problem. We have not yet begun to consider meds, or food. Did you say food? But if you are talking about a person being in hospital, doesn’t the hospital provide food?
Usually yes, hospitals do provide food. However the few times we have been in the emergency room there was no sign of food for the 12 hours we were there, no sign of anything to drink either. You have no choice but to bring food and drink with you or to purchase there at higher prices than in supermarkets. If you are admitted to hospital, don’t expect to ask for a referral to a dietician or for meals that provide the necessary nutrition to enable you to heal. During our most recent stay in hospital the doctors and nurses insisted that if you want nutrition there is a mall attached to the hospital and you just have to purchase your own food.
So, if an elderly person happens to have any health problems, which a larger percentage of elderly do, then their monthly
₪ 1500 – ₪ 3000 can go just on the hospitalization alone. It’s a very sobering thought. That’s only considering a need for a trip to the hospital. It does not bring in clothing, assistive devices, transport, socializing, being actively involved in any kind of activity to give quality to life.
For so much of my working career, I have come face to face with the very real needs of the poor. So much so that most of the time that I researched the financial status in Israel, I thought only of what the level of poverty is. Did you know that we have a level of wealth here too? Honestly, I had not considered looking at how many in Israel might be wealthy. So let’s take a look at the contrast to poverty. In 2010 there were 10 153 Millionaires in Israel. Amazing, I had not given much thought to there being millionaires here but it seems that there are. I suppose it does make sense given the absurd price for apartments here.
In 2019, that number rose to 131 000 millionaires living in Israel. That means that Israel is ranked at 23rd world wide for the number of millionaires. If we turn that into a figure that makes more sense, it translates to 1% of adults in Israel who are millionaires. 1% is not so much, BUT, it’s more than I had thought of. In addition, there has been an increase of adult wealth in the last 12 months.
Just as we looked at what poverty meant, let’s look at what they mean by wealth. The definition given is an annual value of financial assets together with real assets, especially housing, minus debt. That’s an interesting thought? Does that mean that those who are millionaires are living in debt? What a strange thought. I would have hoped that if you reach the level of millionaire you could get to a stage of being debt free.
I think about our kindness projects and our goals for this online store. I think about my newly found data of those in Israel who have real financial means. Since every Jew has a Mitzvah to give to the poor, how do we find those who have and would be interested in giving to those less fortunate? Where do they hang out? What would inspire them to visit our online store and purchase either a product from our Purim collection, to place an order or to purchase a Mishloach Manot to be given to a needy family in Jerusalem this Purim?
Those are my current questions. If you can help out, please share our website. Encourage your friends to sign up to our newsletter. If you are interested in the creative gifts we are developing and creating and love the idea of a percentage of proceeds going to help specific kindness projects, then do be in touch. We have lots of plans in the pipeline. So stay tuned for further updates.
Oh, before you go, please make a purchase of one of our Purim products. A percentage of proceeds goes to help a widow and orphans in Jerusalem. If we can meet our goal for sales and even exceed it, we have many more to be assisting. So what are you waiting for? We are ready to take your order!