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If I buy a food-utensil from a gentile to give as a gift to a Jew, can I tovel it before giving it to him, or must he do it himself as the final intended owner? Is there a difference between glass and metal in this regard?

Double AA
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    Maybe the downvoter thought to dip my score, but did it without commenting so as not to help his ego into making worse puns. – Double AA Feb 13 '12 at 00:30
  • Similar, followup question: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/36367 – msh210 Mar 17 '14 at 04:16
  • Two suggestions: 1. You can decide to use it for yourself and then be toivel. 2. You can do zechia via someone else I.e. ask 3rd party to acquire on the recipients behalf and then do do the tevila as zechia –  Aug 20 '16 at 22:18
  • http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=54963&st=&pgnum=207 – Double AA Jul 05 '17 at 19:48

2 Answers2

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Tevilath Kelim (by R. Zvi Cohen) 8:6 says that you shouldn't immerse it. In the footnote there he cites Mekor Chaim 14, who says that this is because the giver didn't buy the utensil with the intent to use it for food preparation.

(CYLOR, of course.)

Alex
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    @HachamGabriel, he doesn't say anything about a berachah, but in the previous paragraph (and its footnote) he cites R. Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss and (יבלח"ט) R. Shmuel Wosner about the case of a seller, that his immersion would accomplish nothing because the chiyuv hasn't taken effect yet. So it sounds like according to this, no disqualification is possible - no matter what the seller or giver did, the buyer would still have to immerse it with a berachah. – Alex Feb 13 '12 at 03:14
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    So if the giver resolves to use it once, then he can tovel it with a bracha. – Double AA Feb 13 '12 at 04:30
  • What if you know the recipient won't Tovel it? – Seth J Dec 11 '12 at 18:18
  • @SethJ Perhaps you can tovel it to use for yourself once. – Double AA Feb 03 '13 at 06:39
  • If it's Klei Otzar at purchase time, then it should be Patur forever, because it's a Jew who made it into a Kli Seudah. – Double AA Sep 18 '14 at 04:13
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You can not tovel something for the recipient if he didnt designate you as a messenger to do so. If you know he wouldnt do it himself then give him a gift in a plastic container or volunteer to do it for him once you have given it.

Jeff
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    Hi Jeff, welcome to Mi Yodeya! Do you have a source to [edit] in for your assertion that toveling the dish requires the owner's permission? – Double AA Feb 03 '13 at 06:28
  • Dont remember the source but as a prove i can say that all jewsih stores would be selling dishes and pots pre-toveled if there was such an option. – Jeff Feb 03 '13 at 06:33
  • That just proves they can't tovel it, not that the reason is because the buyer didn't designate the store owner as a messenger. (It could also just be that they are cheap/lazy.) – Double AA Feb 03 '13 at 06:37
  • If there was a way to tovel it and to charge extra for it they would do it and many people would gladly pay extra for such service. – Jeff Feb 03 '13 at 06:42
  • Perhaps, but that doesn't explain why they can't do it. – Double AA Feb 03 '13 at 06:43
  • this isnt an absolute prove but something to prove prior refilla might not mean much when ownership changes: http://revach.net/ask/article.php?id=1039 – Jeff Feb 03 '13 at 06:53
  • here is an offical Rabbi saying the same point as i made: http://revach.net/ask/article.php?id=2080 – Jeff Feb 03 '13 at 06:55
  • Nope, he doesn't say the same point as you made. He just says you can't tovel it. He never says the reason is because the recipient didn't designate you as a messenger to tovel it. – Double AA Feb 03 '13 at 06:58
  • Well he says in the last sentence that a jew cant do it for another and you know that sending a messenger is fine, even a minor or a non jewish messenger is fine as long as adult jewish person supervises. – Jeff Feb 03 '13 at 07:09
  • But sending a messenger is only known to be ok if I already own it. Who says I can send a messenger on something I don't own yet? – Double AA Feb 03 '13 at 07:15
  • Exactly and therefore read my original comment again. The giver cant be the messenger of the person who doesnt own it yet and therefore only after giving the gift will the new owner have to tovel it himself or send a messenger. – Jeff Feb 03 '13 at 07:19