The Importance of Thinking Small

by Karen Reiffman

0 Comments | Sunday, February 17, 2019 under Food Boxes, Feed-a-Baby, Shabbat Chicken, Widow and Orphan Fund, Sponsorship, Holiday Fund, Meals-on-Wheels, Medical Support

Regardless of size, all donations help us support families in need

This week we get treated to a mini holiday of sorts-Purim Kattan, the "Little Purim" of the Jewish calendar. In case you were wondering "what's little about it?", the (very) general idea is that because we're in a leap year and Purim is pushed off until Adar bet, we don't want to let Adar aleph just slip by without any kind of acknowledgement. (After all, in a different year, it would be Purim!) So we have this Little Purim to show that 14 Adar aleph is important, too.

Something about Purim Kattan really speaks to me; maybe it's because at Yad Eliezer I am reminded daily and on a first-hand basis, that there's importance to small things just as there is to big things. We recently finished our Winter Warmth campaign, for example. Over $200,000 came in for this campaign (big thing), which helped pay heating bills and supply coats for poor children and blankets for needy families throughout the country. It was incredible! But the staggering amount didn't get donated in one chunk. It was comprised of donations of all sizes, from larger ones to...you guessed it - small ones.

Even a small gesture makes a big impact

Even on a daily basis, contributions arrive from around the world in every possible denomination. Sure, there are standard ones most people recognize like $18, $36, $54 and up--all fantastic. But these donations have also been made:

$5,

$6.13,

$9.42...And we happily welcome them with open arms, because after 30+ years of experience, Yad Eliezer understands and appreciates that all donations add up and they all make a difference.

But how do these donations-of-all-sizes really help?

I've already mentioned Winter Warmth-and though it may seem that a coat or a blanket is a minor item, the warmth each provides changes the lives of its recipient. The degree to which it does, can't be underestimated.

It's a perfect example of something seemingly small, accomplishing something big.

And that's just one example, there are so many others, such as:

A visit to a homebound citizen with delivery of a warm meal. It transforms that person's whole week, bringing them incredible joy.

A staff member sits with a cancer patient at the hospital and helps them connect with their busy doctor, ensuring they get important information or help with a family issue.

A food voucher presented to an impoverished IDF soldier enables him to buy his family's matza and wine for Pesach.

With the actual Purim approaching in just a few weeks and so many needy families in Israel, we can really take a lesson from Purim Kattan. In life, we're often told to Think Big, but...it's also important to Think Small.

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