Chapter 1: What is Ma'os Chitim and its significance?
Okay, it's 11.45. Good morning, everybody. Let's continue learning a little bit of Hilchos Pesach together. Today, we're going to learn a little bit about Ma'o Schitim and hopefully, time permitting, some of the Dinim of Chodesh Nisan, some of the Halachos of Chodesh Nisan. So let's start with Ma'os Chitim. This is a minnag that Ramar records to collect wheat.
So it's not really a minnag of Ma'os Chitim, it's a minnag of Chitim. It's to collect wheat and to give it to poor people for whatever they need for Pesach. And the Mishpura writes that if a poor person can't afford to grind it and turn it into flour himself or to bake it, so you should do that for him as well. And that's where it became important.
sort of ma'oz chitim or really matzahs that a person is supposed to give. So the question is what exactly is the nature of this minhag of giving wheat or giving matzahs or giving flour to poor people leading up to the Yom Tov of Pesach. So the basis for this minhag is Yerushalmi in the first parakh of Maseches B'Basra of all places. First Perek of Masechas B'Basra deals with issues of tzedakah.
It also deals with issues of taxation.
Chapter 2: What are the origins of the minhag of Ma'os Chitim?
And since this is something that we're requiring the community to take care of the poor people with, this belongs in a certain sense in the First Perek of Masechas B'Basra. But the basis again in Hilchas Pesach is that the Ramah quotes this in Hilchas Pesach. Then the Ramah says that you're only chayif to do this if you've been living in the community for 12 months.
If you haven't been living in the community for 12 months, then you're pater from this minag of ma'oz chitim. And the Magan Avram says that not only does the giver have to be living in the community for 12 months, in order for a person to be eligible to receive ma'oz chitim, he needs to have been living in the community for 12 months. However, the smack holds that only 30 days.
If the poor person's there for 30 days, that's enough. We give matzah when he's been there even for such a short period of time. So that's the basis of the minhag. The question is, what is the nature of the minhag? Is this just another halacha in Hilcho's tzedakah? Is it some other type of halacha?
So it seems that there are three possibilities as to what the basis of the minhag of ma'oz chitim is. Possibility number one, and I guess the most obvious one, the one that we would most quickly associate it with, is a din of tzedakah.
In fact, the Chalk Yaakov writes in the start of the Shulchan Aruch that if it's a person becomes that if a person intends to stay in the community for a long time, so he immediately becomes—you don't have to go through the 12-month waiting period—
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Chapter 3: What are the requirements for giving and receiving Ma'os Chitim?
he immediately becomes a member of the community. But the Ramah doesn't have to spell that out, says the Chak Yaakov, because it's obvious. It's already written in Yerudea. We already have that in Hilchas Tzedakah. So since the Ramah already told us this in Hilchas Tzedakah, why would he have to mention it here? from the Chok Yaakov that this is a Din in Tzedakah.
Meaning, if you're going to tell me that the reason the Ramah doesn't have to mention some of the details of Ma'oz Chitim in Ilchas Pesach is because it's already covered in Yerudea in Ilchas Tzedakah, obviously you will hold that Ma'oz Chitim is a Din in Tzedakah. The question then, of course, begs itself, why isn't this Halacha in Yerudea also?
Meaning, it should appear in Yerudea, not only in Orekhaim. The second possibility of what the nature of Ma'oz Chitim is is that the Mekor Chaim writes, it's a din mas, it's like a tax that's placed on the community.
And in fact, the Lashon of the Dark Emosha, the Ramah in his commentary on the Torah, in the Dark Emosha, in Siman Tov Chaf Tes, quoting from the Or Zeruah, is pretty explicit that that's what it is, that it's in fact a tax, and not just... A regular din in tzedakah. And that would explain why there's a 12-month time period before you become chayiv.
Because in Choshe Mishpat, we passkin, that in order to become chayiv in the local taxes of the community, one needs to be there for 12 months.
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Chapter 4: How does the concept of tzedakah relate to Ma'os Chitim?
Whereas for tzedakah, it could be 30 days would be enough. And the chayiv to give, that might explain the Sheet of Magan Avram also. Because...
the chiev to give matzah to anybody who's there for 30 days might be limited by the rules of tzedakah, but the additional chiev to give chitim is not limited by the rules of tzedakah, and maybe that only applies to people who are there for 12 months, meaning that there could be a double chiev.
