834. Status of a Pre-Toiveled Gift
I received a beautiful glass platter piled with gourmet chocolates as a Mishloach Manos gift from a dear student (with a note that she had toiveled it). Just before Pesach, my family polished off the last of the treats, and now I would like to use the platter for my Shabbos desserts. Does it count that it was toiveled before it was gifted to me, or must I re-toivel it?
The onus of tevilas keilim (immersion of new dishes in a mikvah) is on the owner. If someone purchases a dish and toivels (immerses) it with the intention of gifting it to another, there is no requirement for tevilah at that time, and it’s questionable whether the tevilah is valid in retrospect.
If the gift is being delivered with food on it—as with the candy platter that the student gave the teacher—it may have required tevilah first. But this conclusion is not unanimously accepted by poskim; some argue that tevilah is not effective if performed before the end-user receives it, even if the gift contained food. Ideally, the recipient should toivel the dish again without a brachah.*
The giver may gift the item without toiveling it first. Taking the stricter opinions into account, the food should not rest directly on the dish—a substantial separation should be made between the food and the dish, rather than a ubiquitous paper liner. However, even if the dish is not covered in this manner, it is still acceptable not to have toiveled it before gifting it. This is especially so in the above example, since the dish was glass, for which the obligation of tevilah is d’Rabbanan (of Rabbinic origin); since the tevilah requirement for a food-bearing gift is in dispute, there is room for leniency. The recipient of the non-toiveled gift should toivel it before using it.
In order to avoid these issues altogether, it is possible for a giver to pre-toivel the gift—whether it is presented with or without food—under certain conditions. (This would be especially appropriate if there is doubt whether a recipient observes the mitzvah of tevilas keilim.) The procedure is as follows: The giver first makes a kinyan (halachic transfer of ownership) by handing the gift to another person who acts as a shaliach (representative) of the recipient and lifts it up on their behalf. Once the kinyan has taken place, it is as if the gift belongs to the recipient, and the giver may toivel it on their behalf.
*An empty metal food utensil received as a gift must be toiveled again, but without a brachah. (Many are stringent to re-toivel even glass dishes.)
(For related discussion on tevilas keilim, see Halachah #664),