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The obligation on Purim is to "send" 2 foods to another person. The Mishna Brurah (Hilchot Megillah 695:4) says that one may exchange se'udah food with a neighbor and is yotzei (21) even if (and I admit, my understanding may be wrong) that sender is going over to that neighbor to share in the se'udah later and will end up eating his own food.

What if my neighbor comes over after megillah reading? Can I given him his mishloach manot while he is in my house and eat it with him in my living room?

Can this be taken a step further? If I am hosting my neighbor in my house for se'udah, does my serving him a meal count as both the se'udah for him and my "sending" of ready made food? Can I be mekayem my chiyuv simply by hosting friends at the se'udah in my house and serving them (since then I won't be using a shaliach).

Is there some essence to the mitzvah that requires taking it out of my house, or "sending" it away, or is the change in who eats it, regardless of location what is important?

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    I don't see why you would not be Yotzei. People should be spending more time and money on Matanos LeEvyonim anyway instead of all these candy bars and hamentashen.
    – Double AA ♦
    Mar 5, 2015 at 15:33
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    IIRC Rambam (based on Megillah 7b) says that you are yotzei mishloach manos by having a guy over for the seudah. (some take this as proof of the Trumas HaDeshen over the Manos Halevi...whether or not they actually argue is a matter for another time)
    – MTL
    Mar 6, 2015 at 5:16

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It's a safek if one is yotzei like this or not. It's best to be machmir and send more to a different person. Mikra'ei Kodesh - Hilchot Purim by Rabbi Moshe Harari, 12:24.

המזמין את חברו לסעוד אצלו ביום פורים, ספק אם יצא בכך ידי חובת משלוח מנות. וטוב להחמיר ולשלוח מנה נוספת במקום מנה זו.

He cites the Kaf Hachayim (OC 695:42) for this.

The Kaf Hachayim also writes that if you explicitly hand your guest two foods with the statement that these are your mishloach manot, it counts.

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  • Seemingly the eitzah of giving the food to him and saying "this is shaloch manos" takes away any doubt?
    – Yehoshua
    Mar 23, 2016 at 21:25
  • @Yehoshua Apparently.
    – Scimonster
    Mar 23, 2016 at 21:26
  • I imagine the custom of "eating out" wasn't always so prevelant and that's why we'd need to send to people. Now a days it's not like that, so...I was by a seudah one year where the bal habayis brought out plates of chicken, kugel, etc and said to each person "here is your shelach manos! Here is your shelach manos!"
    – Yehoshua
    Mar 23, 2016 at 21:29
  • I received some halachot from my Rav and he included this "Inviting another person, or family to Purim Se’udah does not satisfy the Mitzvah of MM. Rivevot Ephrayim (RE) 8:388:2)" though I have not checked the source.
    – rosends
    Mar 20, 2019 at 10:34

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