----------
From: dmetzman@...[SMTP:dmetzman@...]
Reply To: TeaneckShulsChat@...
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2001 10:02 AM
To: TeaneckShulsChat@...
Subject: Good editorial from times of london

Hard as it is to believe this editorial is from the times of london.
It seems to be their lead editorial (as opposed to an op-ed). Maybe
the Times has always been supportive of Israel, I always thought the
british lack of back bone and self interest prevented them from
supporting Israel. The reality is probably that they just don't like
the violence or israel.\

THURSDAY MARCH 15 2001

Leading article

Arafat's children

Protests at last from the weak who protect the strong
Stone-throwing, flag-waving Palestinian youths
ripped through the town of Ramallah yesterday in
the first of two "days of rage" declared by Yassir
Arafat's Fatah organisation. It will have been no
trouble to recruit this rent-a-mob; there is rage to
spare, after nearly six months of futile battling
against Israeli occupation. But rage, the most
nihilistic of impulses, has done nothing but harm to
Palestinians.

A few powerless people, as they mourn children
killed in crossfire or pushed, like human shields,
ahead of rioters attacking Israeli troops, are
beginning to whisper the truth - that they are
being deliberately exposed to danger and death,
exploited by their own side's gunmen. As The
Times reported yesterday from El Bireh, the
Palestinian residential area where people's flats
are daily used by snipers attacking a nearby
Jewish settlement, locals have appealed to the
gunmen not to expose their families to returning
fire. For response, they get official banners
acclaiming their dead infants as martyrs. They too
hate Israel. But they do not want to be martyrs to
an unending, unwinnable confrontation. They want
to be left alone.

These grieving voices should be heard, by their
own leaders and by others. They are ignored. The
European Union has had plenty to say about the
damage inflicted by Israel's economic blockade
and military roadblocks in the West Bank; in
Jerusalem yesterday, that was also Chris Patten's
theme. But foreign leaders limply shrink from
condemning the cynicism with which various
Palestinian factional leaders, who themselves are
in no firing line, have played upon popular fears
and frustration.

From Hamas and Fatah's increasingly militant
Tanzim militia leaders, both out to destroy any
chance of negotiated cohabitation in this wracked
land, each Palestinian death is a weapon of war.
But even Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator
who was once a moderate, has signed up to the
politics of hate. This week she circulated an
incendiary "open letter" purporting to be from
Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister. "To
every man, woman and child in the Palestinian
territories", it said, "you are my target; you will
be made to suffer; and you shall pay for the
original crime of being a Palestinian." This crude
forgery is black propaganda and bad satire. What
good can Ms Ashrawi think to do by inciting the
most violent to fresh extremes? Six months after it
started, the "al-Aqsa intifada" has presented
Palestinians with a grim set of accounts. Death has
claimed at least 345 Palestinians, 13 Israeli Arabs
and 65 other Israelis; hundreds more have been
maimed. The Palestinian central bank calculates
that economic activity, already feeble, has halved.
In some areas it is down by 80 per cent. Tourism,
which could be a big earner, is for obvious
reasons only a memory now, bringing in a mere 7
per cent of what it made before. Trade is ruined.
More than 160,000 Palestinians cannot travel to
their jobs in Israel.

But such statistics do not reveal a more corrosive
and potentially lasting evil, the brutalisation of
children of both sexes who are trained and
indoctrinated at terrorist boot camps before being
used as expendable cover for gunmen. "Closure
does not frighten us", shouted protesters yesterday.
It should. Civilians are paying an unendurable
price - children first. Tense Israeli troops have
too often shot before asking questions; but the
harsher truth is that those children should be kept
far from trouble, not pushed towards it.

At his first full Cabinet this week, Mr Sharon
promised to ease restrictions on most Palestinians
and to punish only those responsible for violence.
That must be right. It is easier said than done,
certainly while Mr Arafat sticks to the official
Fatah line that all Israel understands is violence.
In the coming fortnight, violence is likely to
worsen, ratcheted up in advance of the March 27
Arab summit in Jordan. There are risks for Israel
in lifting restrictions around towns such as
Bethlehem and Hebron at a time when Fatah is
calling on Arabs to join "the beginning of war"
and Saddam Hussein is training thousands of
volunteers to send. Israel must maintain its
vigilance so long as Mr Arafat scorns the
compromises that would make for a better, freer
Palestine.

