[Avodah] the 5th purim mitzva

[Michael Kopinsky]

On 3/2/07, Micha Berger <micha at aishdas.org> wrote:
> On Thu, March 1, 2007 10:55 am, Newman,Saul Z wrote:
> : i wonder was it always a general every-tzedaka-under-the-sun day, or did
> : this just become something for shtik-oriented teenagers to do to while
> away
> : the time. maybe it just took longer for the practice to get to the west.
> 
> Perhaps it uses the same reasoning as ma'aser kesafim.
> 
> Many justify using ma'aser kesafim for yeshivos because scholarships cover
> the
> costs for people who can't afford it. Some extend this to whatever
> percentage
> of tuition is inflated to cover others' scholarships.
> 
> Thus, if supporting yeshivos is helping aniyim WRT ma'aser kesafim, why not
> WRT matanos le'evyonim?

Matanos l'evyonim has to give the aniyim some kind of benefit bo bayom.  
A donation to a school which will help them get a tuition discount months
from now hardly helps them today.