# 1274 Give Me a Break

On question 507 on this forum we wrote: “Horav

Shlomo Miller Shlit’a advises to give at least a dollar for matonos

loevyonim, (a Zichron Binyomin dollar is also good). The reason is

that you can acquire a roll of bread and something in it, to be used

for a minimum seudah.” That still stands today.

As far as

machatzis hashekel we wrote, “if possible you can give seven

(Canadian) dollars, the approximate value of the silver in that half

a shekel coin today.” (March 2014, the price of a silver Troy ounce

was then $19.7 usd. - on March 7, 2017 the price is $17.6 usd.)

On question 1024 in this forum we wrote: “Rema

(O.H. 694: 1) rules that we donate besides Matonos Laevyonim, also

Machatzis Hashekel, but the amounts differ. Mishna Berura (694: 2)

asserts to follow the opinion of the Ritvo (Megila 7b) that one

fulfils the matonos laevyonim obligation even with two prutos (one

prutah per indigent) or its equivalent in food. (“shaveh Prutah”)

The value of a perutah according to the opinion of the Chazon Ish is

1/40 or .025 of a gram of silver, and according to the Masoro it is

.0182 of a gram of silver (Masores Hashekel p.119) At today’s (Adar

5776) price of silver (about $0.50 U.S.D. per gram) it would result

in $0.0125 or $0.0091, a bit more or less than a penny. Although one

fulfills one’s obligation with a prutah, nonetheless, Poskim write

that it’s proper to give each poor person a significant and

meaningful gift (Maharsho – Megila ibid.) Others maintain that it

should be enough to purchase three egg volumes of bread (Sha’arey

Teshuvo 694, see also other opinions on Nitey Gavriel – Purim 33:2)

Yeme Mishteh VeSimcha (p. 244 – published in 5766) quotes Rav

Elyashiv zt’l as saying that even though one fulfills one’s

obligation with a prutah, nonetheless, it’s proper to give each

poor person about 5 shekalim which is an amount which would make the

poor person happy. Halichot Shlomo (chap 19, note 62) quotes Rav

Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l as having said that in order to fulfill

all opinions one should give an amount which is significant by the

giver and by the taker’s standards. In question 507 in this forum

we wrote that Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit’a advises to give at least a

dollar (Canadian) for matonos loevyonim, (a Zichron Binyomin paper

equivalent dollar is also good). The reason is that you can still

acquire a roll of bread with something in it, to be used for a

minimum seudah. The Rov maintains that on this year, although the

Canadian dollar has decreased in value, the above still stands.”

A machatzis hashekel is the value of 9.6 grams of

silver lechumra and 7.5 grams in leniency. The price of silver was

yesterday (March 8, 17), approximately $0.76 Canadian per gram. So

the value of machatzis hashekel is between $7.30 to $5.70.

Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that

you can use the lower figure.

Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo

Miller Shlit"a