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What’s in YOUR Mishloach Manot Basket?

by Preston Neal · March 4th, 2009

Crafts, Gifts, Holidays, Humor, Jewish Culture, Laugh Out Loud Posts, Neat Projects, Purim

One custom I have always liked about Purim (aside from the drunken revelry, of course) is Mishloach Manot, those fun Jewish goodie-bags that people give to each other during this festive holiday. It’s like Trick-Or-Treating in reverse: the candy, wine, cookies, etc come to you -no need to go banging on any strangers’ doors.

Surfing Google, I came across a myriad of articles about what one should include in their Mishloach Manot baskets, including a rather heated discussion over “themed Mishloach Manot” on Hashkafah.com. All these ideas got me thinking like a cunning marketer, and it occurred to me that there is an untapped market for “niche” Mishloach Manot.

So here are a few categories of potential Mishloach Manot ideas targeted to the interests of specific populations to help get this venture started. (NOTE: all items included result from intensive focus groups with members of each target audience.)

Feel free to use some of the items listed in your own Mishloach Manot baskets, and add your own suggestions in the comments!

1. Altercockers (or “Geriatrics”)

One word: prunes.

2. College Students

Ramen Noodles (Gefen and Tradition sells kosher, Oriental Style versions)

Red Bull and/or Starbucks Frappuccino bottles

Organic cannabis

Prune-flavored condoms (to make them remember to call their grandparents — see previous category)

3. Environmentalists

Compact fluorescent bulbs (someone actually posed the idea of “marzipan candy in the shape of compact fluorescent bulbs” in the Hashkafah.com forum linked above).

Worms for their compost bins

Sustainably-made Hamentaschen or other treats (see this post)

4. Israelis

Hummus-filled Hamentaschen

Noisemakers…err, then again, they probably are loud enough without them

5. Non-Jews

Matzah (just tell them “Purim” is another word for “Passover”)

Might as well throw a Menorah in there, as well

A few plastic Easter eggs to show Jews can be supportive of their holidays, too

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9 Responses to “What’s in YOUR Mishloach Manot Basket?”

Avigail Hurvitz-Prinz Says:
March 5th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Ah, Preston. I love that you did focus group research! Thank for sharing. One of my girlfriends just got worms for her worm bin last night – maybe the more appropriate treat for her would be some of my food waste?
Al Hunter Says:
March 5th, 2009 at 10:35 am
I think you’re being too mean to Non-Jews! That’s a nasty basket to give anyone, even when trying to be funny.
Preston Says:
March 5th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Al, I am surprised you weren’t more offended at the “prunes for Altercockers.” I know many non-Jews (including some in my own family), and am pretty sure they would find it more humorous than offensive.
Al Hunter Says:
March 5th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
I like prunes, but what am I going to do with plastic easter eggs?
Pippi Kessler Says:
March 6th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Dear Preston,

I thought the idea of marketing “niche” mishloach manot was really funny and I thought it was a fun idea to write about planning gifts that play off people’s personalities.

I want to take issue, though, with the basket you suggested for non-Jews. I’m the moderator for the Mothers Circle listserve, a group for non-Jewish women raising Jewish children. The women on the list have put serious muscle into learning about Judaism – many are even more knowledgeable than their Jewish partners.

The stereotype about non-Jews that you mentioned – that they don’t know the difference between Jewish holidays – was clearly meant to be a goofy joke, but it comes at a time in our community when it resonates with some serious themes. As I know firsthand from moderating this list, it’s often assumed that intermarried Jewish families don’t understand Judaism. Even when it’s meant as a joke, a comment about being an outsider to Jewish life can pack serious sting for someone going out of their way to support a community that isn’t supportive in return.

Each of us can think of someone we know who would find it hilarious and someone who it would sting, but this is about where our community is at in our history. We no longer live in a segregated society, and “Non-Jews” are no longer “Not Our Kind” – they’re our parents, grandparents, grandchildren, friends, and the future of Jewish continuity. Now is not the time to make “Us vs. Them” jokes, it’s the time to be welcoming.

Before reading your post, I recommended that the women on my listserve visit JCarrot.org. I hope, for their sake, that they don’t read your post and find yet another dig that despite their devotion to Jewish life, they’re still assumed to be outsiders.

I’d be happy to talk more about this with you if you’d like – I know your joke wasn’t meant to open up this can of worms, but I’m looking out for my Moms!

Pippi Kessler
National Coordinator of the Mothers Circle
Jewish Outreach Institute
pkessler@JOI.org
Preston Neal Says:
March 6th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Pippi,

Thank you very much for commenting and sharing your perspective from your work with Mothers Circle. I will respond here since this is where you started the discussion.

I definitely hear what you are saying, and fully agree that the Jewish community at large does quite poorly when it comes to inviting non-Jews to learn about Judaism.

I myself am the child of an interfaith marriage, and was always grateful that my Reform synagogue growing up was so welcoming to my non-Jewish father, even though he had no intention of converting.

I sincerely apologize if the comment about non-Jews was offensive to your Moms or other non-Jews. I can see how it could be read either as something tongue-and-cheek, or as offensive. Perhaps, though, you may see where I am coming from differently, given my own personal connection to the non-Jewish community.

I am very glad to know that the Mothers Circle listserv exists and serves what I believe is a generally overlooked need, given the non-segregated society that you mentioned. Thanks for sharing.

Preston
Preston Neal Says:
March 6th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Al, as I recall from my Easter Egg hunts as a young boy, the plastic eggs generally had goodies inside of them – kind of like a miniature Mishlaoch Manot basket :)
suzette Says:
March 7th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
With the current economic climate,it’s time to create Mishloach Manot that help others. This year, I’ve purchased reusable shopping bags from my shul, Girl Scout Cookies, and wine that benefited a fund that helps people in my community who are in need. Put them together, and it’s a tzedaka theme that benefits others.
Shmethicist Says:
March 10th, 2009 at 1:40 am
Pippi, I read the whole post to my not Jewish sig other, and he and I both laughed the whole way through. The jokes at the expense of Jews are right there along with the jokes at the expense of non-Jews (are all Jewish college students stoners? Of course not. Once I fled Lawn Guyland for the Promised Land of university life, where I found peers who were interested in something besides what was on sale at the mall, I didn’t need any more drugs to numb the pain).

Derisive humor is more of a year-round staple of our people than matzah, hamantaschen, or even that great blessing sour cream. If the women in your group see the post, they’ll probably recognize that.