Mishloach Manot

I used to make all sorts of ambitious things for "mishloach manot" the "food gifts" traditionally given on Purim. I remember all-nighters to get dozens of small challot baked. Those were the days when losing a night or two of sleep didn't slow me down much. Nowadays, just going to bed after 11pm can make the following day a fog.

We don't seem to be on too many "A lists," so we don't get a lot of mishloach manot any more. That's ok, since I eat too much of the junk, and the mitzvah (G-d given commandment) is to give, not to receive.

I remember the first year I was aware of the mitzvah of Mishloach Manot. My friend and I understood that we were to give two people two things requiring different brachot via another person. That day we were off to an "event," which must have had been something of NCSY, with our youth director in his car. He was amused when we took out a couple of apples and bananas (as I remember it) and asked him to be a messenger, and we gave him via each other.

Things have certainly changed since.