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The Importance of Maot Chitim ‐ Dan Melnik (10th grade)

Maot Chitim is the giving of Tzedaka, or charity, to Jews in need before Pesach so that they too can buy food
and clothing and be able to fulfill the Mitzvah of eating all the special Pesach foods and retell the story of Exo-
dus to their children. Maot Chitim literally stands for “the wheat fund” and is a century old tradition. The way
Maot Chitim works is that it is Tzedakah collected one month before Peach and distributed the Shabbat before
Pesach. It is an especially important Mitzvah because every Jew has an obligation to fulfill the Pesach seder, but
some people can not afford it. This gives fortunate Jews the opportunity to fulfill a Mitzvah of giving Tzedakah
while allowing other, less fortunate people, to fulfill their Pesach obligations. In the Haggadah itself it says that
one who doesn't fulfill the Mitzvah of Pesach, Matzah, and Maror has not fulfilled this obligation. Maot Chitim
allows every Jew to have the opportunity to fulfill their mitzvah.

In addition, Maot Chitim is especially important because it creates a sense of unity within the Jewish people.
Pesach is a celebration of the freedom of the Jewish people and finally becoming one nation with the receiving
of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Maot Chitim is a friendly reminder of the kind of attitude Jews should have to-
wards each other. We must realize we are one and come together as a nation, especially in this time of remem-
bering our history and retelling it to our future generations.

Why do We Celebrate 2 Days of Yom Tov on Passover? ‐

Tchelet Carmel (8 grade)
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In Ancient times, the date of a holiday was determined according to the Sanhedrin’s decision of when the new
month started. The message of the new month was spread by messengers who went from place to place in Israel
and Babylonia to tell Jews that the new month started. But it was a slow process for them to get all the way to
Babylonia, and the Jews there weren’t sure which day was the actual start of the month. Therefore it was de-
creed by our Rabbis that outside of Israel, Jews should celebrate for 2 days just in case the message came late.

Even though we now have a fixed calendar, we still keep this decree. Because, as the Talmud states in Beitza
4b: “The sages sent [word] to the exiles, ‘Be careful to keep the customs of your forefathers, and keep two days
of the festival, for someday the government may promulgate a decree, and you will come to err.” Our Rabbis
clearly told us that we shouldn’t stop with this custom because one day we will need it (Rambam, Kiddush
Hachodesh 5,5). We can learn from this the importance of tradition and preserving old laws and decrees as they
can be still relevant to us today.

As an Israeli that is living temporarily in America, I keep 2 days of Yom Tov in public. This is because there is a
law that you have to do “the customs of the place”, meaning you go according to the customs of where you are.
But, according to some Rabbis’ opinions, Israelis that are temporarily outside of Israel need to only keep one
day of Yom Tov, but only in private.