Copyright 2001 Times Newspapers Ltd. This service
is provided on Times Newspapers' standard terms
and conditions. To inquire about a licence to reproduce
material from The Times, visit the Syndication website.

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WEEKLY-HALACHA FOR 5761



SELECTED HALACHOS RELATING TO PURIM

By Rabbi Doniel Neustadt
Rav of Young Israel of Cleveland Heights

A discussion of Halachic topics related to the Purim. For final rulings,
consult your Rav.

MISHLOACH MANOS: THE BASIC MITZVAH

Mordechai and Esther, with the approval of the Rabbis of the time,
introduced a mitzvas assei(1) which obligates every person to send two
different kinds of foods to one friend on Purim. Two basic reasons are

for this mitzvah:
There are impoverished people who are too embarrassed to collect tzedakah
for themselves and will therefore not have food for the seudas Purim. By
establishing a system whereby everyone receives packages of food on Purim,
the rabbis ensured that even the most reticent of individuals will have

for the Purim seudah(2).
Sending food to a friend or an acquaintance is an expression of goodwill

fraternity. On Purim we wish to instill and perpetuate these feelings(3).

The goals of both of these reasons must be met in order to fulfill the
mitzvah properly. For instance: One who sends clothing for mishloach manos
does not fulfill the mitzvah(4) since he did nothing for his friend's

meal. Similarly, one who sends mishloach manos anonymously does not

the mitzvah(5) since no friendship or goodwill is generated between him

the recipient.

Nowadays, we are witness to a marked proliferation of mishloach manos.
Although mishloach manos is a relatively easy mitzvah to fulfill, if one

unaware of the halachos, he could send dozens of mishloach manos and still
not properly fulfill the mitzvah. In addition, a clear distinction must be
drawn between the minimum requirements for fulfilling the mitzvah, and the
hiddur mitzvah, the more exacting form of fulfilling the mitzvah. There

also some little known halachos which are important for those who wish to
fulfill the mitzvah according to the views of all the poskim. We have thus
split the halachos into two parts - the first part discusses the basic
rules, and the second part discusses chumros and hiddurim for those who

to embellish upon this once-a-year mitzvah.

MISHLOACH MANOS: THE BASIC RULES

1. Who should send: Men and women are personally obligated in this
mitzvah(6). Married women are obligated in their own right and are not
exempted by their husband's mishloach manos(7). It is sufficient, however,
for husband and wife to send mishloach manos together, as if it is coming
from both of them - and the recipient recognizing that it is coming from
both(8).

Some poskim hold that children over 13 - even those who are being

by their parents - are obligated(9), while others exempt them since they

not own anything in their own right(10).

Parents should educate their children in the mitzvah of mishloach manos as
they do with every mitzvah(11).

2. What to send: Any combination of two kinds of food(12), or one food and
one drink(13), or two kinds of drink(14), is sufficient. Two pieces of the
same food are considered as one food(15). Some poskim(16) specify that the
foods be ready to eat and require no further cooking, while others(17)

even uncooked foods to be sent.

3.To whom to send: To any Jewish(18) adult(19), wealthy or poor, with whom
you are acquainted or to whom you are related. Although men should send to
men only and women to women only(20), families may send to each other(21).

Mishloach manos should not be sent to a mourner(22) during the year of
mourning for his parents, or during the thirty days of mourning for other
relatives(23). A mourner who receives mishloach manos need not return

and the sender fulfills his mitzvah by sending those mishloach manos(24).

is permitted for a woman to send to the wife of a mourner(25).

A mourner must send mishloach manos - even if he is in the middle of
shivah. A mourner should refrain from sending "items of simchah" (items

elicit laughter and merriment)(26).

4. When to send: Mishloach Manos should be sent and received on Purim
day(27). If it is received at night or on the days before or after Purim,
the sender does not fulfill the mitzvah(28). If it is sent before Purim

is received on Purim, some poskim hold that the mitzvah is fulfilled(29)
while others hold that it is not(30).

