Opening Up the Tzintzenes Hamonn on Shabbos

Question

This year, on Purim, we wanted to do something unique for mishloach manos that would truly bring joy to our friends and neighbors. I decided to give them a representation of the Tzintzenes Hamonn, as the Torah describes in Shemos 16:33: “Take a small flask and fill it with a full omer of monn, and place it before Hashem [i.e., in the aron hakodesh], so that future generations may see the bread that the Jewish people consumed in the desert when I took you out of Mitzrayim.”

I went to a local store and purchased forty small flasks with screw-on tops and filled them with small white candies and white sunflower seeds to resemble the way the Torah describes the appearance of the monn (ibid. 31). I also had stickers printed that said "Tzintzenes Hamonn."

Right before the Yom Tov of Shavuos, I called some of my friends and neighbors to wish them good Yom Tov. They told me how much they enjoyed the Tzintzenes Hamonn, and some even mentioned that it serves as a daily reminder for them to recite Parshas Hamonn, the thirty-two pesukim that speak about the monn, which the Yerushalmi promises will bring parnassah to anyone who recites it daily (see Tashbatz 256 and Shulchan Aruch 1:5).

These phone conversations made me start thinking about the potential halachic  ramifications of this mishloach manos. I realized that when I closed the jar of the Tzintzenes Hamonn, it didn’t even occur to me whether people would open it. It’s possible that, subconsciously, I even hoped that people would keep it sealed and use it as a tachshit, i.e., a decorative item, to serve as a reminder of the monn.

Although I’m very pleased that my mishloach manos made such an impression, I now have two questions. First, I know that there is a concern about assembling and dismantling utensils on Shabbos. Is it permitted to open this Tzintzenes Hamonn on Shabbos?

Second, if the recipients never intended to open these flasks, could that invalidate my mishloach manos, retroactively rendering it as if I didn’t fulfill the mitzvah? After all the effort I invested, the idea that I may not have fulfilled the mitzvah properly is upsetting to me.

Rav Zafrani 

Chazal (Shabbos 47a) prohibited assembling the pieces of a mitah shel tarsayim, a collapsible bed used by traveling craftsmen, lest one come to be toke’a, to fasten the parts together tightly in a way that is difficult to undo. This concern stems from the melachos of boneh and makkah b’patish (see Shulchan Aruch 313:6), since such a fastening would be considered the final act in the creation of a usable utensil.

The poskim discuss whether opening and closing a sroif, a tightly fitting screw-on jar lid, is included in this prohibition. Both the Magein Avrohom (313:12) and Taz (313:7) permit it, since opening and closing are part of the jar’s normal use. Even when one tightens the lid securely, it is not seen as constructing or completing the utensil, but simply as standard usage.

However, since the heter to use such a jar on Shabbos depends on the assumption that it is meant to be opened and closed, if one seals it with the intention never to reopen it, there is reason to argue that opening it on Shabbos would be forbidden. For example, if someone fills a jar with colored sand and seals it permanently as a decorative piece, it might be prohibited to open it on Shabbos. Based on this, your concern about the Tzintzenes Hamonn possibly involving a Shabbos violation, or being invalid as mishloach manos, is not unfounded.

However, in this particular case, I do not believe that either issue is problematic. Had you found a sefer suggesting that keeping a Tzintzenes Hamonn serves as a segulah for parnassah, perhaps it could be argued that your intention was for it to remain sealed for that purpose. But since that was not your motivation and you were clearly giving it as mishloach manos—defined as delivering two food items to friends for the purpose of consumption—there is no issue.

Even though some recipients decided to keep it sealed, the jar is filled with candies and seeds that are edible at any time. Their decision to keep it closed does not imply that you intended it to be sealed forever. In the absence of a clear indication that you intended permanent closure, we treat the jar as having its usual status: a container meant to be opened and closed.

Once the hilchos Shabbos concern is addressed, it follows that there is no reason to invalidate your mishloach manos either.

I hope that this eases your concerns regarding your thoughtful and creative mishloach manos.