Purim offers some great opportunities to reach out and touch another person's soul. One of those opportunities is the mitzvah of mishlo'ach manot. The basic mitzvah constitutes giving two portions of ready-made food to one person[1].
On campus we have organized a communal mishlo'ach manot in which you pay per person to whom you would like to give, but people receive only one package marked with the names of those who have chosen to give to them[2]. This way we can spend more money on charity than on candy bars[3]! As a matter of fact, independent of the issue of fulfilling mishlo'ach manotin this fashion, I have taken upon myself to make sure all participants will be at least fulfilling the mitzvah of matanot l'evyonim by way of distributing the charity money on Purim. The main question to answer is as follows:
Is one fulfilling the mitzvah of mishlo'ach manot by participating in such a project?
I was surprised when I did not find ancient sources that address this topic. I was expecting to find discussions regarding a group mishlo'ach manot because in times of poverty it would make sense for people to get together and perform this mitzvah. Nevertheless, it is clear to some contemporary scholars, such as Rav Shlomo Zalman Orbach[4]and Rav Ovadia Yossef[5], that partners can send mishlo'ach manot together. The question is whether or not there are special requirements regarding this form of fulfilling the mitzvah.
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| How should it be done? |
Rav Shlomo Zalman Orbach[6]is of the opinion that there must be at least two portions of food in the package that can be attributed to each of the participants. Therefore, according to him if there are 20 people who have paid to give a certain person, we would need 40 portions in that package and that is not practical. Thus according to him many of the students would not be fulfilling the mitzvah.
On the other hand, Rav Ovadia Yossef[7]discusses a situation in which many students got together and sent mishlo'ach manot to their rabbi. Rav Yossef rules that each of the participants has fulfilled the mitzvah of mishlo'ach manot even if they paid only a small sum because they have filled their leader with joy and that is the essence of the mitzvah. Therefore according to him participants it the communal mishlo'ach manot will be fulfilling the mitzvah(assuming the recipient will become joyful.)
If students would like to rely on Rav Ovadia Yossef, they have very broad shoulders to lean upon. Yet I believe that as this issue is disputed and not elaborately discussed, it would be preferable to take at least two portions of the mishlo'ach manot upon reception and give it to someone else in the community. This is a simple action to carry out and which will remove all doubt as to the validity of a communal mishlo'ach manot as well as possibly add some more friendship and joy to our community.
[1] Shulchan Aruch OC 695:4[2] Click herefor more information. [3] See Rambam Hilchot Megilla V'Chanuka 2:17[4] As quoted in Halichot Shlomo, Mitzvat Hapurim p. 337. To view click here.[5] Chazon Ovadia, Purim p. 137[6] Ibid. [7] Ibid.
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