Why it's so hard to perform the mitzva of matanos l'evionim correctly

...Even when everyone is acting with the very best of intentions

The Torah’s core halachic principles may never change, but the societies in which they’re applied sure do. And that can sometimes lead to unintended consequences.

I recently came across the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer (Bava Metziya 78b):

“Money raised for (the poor on) Purim must be used for Purim. And a poor (recipient) is not allowed to use (that money) to purchase straps for his sandal [and is considered a thief (גזלן) - Korban Ha’eida] unless he (makes the donation) conditional in the presence of the town’s population.”

Now it’s possible (although by no means guaranteed) that Rabbi Eliezer is opposed on this halacha by Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel. But, in any case, the Gemara expresses no preference one way or the other. And Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion is presented unopposed in the Yerushalmi (Megila 1:4)

Who cares? Well we all should. Because we’ve all been (correctly) taught to use the mitzva of Matanos L’evionim as an opportunity to provide the poor with as much financial help as possible. And because the mitzva requires that our donation reaches the hands of our recipients specifically on the day of Purim.

Here’s why that’s a problem. The way things work in our modern communities, it’ll be virtually impossible for those recipients to spend their money without becoming thieves. That’s because people don’t normally wait until a few hours before their Purim meal to go shopping for the basic (uncooked) ingredients. An empty fridge and cupboard is rare for the modern poor. Their more common enemy is crippling rent and credit card bills with no way to pay them.

So it’s nearly certain that the money they receive won’t be spent in a halachically acceptable way. Worse, because we’re effectively forcing the recipients to spend their money in a non-halachic way, we ourselves are guilty of לפני עור לא תתן מכשול.

The obvious solution is to distribute the money in advance of Purim (the way we do it for Pesach and other yomim tovim). But no one today has the necessary authority to make such a change happen.

Next best - as was suggested to me in a recent conversation - would be to tell recipients a week or two in advance that they’ll be receiving funds and ask them to purchase their Purim needs on a credit card. That way, when they receive their cash on Purim itself, it will effectively be reimbursing them for their expenses.

Alternatively, community leaders collecting funds should tell their donors that only a tiny proportion of their donations will end up fulfilling the mitzva of matanos l’evionim (although all of it will be tzedaka!). That way, the recipients will be free to spend the money whichever way they like.