** Go to www.dailyhalacha.com and click on ‘Matanot La’evyonim’ to fulfill the misva of giving to the needy on Purim, and have Rabbi Eli Mansour distribute the funds for you. **
One of the obligations that apply on the holiday of Purim is "Mishlo'ah Manot" – sending food packages to one's fellow.
The question arises as to whether it is permissible to send Mishlo'ah Manot to a person in mourning, meaning, within twelve months of the passing of his parent, or within thirty days of the passing of another close relative, Heaven forbid. This question stems from the fact that Halacha forbids extending friendly greetings to a mourner during this period. The Ben Ish Hai (Rabbi Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) held that sending Mishlo'ah Manot resembles extending a friendly greeting, and one may therefore not send Mishlo'ah Manot to a mourner on Purim. This is also the view taken by the Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles, Poland, 1525-1572), in his glosses to the Shulhan Aruch (696:6). (It should be noted that this refers only to a mourner's receiving Mishlo'ah Manot. This view concedes that a mourner is required to send Mishlo'ah Manot, as his status as a mourner does not absolve him of this obligation.)
Hacham Ovadia Yosef, however, in his work Halichot Olam, disputes this ruling, noting that other authorities, including the Hid"a (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806) and Rav Haim Palachi (1788-1868), held that one may send Mishlo'ah Manot to a mourner. In their view, mourning observances are suspended on the holiday of Purim, just as they are suspended on Shabbat. Hence, just as one may certainly extend a friendly greeting to a mourner on Shabbat, it is likewise permissible to send Mishlo'ah Manot to a mourner on Purim. Since the restrictions of mourning do not apply on Purim, there is no prohibition against greeting a mourner or sending him Mishlo'ah Manot on Purim. By the same token, a mourner may accept the Mishlo'ah Manot despite his current status.
Summary: It is permissible to send Mishlo'ah Manot to a mourner on Purim, and a mourner may receive Mishlo'ah Manot on Purim.
