By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com There are four types of people in the world: Those who prepare their mishloach manos many days before Purim; those who prepare the day before Purim; those who recycle mishloach manos that they have received on Purim itself; and those who do not fulfill the mitzvah at all. This article is written for all four types. The Mitzvah The Michtav M’Eliyahu writes that the best way to form a relationship is to give. When you give, you develop your ahavas Yisrael to that other person, and eventually to others. Mordechai and his beis din enacted that on the day of Purim each person must send a gift of at least two portions of food to a friend. This is seen from the verse in Megillas Esther, “U’mishloach manos ish l’rei’eihu.” The Two-Blessings Myth The mitzvah is to send two different foods. The two foods may certainly have the same berachah; there is no requirement the two different food items to have two separate berachos. This is one of the biggest misconceptions in hilchos Purim. No Cutting in Half There is an issue, however, of taking one food item and cutting it in half into two slices. The Aruch HaShulchan (O.C. 695:14) writes that “just because one cut it in half it should be considered two foods?” Perhaps it is this statement of the Aruch HaShulchan that has caused the two-blessings myth to exist. If someone sends another two pieces of meat from two different limbs that tastes slightly different, this is considered two foods (Mikraei Kodesh, Siman 38). Two Different Foods The parameters of what constitutes two different foods have been delineated by the poskim. Rav Shlomo Miller, shlita, has ruled that one piece of roasted chicken and one piece of boiled chicken are considered two minim, but two different pieces of chicken prepared the same way, such as one top piece and one bottom piece are considered one min, one type of food (See Sefer Shoshanas Yisrael cited by Rabbi Moshe Friedman). Similarly, a mixed vegetable salad is considered one type of food only, while cut-up vegetables to be mixed into a salad are considered two minim. A sandwich or hamburger in a bun is one min. This is even if it has two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, pareve cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame-seed bun. The same would be true with a hotdog in a bun. What about the thousand-dollar Doma sandwich discussed in a previous article? That would be one min. The Reasons What is the reason behind the mitzvah of mishloach manos? Two reasons are brought down. The Terumas HaDeshen (Siman 111) writes that it is to ensure that the recipients not run out of food items to serve for their meals. The Manos HaLevi on Megillas Esther (9:19), written by Rav Shlomo Alkabetz and cited by the Chasam Sofer, writes an altogether different reason: to increase peace and brotherly love. This is the opposite of the characterization of the Jewish people by Haman as a nation that is “mefuzar u’mefurad,” spread and standing apart on account of internal arguments. Preamble And Intentions Rav Alexander Ziskind of Grodno was one of the only two individuals who ever received an approbation on a sefer from the Vilna Gaon himself. In his sefer, Yesod V’Shoresh HaAvodah, he includes a preamble that one should recite before fulfilling the mitzvah of mishloach manos. Translated from the Hebrew text, it’s “For the unification of the Name of the Holy One Blessed be He, I am hereby prepared and ready to fulfill the positive mitzvah of the sages of “u’mishloach […]
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