Mishloach Manot

The T'rumas Hadeshen  states that there is a mitzva of mishloach Manot in order that everyone should have sufficient food for his

festive Purim meal (s'udas Purim).

The Chasam Sofer  explains why this should include sending gifts of food also to those who are wealthy: namely, to avoid the

embarrassment which would result to the poor if Manot were sent only to them.

The Sefer Manot HaLevi writes that the reason for mishloach Manot is to increase friendship and harmony. The Chasam Sofer 

elaborates this reason as follows. The decree of Haman came about since, in the words of the Megilla (3:8) "there is a people

dispersed and separate amongst the nations". This is an allusion to the spiritual malady of the Jewish people at that time: division

and disunity ("dispersed and separate").
Accordingly,the Rabbis instituted mishloach Manot in order to create unity amongst Jews.

Yet another explanation, offered by the Bach ,is that the purpose of mishloach Manot is simcha: through sending Manot one

rejoices with one's friends as well as bringing brotherliness and love.

In Likkutei Sichos ,it is explained that the words of the Megillah, "..to make them days of feasting and joy", teach that Purim is

a day of joy (simcha) and all the mitzvos of Purim, including mishloach Manot, are merely an extension of that joy. 

The first two reasons constitute two different emphases. According to the T'rumas Hadeshen, the focus is on the recipient . For the

Manot HaLevi the emphasis is on the giver, who through mishloach Manot expresses his love for his fellow Jew. The view of the

Bach would seem to be like that of the Manot HaLevi in this regard.

It should be noted, however, that the Bonei Chayei  writes that the reason for this mitzvah is to bring joy to (not, as the Bach

maintains, the giver, but rather to) the recipient.

Who is Obligated in the Mitzva?
While the Remo [9] states that women are obligated in mishloach Manot like men, the Mogen Avrohom [10] states that he had not

seen that women were particularly accustomed to perform this mitzva themselves. He maintains that the words of the Remo may

apply to a widow, but in the case of married women, their husbands send mishloach Manot on their behalf. Nevertheless, he

concludes that women should be stringent to fulfil the mitzva themselves.

Indeed, the Orach HaShulchon  writes that nowdays women are careful to send mishloach Manot themselves.

The Shaarei T'shuva  writes that women are definitely obligated since they too were part of the miracle of Purim and the verse

"... the Jews took upon themselves..." clearly includes women.

The P'ri Megadim  states that one should educate children in the mitzva of mishloach Manot, although they are not presently

obligated.

And in Likkutei Sichos  it is written that those who have some influence on Jewish children, and specifically those involved in

education, should encourage them to fulfil the mitzva of mishloach Manot themselves.

The Time of the Mitzva
The Remo  rules that the mitzvah of mishloach Manot is on the day - not the night - of Purim. A reason for this is stated in the

name of the Ba'al Hama'or ,that if the the Manot are received at night they might be eaten then and the recipient would not

have the wherewithal to fulfil his mitzvah of the Purim meal during the day.

A question arises with regard to sending the Manot before Purim such that they will arrive on Purim. On the one hand, according to

the words of the Remo, and according to the second reason for mishloach Manot set out above - that they are for the giver to

demonstrate his love for his fellow - the sending by the giver should be on Purim.

However, the Baer Heitiv  writes in the name of the Yad Aharon  that if the Manot will arrive on Purim - and the sender can

be sure that the recipient will not eat them before Purim (in accordance with the stricture of the Ba'al Hama'or), he has fulfilled the

mitzvah. This is in accordance with the first reason for mishloach Manot, above, that the recipient have them for his Purim meal.

Sha'alos u'T'shuvos Yehudah Ya'aleh  pursues this line of reasoning explaining further that the sending prior to Purim is merely

a preparation for the mitzvah, which is completed with the receiving of the Manot on Purim. All of the foregoing, of course,

presumes that the Manot, sent by mail etc., are received on Purim and not after it.

The Sha'alos u'Tshuvos L'vushei Mordechai  writes that it is inconceivable that one can fulfil a mitzva of Purim with an act not

actually performed on the day of Purim. He therefore rules that if one is in a place where there is no one to whom he can send

mishloach Manot he should send mishloach Manot (in advance) which will arrive on Purim day (in accordance with the authorities).

On the day of Purim he should set aside two Manot to give to someone at a later date.

