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What is the minimum shiur for a min in mishloach manos, and, particularly according to the Rambam (פרק ב הלכה ט"ו) who holds that you can give 2 of the same thing, what's the shiur to say that you can divide it in half? (And I'm not just asking for the ערוך השלחן who doesn't hold of cutting one min in half, or even having 2 identical minim)

Uber_Chacham
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    Who ever disagreed that they can both be the same Bracha? – Gershon Gold Feb 25 '18 at 20:43
  • https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/35541/two-minim-for-mishloach-manos – Gershon Gold Feb 25 '18 at 20:45
  • https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/6325/where-did-the-different-bracha-for-mishloach-manos-idea-come-from – Gershon Gold Feb 25 '18 at 20:46
  • "... according to the Rambam (פרק ב הלכה ט"ו) who holds that you can give 2 of the same thing ...". Can you please quote (preferably in the question) where the Rambam explicitly says that both Manot can be of the same thing? I only see him saying (in the Halakhah you cite) "And similarly a a person is obligated to send two portions of meat or two types of cooked food or two types of food to his friend". – Tamir Evan Mar 08 '18 at 15:48

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R Binyanim Tabadi was asked that question and answered that the objective of mishloach manot is to "spread love" between Jews. Therefore the manot need to awaken love between the specific sender and specific recipient.

He brings the Chaye Adam (כלל קנה סל"ה) who writes that a wealthy person who gives to a poor, or vice versa, should both be stringent with themselves and give nice portions "according to the higher between themselves". As such the wealthy person should give something according to his stature, and the poor person according to the stature of the wealthy person. The Biur Halacha (תרצה, ד) brings the Chaye Adam and writes it is good to do this lechatchila.

R Tabadi writes that he heard directly from R Mordechai Eliyahu that the manot should ideally be ochel mamash and not sweets. He brings the same Rambam that you quote who connects mishloach manot with the dishes served at the mishte, and suggests the manot should be worthy of being served there.

So on the specific quantity, whatever it is that is according to your stature, the one of the recipient and will be fit to serve on his/her table.

mbloch
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    While this, similar to the ritva, seems to say that the shiur is based on the person's chashivus, my question was if there is a shiur at all for a min, or if it depends on the food and recipient - and if there is a shiur for cutting it in half which is different than just double the base shiur – Uber_Chacham Feb 27 '18 at 19:02
  • "He brings the same Rambam that you quote who connects mishloach manot with the dishes served at the mishte ...". That is, according to the printed editions, which group them into one Halakhah. In the Mechon Mamre edition, they are separate Halakhot. – Tamir Evan Mar 08 '18 at 16:08
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The Tzitz Eliezer 14:65 discusses this question and answers that one would need the size of three eggs per mana.

sam
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