5. How to send: The sender himself may deliver the mishloach manos

to the recipient(31). Some poskim(32) hold that it is preferable to send

via a messenger. The messenger may be a minor or a non-Jew(33). When

with a messenger, it is proper to verify that the mishloach manos was

delivered(34), especially if the messenger is a minor or a non-Jew(35).

MISHLOACH MANOS: CHUMROS and HIDDURIM(36)
1. What to send: One should send foods which will be eaten at the seudas
Purim(37).

A wealthy person who sends inexpensive items of food does not fulfill the
mitzvah. In order for his mishloach manos to be considered as an

of friendship, its cost must be relative to the sender's wealth(38).

One who sends inexpensive food items to a wealthy person does not fulfill
the mitzvah, since such items are meaningless and unappreciated by

The minimum amount of mishloach manos is a meal's worth, about 6-7 fl. oz.
of food(40). Other poskim require that one send no less of a meal [in
volume] than one would normally serve a guest(41).

It is better to send two kinds of food than one food and one drink42 or

kinds of drink(43).

Two different kinds of fruit are considered as one food(44).

Two different kinds of wine, e.g., red wine and white wine, are considered
as one kind of drink(45).

It is better not to send an item which the sender himself would not eat
because of kashrus considerations(46).

To whom to send: One who sends mishloach manos as acknowledgment of a

rendered to the sender does not fulfill the mitzvah(47).

One who sends mishloach manos to his enemy(48) or to a complete
stranger(49) does not fulfill the mitzvah.

It is questionable if mishloach manos can be sent to one who is too drunk
to be aware of having received them(50).

2. When to send: The mishloach manos should be sent as early as possible,
but not before the reading of the megillah on Purim morning(51).

One who is traveling and will not be home must still send mishloach manos
and cannot rely on a messenger or his family in another city to fulfill

obligation(52). If, however, he specifically appoints another person to

it for him, that is sufficient(53).

3.How to send: The two kinds of food or drink should not be placed in one
utensil (plate or bowl), since the utensil combines them into one

FOOTNOTES:

1 The poskim (see Achiezer 3:73) refer to this mitzvah as a mitzvah
mi-divrei kabbalah, a rabbinical mitzvah which is incorporated into the
written text (Esther 9:22). Accordingly, we do not say safek d'Rabbanan
l'kulah in regard to the mitzvos of Purim (Tzafnas Panei'ach to Rambam
Megillah 1:1).

2 Terumas ha-Deshen 111.

3 R' Shlomo Alkavatz in Manos ha-Levi quoted in Teshuvos Chasam Sofer O.C.
196.

4 Mishnah Berurah 695:20.

5 Kesav Sofer O.C. 141.

6 Rama O.C. 695:4.

7 Magen Avraham 695:12; Chayei Adam 155:33; Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 142:4;
Mishnah Berurah 695:25; Aruch ha-Shulchan 695:18.

8 Harav S.Z. Auerbach (written responum quoted in Halichos Bas Yisrael,

303 and oral ruling quoted in Halichos Beisah, pg. 354). Accordingly, the
amount sent should be double the minimum amount of mishloach manos.

9 Aruch ha-Shulchan 694:2 (concerning matanos la-evyonim); Orchos Chayim
695:2 quoting Me'orei Ohr.

10 Responsa Kinyan Torah 1:132. It follows that if the children have their
own possessions, then they are obligated like any adult.

11 Pri Megadim 695:14; Eishel Avraham 695; Kaf ha-Chayim 695:57. This

that parents should give their children food or money so that they can
fulfill the mitzvah ??Chanoch l'Na'ar, pg. 66. See, however, Kinyan Torah
1:132 who holds that it is sufficient chinuch to allow the children to
deliver the mishloach manos.

12 O.C. 695:4.

13 Mishnah Berurah 695:20.

14 Aruch ha-Shulchan 695:14.

15 Ibid. See Tzitz Eliezer 14:65; 15:31.

16 Magen Avraham 695:11; Ma'asei Rav 249; Chayei Adam 135:31; Kitzur
Shulchan Aruch 142:2; Aruch ha-Shulchan 695:15.

17 Pri Chadash O.C. 695; Ha'amek Sh'eilah 67:9; Shevet Sofer O.C. 23;
Yechaveh Da'as 6:45. Mishnah Berurah 695:20 quotes both views without
rendering a decision.

