Review of Selected Halachos Relating to Purm by Rabbi Doniel Neustadt Essay

WEEKLY-HALACHA FOR 5761SELECTED HALACHOS RELATING TO PURIMBy Rabbi Doniel NeustadtRav of Young Israel of Cleveland HeightsA discussion of Halachic topics related to the Purim. For final rulings,consult your Rav.MISHLOACH MANOS THE BASIC MITZVAHMordechai and Esther, with the approval of the Rabbis of the time,introduced a mitzvas assei(1) which obligates every person to send twodifferent kinds of foods to one friend on Purim. Two basic reasons are givenfor this mitzvahThere are impoverished people who are too embarrassed to collect tzedakahfor themselves and will therefore not have food for the seudas Purim. Byestablishing a system whereby everyone receives packages of food on Purim,the rabbis ensured that even the most reticent of individuals will have foodfor the Purim seudah(2).Sending food to a friend or an acquaintance is an expression of goodwill andfraternity. On Purim we wish to instill and perpetuate these feelings(3).The goals of both of these reasons must be met in order to fulfill themitzvah properly. For instance One who sends clothing for mishloach manosdoes not fulfill the mitzvah(4) since he did nothing for his friend's Purimmeal. Similarly, one who sends mishloach manos anonymously does not fulfillthe mitzvah(5) since no friendship or goodwill is generated between him andthe recipient.Nowadays, we are witness to a marked proliferation of mishloach manos.Although mishloach manos is a relatively easy mitzvah to fulfill, if one isunaware of the halachos, he could send dozens of mishloach manos and stillnot properly fulfill the mitzvah. In addition, a clear distinction must bedrawn between the minimum requirements for fulfilling the mitzvah, and thehiddur mitzvah, the more exacting form of fulfilling the mitzvah. There arealso some little known halachos which are important for those who wish tofulfill the mitzvah according to the views of all the poskim. We have thussplit the halachos into two parts - the first part discusses the basicrules, and the second part discusses chumros and hiddurim for those who wishto embellish upon this once-a-year mitzvah.MISHLOACH MANOS THE BASIC RULES1. Who should send Men...

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