What May be Used for Mishloach Manot?
The Taz  and Mogen Avrohom  both rule that only food and drink - as distinct from utensils etc. - may be sent.

>From several Acharonim  it would seem that even raw meat could be sent as a mono. Yet the Mogen Avrohom  argues

that meat would have to be ready to eat, i.e. cooked etc.

Quantities
Concerning the quantities of each of the two Manot, constituting the basic mitzva, there are many opinions. Some, basing

themselves on the account of the Gemorra  that Abaye bar Avin and Rav Chanina bar Avin exchanged their Purim meals, and

with this fulfilled the mitzva of mishloach Manot, rule that the quantity has to be sufficient for a meal (3 k'beitzim - see Shaalos

u'Tshuvos Zera Yaakov  cited in Shaarei T'shuva ).

The P'ri Megadim  writes that each portion should be of a sufficient size to be considered "honourable" in one's place.

Others  state that if each of the two Manot have the volume of a k'zayis, one has fulfilled his obligation, while the Maharsha [30]

notes that a mono could be any size.

Whether the Manot Must be of Different Kinds
The Oruch HaShulchon  infers from the words of the Rambam  that the Manot must be of two completely different kinds.

However, the Tzitz Eliezer  notes a variation between the words of the Shulchon Oruch  and those of the Rambam, the

Shulchon Oruch indicating that one may send two Manot of the same kind. Moreover, he finds a version of the Rambam which is

similar to the words of the Shulchon Oruch. He concludes that the requirement of the verse "..of sending portions to one another..."

is essentially that the Manot should be two, not necessarily of different kinds.

Mishloach Manot Through an Agent (Shaliach)
The Shulchon Oruch  states that "one is obligated to send to his fellow two Manot..." Ostensibly this means that these should

be sent through an agent or messenger (shaliach). Various reason have been given for this.

According to Shaalos ut'shuvos Yehudah Yaaleh ,there is greater honour in sending through a shaliach.

The M'kor Chayim  writes that this publicises the miracle of Purim to a greater degree.

And the Tzitz Eliezer  writes (in the name of the Sefer yafeh l'leiv) that one should strive to find a poor person to act as the

shaliach in order to fulfil also the mitzvah of matanos l'eviyonim: since it is customary for the shluchim to be given gifts by those

who receive the Manot brought by them, he will receive matonos l'eviyonim.

The poskim question whether it is necessay to send the Manot through a shaliach, such that, if he did not, he has not fulfilled the

mitzvah of mishloach Manot, or whether one may deliver them oneself.

The Shaalos uT'shuvos Binyan Tzion  concludes that one may deliver them personally, though in the first instance it is better to

send them through a shaliach.

The Eshel Avrohom  (of the Gaon of Botshatsh) concludes that one may (and should) deliver them personally and the verse

"and of sending portions to one another" comes to inform us of a leniency that one may even send them through a shaliach.

The Shaliach
Normally - for other mitzvos - a shaliach must possess certain qualities (be Jewish, Bar mitzvah or over, etc). May one then send

Manot on Purim through a child or non-Jew?
Rabbi Akiva Eiger  had this question and was told by the Chasam Sofer that mishloach Manot is different from other mitzvos in

which a person is himself obligated and which he may choose to fulfil through a shaliach. For a person to fulfil those mitzvos the

shaliach must be able to be considered "like him" and possess the abovementioned qualities. Here, however, the mitzva is in the

first instance to have the Manot sent by a shaliach, in which case it does not matter who the shaliach is, and can be a child or

even a non-Jew.

The Kedushas Levi  writes that when he was a child his father would send him with the mishloach Manot (and not his aide) for

reasons of chinuch.

To Whom are they Sent?
The verse states "and the sending of portions to one another [literally, each person to his fellow]". Accordingly, the Shaalos

u'Ts'shuvos Yehudah Ya'aleh  questions whether a student may send Manot to his teacher - if, that is, if the teacher could be

called his "fellow". He concludes that inasmuch as his teacher is called his fellow in various instances (eg. with regard to the

mitzva "And you shall love your fellow as yourself") so too he is his "fellow" in regard to mishloach Manot.

The Remo  rules that a man should send to a man and a woman to a woman, not otherwise lest a man send to a widow and

come into a question of kiddushin through these gifts.

The Remo  rules also that one should not send to a mourner during the 12 months of mourning (although the mourner himself is

obligated to send Manot to others, as stated in Shulchon Oruch).