18 Responsa Beis Yitzchak (Y.D. 2:142).

19 Aruch ha-Shulchan 695:18 rules that one fulfills the mitzvah by sending
to a minor, but many poskim (Ya'avetz 1:121, Yad Sofer 24; Kaf ha-Chayim
694:12; Birur Halachah, pg. 405) rule that one does not fulfill the

in that manner.

20 Rama 695:4.

21 Harav S.Z. Auerbach (oral ruling quoted in Halichos Beisah, pg. 354).

22 Unless he is the rav of the city ?? Divrei Malkiel 5:237.

23 Rama O.C. 696:6.

24 Kesav Sofer O.C. 139.

25 Harav S.Y. Elyashiv (oral ruling quoted in Penei Baruch, pg. 322).

26 Mishnah Berurah 696:18.

27 Rama 695:4.

28 Aruch ha-Shulchan 695:16.

29 Be'er Heitev 695:7 quoting Yad Aharon; Responsa Beis She'arim O.C. 381;
Chelkas Ya'akov 1:102.

30 Aruch ha-Shulchan 695:17; Levushei Mordechai O.C. 108.

31 Yehudah Ya'aleh O.C. 207; Eishel Avraham 695; Kaf ha-Chayim 695:41;

Eliezer 9:33.

32 Mekor Chayim 694; Binyan Tziyon 44 quoted by Mishnah Berurah 695:18;
Chasam Sofer (Gitin 22b).

33 Chasam Sofer (Gitin 22b); R' Shlomo Kluger (Sefer ha-Chayim 695); Da'as
Torah 695:4; Chelkas Ya'akov 1:103.

34 Achiezer 3:73.

35 Chelkas Ya'akov 1:104.

36 The following is a list of hiddurim that, if possible, one should

for at least one set of mishloach manos so that he fulfills the mitzvah in
accordance with all views. See note 1.

37 This is because the main purpose of mishloach manos is so that everyone
will have a proper Purim meal,?see Ma'asei Rav 249.

38 Yad Dovid (Megillah 7a); Sdei Chemed, Purim 6.

39 Beiur Halachah 695:4 based on Ritva and Chayei Adam.

40 Sha'arei Teshuvah 694:1 quoting Zera Yaakov 11 concerning matanos
la-evyonim. See Zera Ya'akov who rules the same way concerning mishloach
manos.

41 Rosh Yosef, Megillah 7b; Eishel Avraham (Butchatch) 695; Aruch
ha-Shulchan 695:15.

42 Nitei Gavriel, pg. 106 quoting several poskim based on R' Chananel
(Megillah 7a).

43 Beis Yitzchak (Megillah 7b) based on the words of the Shelah.

44 See Rosh Yosef (Megillah 7a, quoted in Nitei Gavriel, pg. 107) who does
not clearly decide this issue.

45 Orchos Chayim 695 quoting Tikkun Moshe.

46 See Chochmas Shelomo 695:4 and Maharam Shick O.C. 341.

47 Tzfnas Panei'ach (Rambam Hilchos Megillah 2:15).

48 Orchos Chayim 695:4 quoted in Nitei Gavriel, pg. 109. See, however,

Yoetz (Purim) who recommends sending mishloach manos as a way of settling
disputes between people.

49 Harav M. Feinstein (oral ruling quoted in Ohalei Yeshurun, pg. 58).

50 See Nitei Gavriel, pg. 114.

51 Based on Mishnah Berurah 692:1 who says that the shehecheyanu recited

the daytime reading of the megillah applies to mishloach manos as well.
Additionally, there is a view that holds that one who sends mishloach

before the megillah does not fulfill his obligation altogether (Nitei
Gavriel, pg. 125 quoting Tikkun Moshe, pg. 92).

52 Aruch ha-Shulchan 696:3; Mikra'ei Kodesh 39.

53 Aruch ha-Shulchan 695:16.

54 Ben Ish Chai, Tetzaveh 16 and in Torah Lishmah 189. Most poskim are not
concerned with this.

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Weekly-Halacha, Copyright 2001 by Rabbi Neustadt, Dr. Jeffrey Gross and
Torah.org. The author, Rabbi Neustadt, is the principal of Yavne
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