Is work permitted on Purim?

Question:

Is work permitted on Purim? Or is it like Passover and other holidays when we can't?

Answer:

On Purim, the prevailing practice is to refrain from working to heighten the celebration of this festive day. We refer, here, to time consuming work, or work done for the purpose of earning a livelihood. However, it is certainly permitted to perform any other sort of "work" such as driving, cooking, or turning on lights. And it is also permitted to work in order to fulfill a mitzvah, or for Purim-related needs and activities. Grocery stores thus remain open, to allow people to do last minute Purim shopping.

Our Sages further stated: "Whoever works on Purim will never see a blessing from the profits earned."1

Best wishes for a truly joyous and festive Purim! May we truly profit from it, both materially and spiritually.

Rabbi Eliezer Danzinger for Chabad.org

FOOTNOTES
1.	See Code of Jewish Law, Orach Chaim 696:1.

By Eliezer Danzinger

Rabbi Eliezer Danzinger, first content editor for KabbalaOnline.org, is the translator and editor of several important Chasidic texts. He also serves as the Jewish chaplain for York Central Hospital, and for numerous Federal prisons. Rabbi Danzinger currently resides in Toronto, Canada, with his wife, Yehudis, and their children.

More articles by Y. Eliezer Danzinger | RSS

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