[Avodah] Gifts on Shabbos

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 08:45:22PM -0500, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote:
: I am trying to get a more precise understanding of when it is
: assur/mutar to give someone a gift on Shabbos.
...
: The logic is somewhat circular, I think: 306 refers to 323, and 323
: refers to 306...

The Mishnah Berurah has mutual references between 306:33 and 323:34. But
I don't see the logic itself being circular. 306 spells out the theory,
and 323 is an example of that theory and at each place he shows you the
other half of the picture.

Giving gifts is assur (derabbanan) on Shabbos, except when the purpose
of the gift is letzorekh Shabbos, or another mitzvah.

Thus, it includes giving a non-toveled keli to a non-Jew so that it
can be borrowed back and used *for Shabbos*. But not a wedding gift,
which (as per R' Ribiat's bar mitzvah boy) presumably isn't needed by
the chasan on Shabbos.

And apparently claiming simchas chasan being a mitzvah isn't sufficient
to say the gift is letzorekh mitzvah. Which you note as well, although
you phrase it in terms of hana'ah and oneg Shabbos, ie lezorekh
Shabbos. Perhaps this is because there are other ways to provide simchah
or oneg, so it's not "letzorekh".

: (1) Many shuls offer printed material, such as parsha sheets, weekly
: shul bulletins, and even newspapers and magazines. Or someone might
: attend a shiur, where the teacher distributes printed handouts of the
: source material. Can I take these home to read or learn from on
: Shabbos afternoon? Wouldn't this be a Tzorech Shabbos?

I would think so. Why any less than a gift of food? In both cases,
the recipient already owns alternatives. So why would something to eat
be more letzorekh Shabbos than something to learn?

This is unlike the bar mitzvah boy recieving a sefer (acc to R' Ribiat),
in that the purpose isn't learning on Shabbos.

Implied: A guest who knows the host won't use the food (eg he recommends
waiting until the wine is chilled) shouldn't be giving even usable food.
Is this the halakhah?

Also, I found that ROY (Yechaveh Da'as 3:21) DOES allow giving the
bar mitzvah boy that seifer because it provides chizuq. And there is
no greater letzorekh mitzvah than that!

: (2) Suppose someone is invited to a friend for a Shabbos meal, and he
: brings a challah or wine as a gift for the host. The host was not
: expecting it and has other food that he was planning to use. Is this
: enough of a tzorech Shabbos to transfer ownership? ...

Or, in the SA's case... can you give the non-toveled keli to a nakhri
when you have just as good or nearly as good alternatives? That you
already had thoughts of using?

I took it for granted yes, since if not, the SA is oddly missing an
important half of the story. Which is why above I only asked about
a case where the guest gives something in a way that rules out its
use, rather than just left to the host's choice.

When I am the guest in this situation, I am zokheh lo shelo befanav and
transfer ownership on Friday. Came in handy a couple of times when the
host refused the gift. "Well, if you don't want it, you can regift it.
Because it's yours already and you aren't allowed to give it back" right
now, at least.

: Postscript: It seems to me that this issur of giving gifts applies
: only on Shabbos, and *not* on Yom Tov...

Then why "letzorekh Shabbos or YT"? When do you have something that is
letzorekh YT in particular when it's also Shabbos?

:                                                   (MB 516:1) You can
: even send a pair of tefillin to your friend even though it is not
: needed at all for Yom Tov; the only requirements are that the tefillin
: are ready-for-use, and that friend gets hanaa from receiving the gift
: (MB 516:11-12)

And the bar mitzvah boy doesn't get the same kind of hana'ah (speaking
quality, not quantity) from his uncle's gift of a set of Rambam? Now
I'm confused again.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "The worst thing that can happen to a
micha at aishdas.org        person is to remain asleep and untamed."
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