Ma'os Chitim

QUESTION: Is Ma’os Chitim (the special collection made for the poor to provide them with matzah for Pesach) an obligation? And if so, how much is one required to give?

ANSWER: Although the Rema (429:1) refers to Ma’os chitim as a minhag (custom – which connotes that it is not a full-fledged obligation), the Mishnah Berurah (Shaar Hatziyun 429:7) cites poskim who question this: The Yerushalmi states that there is an obligation to give ma’os chitim. The Mishnah Berurah explains that there is indeed an obligation to give tzedakah to make sure that the needs of the poor are taken care of for Yom Tov. However, the custom of ma’os chitim requires that we not only give money to the poor for Pesach, but that we provide them with grains (or with actual matzah) to enable them to prepare for Pesach. Rav Betzalel Zolty (Mishnas Yaavetz OC 7) as well writes that ma’os chitim is an obligation and included in the mitzvah of Simchas Yom Tov. This is based on the Rambam (Hilchos Yom Tov 6:17-18) who writes that one who eats and drinks on Yom Tov but does not feed the poor has not fulfilled the mitzvah of Simchas Yom Tov. In former times, the Jewish community would assess every individual to determine how much they must contribute. He writes that this amount is obligatory and must be paid, even if one needs to borrow funds to cover it. However, since today we no longer have a communal structure for levying taxes, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Halichos Shlomo, Pesach 2:3) ruled that each person must make this determination themselves. Since there is no specific amount imposed, he ruled that one may donate to ma’os chitim using funds from one’s ma’aser kesafim.

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