Purim- What Constitutes The Required 2 Mishloach Manot
We continue to discuss the laws of Purim and specifically the laws of Mishloach Manot. Firstly, it should be pointed out that the Mitzvah of Mishloach Manot is fulfilled only in the day and not at night.
Today’s question is what constitutes 2 Manot? To have 2 Manot means that the gift needs to have in it at least 2 types of food. Regarding what types of food, there is a misconception that you need 2 Berachot. This is not true. For Mishloach Manot, the food items can be of the same Beracha.
The is proven in the Gemara where the Rambam (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, 1138-1204) writes clearly that a person may give in his Mishloach Manot 2 types of meat, as long as the two types have different tastes and different textures. The meat can be from the same animal as long as each has a different taste and different texture. For example, one food can be the shoulder meat, and one can be the thigh meat. These are considered two different types of meat since they have different textures and different tastes, and thus is permissible. Therefore one should not send 2 of the same item, like 2 of the same cakes. If one wants to send cookies and cake, they are fulfilling the Mitzvah, even though they are the same Beracha.
We learn this from a Gemara where Rabbi Yehuda sent Rav Hoshaya an Egel (calf), and a bottle of wine on Purim. According to one text, the wine was returned because Rav Hoshaya held that you can’t use wine for Mishloach Manot. So Rabbi Yehuda sent in its place another piece of Egel. The Rav went on to accept what was sent as Mishloah Manot. The Rabbis proceeded to ask how can it be that he fulfilled Mishloach Manot being that he sent 2 pieces of meat from the same animal? So they answered that it was from a different part of the animal, and therefore since the meat is different in taste and texture, it is considered a legitimate Mishloach Manot.
