How to Party Purim Style

Dancing-hamantaschen

Scene from our “Dancing Hamantaschen” ecard for Purim

Aren’t you grateful for a holiday that’s based on just plain fun? (Sorry Christmas but you can get a little heavy-handed sometimes.)

The Jewish holiday Purim encourages you to be silly and make a racket. Which we could all stand a dose of, right?

So a quick look at the history of Purim:

Purim marks the day Queen Esther of Persia outwitted Haman, her husband’s evil henchman, who planned to kill all of the Jews in the kingdom. It usually falls in March, on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar.

Purim consists of a day of readings, feasts, games and giving to charitable causes. And (get this) it’s the one holiday where drunkenness is encouraged. This isn’t common in Jewish law—in fact just the opposite—except for this one day:

Part of the mitzva of the Purim Seudah is to get drunk until we are unable to distinguish between Arur Haman (Cursed is Haman) and Baruch Mordechai (Blessed is Mordechai). This is in memory of the miracles of Purim which were all associated with the drinking of wine.

This is a very unusual mitzva because drunkenness is usually strongly discouraged by Jewish law since it can lead to sin. The minimum (and sometimes recommended) requirement is to drink more than one is accustomed to and then go to sleep.

So eat, drink and be merry…and send one of our fun Purim ecards to a loved one. (Trust us…we know silly!)

Source: Ahavet-Israel.com

Donna B.’s Valentine Letter

We received a request from an ailing customer for help with her membership. She has fallen on hard times, so we were happy to extend her membership for her as she asked.

With her permission, we are posting her letter to us here. We have made it look nice with some color and minimal decoration, but the words are hers. (“Christopher” is the Customer Support team member with whom Donna was corresponding) We want to share it with you as a reminder for all of us: Give your Love Now. If you hold back, you may lose your opportunity to uplift others with your message of love. Send Love openly and always.

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Donna will be sending our Valentine’s Day ecards and you can too. We hope our work makes you and your beloved smile. We hope you feel inspired to share your love with all of us.

Mood Food for Valentine’s Day

Valentine's Chocolates

Oysters often come to mind when thinking of aphrodisiac food, but can food really ignite that inner fire…baby?

Certain foods definitely have psychoactive properties and some actually increase blood flow to the genitals (move over Viagra, here come bananas!)

So this Valentine’s Day, after sending one of our free Valentine’s Day ecards to that certain someone, include a few of these feel-good foods on the menu and play some Barry White (an aural aphrodisiac).

Then let the magic begin, you sexy thang, you.

Sexy Mood Foods:

–      Bananas

–      Avocados (which were banned in Spain by Catholic priests back in the day for appearing to be too sexual.)

–      Almonds

–      Chocolate (that one’s a given, right?)

–      Basil

–      Figs

–      Garlic (definitely gets the blood pumping…and if you’re both eating it, the scent on each others’ breath won’t be a problem…. unless you are Edward and Bella)

–      Asparagus

–      Oysters (raw, preferred…and yes, they really do work.)

–      Honey (used internally or externally)

We reserve the right to refuse answering any question on how we researched these items, but we encourage you, dear readers, to do your own research, vigorously!

Source: Alternet  (http://www.alternet.org/story/132846/the_top_10_aphrodisiac_foods)

Romantic Quotations throughout the Ages

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With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, romance is on everyone’s mind. But do we put entirely too much focus on it? Or is romance a dying art in this highly virtual world? (A romantic text message will never be the same as a hand-written love letter.)

Here are some quotations on romance to give our hearts some historical perspective:

“Romance is everything.”  – Gertrude Stein

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”  – Oscar Wilde

“A tramp, a gentleman, a poet, a dreamer, a lonely fellow, always hopeful of romance and adventure.”  – Charlie Chaplin

“Romance is tempestuous. Love is calm.”  – Mason Cooley

“I do like a little romance… just a sniff, as I call it, of the rocks and valleys. Of course, bread-and-cheese is the real thing. The rocks and valleys are no good at all, if you haven’t got that.”  – Anthony Trollope

“Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.”  – Bruce Lee

“All I really, really want our love to do is to bring out the best in me and in you too.”  – Joni Mitchell

“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be. That’s why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong

Why don’t you take a risk this Valentine’s Day? Surprise that certain someone with one of our love-drenched romantic Valentine’s Day ecards. It’s a virtual kiss. An electronic hug. A blue screen “I love you.”