Penny-Pinching Purim Kosher bargains at the dollar store to stock shalach manot gift baskets. Edmon J. Rodman JTA F ailing between the giving season of Chanukah and the getting sea- son of tax refunds, Purim time finds households like mine searching for ways to keep holiday expenses down without losing the mirth. What with the cost of fancy, profes- sionally made kosher shalach manot (from mishloach manot, sending of por- tions) baskets going for 50 bucks and up, I wanted to find a less expensive way to share the joy with more people. I wanted to make my own basket of goodies, but what were the basic require- ments? I mean very basic. According to Jewish law, on Purim, which begins at sundown March 7, you should send at least two food items to at least one per- son, both to ensure that they have food for a Purim feast and to promote friend- ship between Jews. So what kind of friendship could I promote for, let's say, 10 bucks or less? I wanted variety, abundance, novelty and kosher. I wondered, could I fill my basket at that purple island of bargains, the local dollar store? I really didn't want to give a basket . filled with clearance cookies, weird candy and obscure snacks. Yet these stores promote themselves as having everything. So with perfect Purim logic, I reasoned why not shalach manot? Admittedly I had my doubts. That is until I saw a kippah-wearing man also eyeing the Valentine's Day stuff. "Do you ever shop in here for Purim?" I finally asked, desperately wanting a co- conspirator. "Yes, for shalach manot they have all kinds of stuff, sometimes even close-out Jewish things," replied the man, who identified himself as a rabbi. "There's kosher apple juice, food, and you get so much more here." The rabbi was right. Walking the aisles, I easily found packages of nuts, cookies, candies and pretzels, all certified kosher. But that wasn't enough; I also wanted a theme. The best Purim bas- kets have some clever connecting idea. I set- tled on the Megillah's four main characters. An accom- panying text would help explain my theme, but because a dollar store is unlikely to carry a Megillat Esther, I would need to be flexible. Luckily, in the book aisle, I found a soft- cover King James version of the Bible that had the Book of Esther. "Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus:' the text began. What could I find to represent the king, ruler of 127 provinces, and by royal decree the instigator of a search for "fair young vir- gins"? In the drink aisle, I found a bluish plastic bottle of G2, Gatorade Perform, which the packaging said would "replen- ish vital nutrients and energy" — just the thing to represent an active ruler with a "second house" just for his women. "Now in the palace in Shushan, there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordechai," the text continued, going on to say, "And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter ..." , To represent Esther, I I found a package of Hannah Montana Milk Chocolate ( Sticker coins. The Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart double- life charac- terization (played by Miley Cyrus on the Disney show) reminded me of Esther's dou- ble life as a secret Jewish maiden, who is also Ahasuerus' queen. For Mordechai, who saves the king from an assassina- tion plot, and ultimately emerges as victor in a power struggle with Haman, I thought some bling would show off his new status. In the candy aisle, I found a package of Ring Pops, the "wearable candy." I imagined the sunlight glinting off them as Mordechai sat by the gate. But first he would need to escape the shadow of Haman. "After these things did King Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha The Purim Story urim, observed on the 14th day of Adar, is one of the most fun holi- days on the Jewish calendar. It recalls when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from destruction. The Purim story is told in the biblical Book of Esther. The story revolves around Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman, and her cousin Mordechai, who raised her like a father. Esther was taken to Persian King Ahasuerus' palace to become part of his harem. The king adored Esther most of all and made her queen, but he did not know she was Jewish because p 32 March 1 . 2012 Mordechai told her to keep that secret. Enter Haman, the king's arrogant adviser, who despised Mordechai because he would not bow to him. Because of this, Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. Mordechai knew the king would listen to Esther if she interceded on behalf of her people. In preparation, Esther fasted three days, then told the king she was Jewish and of Haman's plan. She saved the Jewish people and the king sentenced Haman and his 10 sons to hang on the gallows that had been ready for Mordechai. "Purim" means "lots," in reference to the lottery Haman used to pick the date for the massacre. At Purim, Jews are commanded to hear the reading of the Book of Esther, known as the Megillah, or scroll. It is tradition to make a great noise when- ever Haman's name is read during the service, therefore drowning out the name of Haman, the villain. Often children and adults come to the ser- vice dressed in costumes representing characters in the story. Another tradition involves eating hamantashen, filled cookies baked in a triangle shape to represent Haman's three-cornered hat. 1=) the Agagite ... And all the king's servants bowed and reverenced Haman ... But Mordechai bowed not ..." For Haman, by tradition, I needed something like a grogger to properly blot out his name. On the toy rack, I found just the thing: a hand-shaped clapper that even had a large sticker that read "Make some Noise!" Thinking about Haman always makes me hungry for hamantashen. Suspecting that the dollar store would be short on three-cornered pastries, I searched the cookie aisle until I found a fill-in: Knott's Berry Farms round raspberry shortbreads, each with a dollop of red showing in the center. I imagined if you trimmed them to a triangle, they would look close. I did say flexibility would be key. Now to add the final touch to my shalach manot, and to fulfill the Purim tradition that one should drink on Purim until they don't know the differ- ence between Mordechai and Haman, I found an unlikely solution: "Larry the Cable Guy Beer Bread. Just add Beer and Butter?' According to Larry, who is featured on the package wearing his trademark sleeveless plaid shirt, "This recipe calls for a can of beer ... just be sure to use the beer and not drink it!" It's Purim. Of course, you can drink the beer. But my Purim basket will carry this warning: When you can't tell the dif- ference between Larry and Miley Cyrus, it's time to stop. CI Edmon J. Rodman is a JTA columnist who writes on Jewish life from Los Angeles.