Mishloach Manos and Matanos l'Evyonim
The Rambam (Hilchos Megillah 2:17) writes, "It is better to give a lot of matanos l'evyonim than to increase the Purim meal and to spend on additional mishloach manos to friends because there is no greater and more beautiful joy than to bring happiness to the hearts of the poor, the orphaned, widows, and geirim. When one brings them happiness, he acts similarly to the Shechinah, as it states (Yeshayah 57:15) נדכאים לב ולהחיות שפלים רוח להחיות, "to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the crushed."
And in this generation, who isn't "humble" and "crushed"? Who doesn't need a kind word? When one can't help with money, he should give whatever he can, certainly a friendly word or a smile.
Reb Mordechai of Nadvorna zt'l said in his later years, "Had I known in my younger years what Purim is, I would go from person to person to get smiles out of them."
A member of our chaburah (Reb Yosef Meir Mashinsky of Beit Shemesh) went to the mikvah in preparation for hearing the megillah. The mikvah was in the basement of a small beis medresh. When the son of the Rebbe of that beis medresh saw him, he said, 'You are the ninth man for our minyan!" Reb Yosef Meir had planned to go to a beis medresh with a professional baal koreh, where they davened with a lot of kavanah, but he decided to remain there to perform this chesed. He also called his friend, Reb Yechezkel Deutsch, to come and complete the minyan.
The baal koreh of this small beis medresh didn't have children. Before the megillah reading, Reb Yosef Meir told his friend, "We were moser nefesh to help them with a minyan. Let's give the merit to the baal koreh, that he should have children. It will be as the Chozeh of Lublin zt'l said, איש מנות משלוח means that Hashem gives for mishloach manos an איש, a child." Nine months later, the baal koreh had a son. The first person he called to inform was Reb Yosef Meir because he knew the child was born in his merit.
Pele Yoetz advises that important people (like roshei yeshivos) should give mishloach manos to simple people because it will give them great joy that someone so respected thought of them. He also advises that people who don’t get along should send mishloach manos to one another, as that will increase peace and remove unnecessary barriers.
It states (Tehillim 22:25) עני ענות שקץ ולא בזה לא כי שמע אליו ובשועו ממנו פניו הסתיר ולא, "For He has neither despised nor abhorred the cry of the poor, neither has He hidden His countenance from him; and when he cried out to Him, He hearkened." This pasuk is in Tehillim (22), the chapter associated with Purim. The Alshich on Tehillim explains that the poor davened in the era of Mordechai and Esther, and it was in their merit that we were saved.
This is because Chazal teach that two sins caused Haman's gezeirah of annihilation. The Yidden participated in Achashverosh's party and bowed down to Nevuchadnezzar’s idol. The Alshich says that the poor people didn't commit these aveiros. Achashveirosh didn't invite the poor to his party, and Nevuchadnezzar didn't care whether the poor bowed down to his idol. So, the poor were clean from aveiros; therefore, their merit and tefillos saved the Jewish nation. The Alshich explains that this is the reason for the mitzvah of matanos l'evyonim on Purim because it was in their merit that the miracle occurred.
