Q On Purim we try to fulfill "kol haposhet yad nosnim lo." If I receive an email solicitation on Purim, would that be called "poshet yad?"
If it is, do I have send the money on Purim itself?
How about if I get a solicitation letter on Purim?
Is receiving an email or letter considered already “poshet yad” or is it only when I open them? If not, do I have to open the email or the letter, if I suspect that it is a solicitation?
How about during the rest of the year, in regards to the prohibition of “not closing one's hand?”
A. Rambam (Matnos Anyim 7: 1, 2) rules that it is a positive commandment to give tzdaka to the poor. He adds that the one that encounters a pleading needy and turns away from him, evading giving him tzdaka , transgresses also on the negative commandment; “You shall not harden your heart or close your hand, against your destitute brother.”(Devarim 15: 7) Rema (Y.D. 249: 4) avers that it is prohibited to send away an indigent empty handed, as it is written: “Let not the oppressed turn back in shame.” (Tehilim 74: 21)
The main differences between every day tzdaka and Purims Matonos, is the Purim obligation to actively seek the indigent and the avoidance of checking out the honesty of the soliciting individual on Purim. (O.H. 694: 3.) To comply with Matonos Laevyonim, the minimum of two gifts have to be donated on the day of Purim itself.
However, Poskim write that neglecting a solicitation letter sent by mail does not necessarily contravene the commandments involved, since the solicitation was not presented personally and directly, but in absence and likely also to others. (Horav Eliashiv ztl quoted in Beorach Tzdaka 1: 7 n. 12. Teshuva from Horav I. Silverstein shlit"a, ibid.p. 447.)
Be'er Moishe (4: 92b,) basing his argument on Chassam Sofer's (Y.D. 220) elucidation on the differences between written and oral testimony, and the lesser reliability of the former, maintains that if the letter arrives accompanied by reliable supporting testimonies and recommendations, it should be treated as if the needy is actually present before him and thus he should be properly attended.
Horav Shlomo Miller's Shlit”a opinion is that emails are similar to letters and one may rely on the lenient ruling above. However, a request by phone should be treated as a personal solicitation, when the individual is known to the donor and he is collecting for his own personal needs.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit”a
Important Numbers
