Mar 24, 2019

Interesting Psak: giving a live animal as shalachmanos

I am not sure what this young man was thinking, but on Purim morning (Sushan Purim actually, as it was in Jerusalem) one of the students of Rav Meshulam David Soloveitchik sent a mishloach manot, aka shalachmanos, to his rebbe, Rav MD S, that included a live chicken.

As an aside, I would love to receive such a shalachanos though I have no idea what he thought of it.

Upon receiving the unusual shalachmanos, Rav Soloveitchik got into a discussion whether one can fulfill one's shalachmanos obligation with raw meat. The obligation is really to send prepared foods - many opinions are that raw meat would not qualify, though some poskim say raw meat is fine. Rav Soloveitchik added that even according to the poskim that raw meat is fine, a chicken that has not been shechted would not qualify and he would not fulfill his obligation by giving that.

Because he paskened that the shalachmanos has not been given as the chicken was alive, he appointed the young student as a messenger to take the chicken to an expert shochet in the area to have it shechted and to then bring it back. After that he can give it as shalachmanos.
source: Kikar

The truth is that I do not understand the idea behind his concluding resolution. Being that he already received the chicken, and the young man had given it but did not fulfill the shalachmanos obligation, and Rav Soloveitchik appointed him as a shliach to take it to be shechted, it is clear Rav Soloveitchik considered it his own already, regardless of the fact that it did not fulfill a shalachmanos obligation. That being the case, after shechting it how can the young man give it back too Rav Soloveitchik and then fulfill his obligation? it already belongs to Rav Soloveitchik! I suspect the details on that are incorrect. Either he did not accept it at all and never took ownership, or he gave it back and the young man retook ownership of the chicken or he was only speaking theoretically about after shechita being able to give shalachmanos.


------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel
------------------------------------------------------

No comments:

Post a Comment