** Just a note to our New York readers- Please be patient on Thursday Night (Purim night) and on Friday (Purim Day). The streets will be very busy and crowded with both cars and children. Please be cautious and conscientious of others. **
A question was asked of Chacham Ovadia Yoseph in an interesting case regarding the laws of Mishloach Manot. There was a group of men that were attending a regularly scheduled class, and they wanted to collectively buy their Rabbi a Mishloach Manot. So the question is, do they in such case individually fulfill the Mitzvah of Mishloach Manot by giving collectively?
So it’s clear Chacham Ovadia says, that if each one puts in enough money to buy at least 2 Manot each, basing on whatever 2 Manot would be considered and its price would be, so then of course each would be fulfilling the Mitzvah. An example would be where there are 10 men, and each one chipped in five dollars. So in this example, each man would have fulfilled the Mitzvah of Mishloach Manot, because $5.00 for sure is enough to buy 2 Manot, and each man has his 2 Manot share represented. So in our example, where there are 10 guys in one giving, each would be considered as fulfilling their obligation.
Chacham Ovadia goes further and states a leniency here. Chacham Ovadia talks of a case where the Manot were gathered in a collective effort, but one of the guys didn’t chip in two Manots worth. For example, a guy didn’t have the money or whatever it is, and he only gave a dollar instead of five dollars even though everyone else chipped more substantially. But in such a case we follow the receiver, and the bottom line is that he received two Manot, and since it was done as a collective effort, so everybody gets included in the Mitzvah including the one who just gave one dollar.
Lechatchila, of course if you are making a collective Mishloach Manot, it would be proper for each one to pay at least 2 Manots worth. However even if you didn’t participate by monetary contribution, but were part of the group, then the collective Manot would count for him as fulfilling the Mitzvah of Mishloach Manot.
Furthermore you do fulfill the Mitzvah of Mishloach Manot if giving it to your Rabbi, even though the Pasuk says "Mishloach Manot Eesh Lire’ehu", which means a man to his friend. We wouldn’t call a Rabbi a friend, but still you see that Bore Olam says the Pasuk "Lemaan Achai V'ereai," meaning that Bore Olam calls the Jewish people his friends. So you see that if Bore Olam can call himself a friend of the Jewish people where there is the greatest difference in the world between G-d and human beings, so therefore a student can fulfill Mishloach Manot by giving it to a Rav. And of course the opposite would also be true.