There could be a chiev to give tzedakah, and another chiev to pay this tax called ma'uz chitim, and maybe it has different ways of fulfilling the chiev. But then there's a, by the way, one issue might be, do we assume, would we assume that poor people from your own city would come before other poor people?
So if it's a din in tzedakah, people from your own city come before other people, in the sense that when you're giving your tzedakah, you're supposed to divide it up, where the majority of your tzedakah goes to and then some smaller portion goes to Israel, and an even smaller portion from other cities. So that would be the same over here if it's a din tzedakah.
But if it were a din in a tax, so local taxation is local taxation. It doesn't go outside of the city at all. It would be not Ani Eircha Kodman, but only Ani Eircha. It wouldn't apply to other places. But then there's a third possibility of what this whole minhag is based on. and that is it might be a din in Simchas Yom Tov.
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Chapter 5: What are the different interpretations of Ma'os Chitim's purpose?
The Rambam in the sixth parak of Hilchas Yom Tov
quite famously, I believe, says in Halacha Yud Zayin and Yud Chas, the Rambam writes, that shivas yimei ha-Pesach and shmonos yimei ha-Chag imshar yomim tovim kulam, together with all the yomim tovim, a person is not allowed to do hesped and tainis, v'chayav adam liyos ben sameach v'tov lev, hu ubonav v'ishto b'nei beis, so we call it nilvim alav, that he has to be besimcha, he has to be
upbeat, he has to be happy, and not only him, but all of his family has to be happy. And then the Rambam in Halacha Yurchas starts going through how a person achieves simcha. How do you make sure your wife is happy? How do you make sure your children are happy? How do you make sure you are happy?
And these are famous sugyos about the end of Masechas Pesachim, with mead and wine and candies for the kids and clothing for the women. And then the Rambam writes, וְכְּשְׁהו אֹכְל וְשְׁשָׁהֵ
that when a person eats and drinks it's not enough for himself to eat and drink he has to take care of the poor he has to take care of the unfortunate he has to take care of those who don't have others to take care of them but a person who locks his door and only takes care of himself and nobody else Ein zu simchas mitzvah, el a simchas kreso.
That's not a simchas mitzvah, that is a simchas kreso. So part of the mitzvah of simchas, says the Rambam, is by taking care of other people. And maybe that's where this minhag comes from. The minhag of giving ma'os chitim is in order to experience a greater sense of simchas yom tov on Pesach.
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Chapter 6: How does Ma'os Chitim connect to Simchas Yom Tov?
That's another possibility of what this minhag might be based on. The challenge with that is then why is it only a din in Pesach? It should be a din in Sukkot as well. because there's also a mitzvah of Simchas Yom Tov when it comes to Sukkot and Shavuot. Why would the minach have only been applied to the Yom Tov of Pesach?
It happens to be that as unfortunate as it is that we're in this situation and having this sheer over Zoom and not in person, I have to tell you, yesterday I got, I don't know, at least a half a dozen phone calls, probably more phone calls, texts, and e-mails saying, saying, let me know who needs help. I can give money. I can give time. I can go shopping for people. I can do this. I can do that.
And maybe that's setting us up for an unbelievable level of simcha when it comes time for the Yom Tov of Pesach, that people are so prepared to give. Halavai, we should always have, like every day should be like that, where those offering to give far outnumber those who need to take.
Chapter 7: What are the implications of Ma'os Chitim for community members?
Halavai, it should remain that way. But that's the ultimate. in the sense of simcha. In fact, there's a fascinating comment from the Vilna Gaon. It's recorded in that it says in the Pasuk that for seven days you should eat matzos. Oh yeah, and by the way, matzos should be eaten for seven days. So the Gra says, I don't understand what's going on over here.
Why do you have to tell me to say mitzvah twice like in one Pasuk? And also, First it says, and then it says, and third he says, the first time it says matzos, it's chaser, it's mem tzadi tov. The second time it's matzos malei, mem tzadi vav tov. So it says the gra, this is a remez to the minug, quartered in the ramah, of ma'us chitim, based on the Yerushalmi in the first paragraph of Babas.
So how is that a remez to the minug? Pesach first says, you should eat. That's about your own eating.
Chapter 8: What are the upcoming topics related to Chodesh Nisan?
You know what? When you eat, it could be matzahs chaser. It could be that you just have a little bit, that you have the shir mitzum tzaim, you have a kazayis of matzah, and that's good enough.
But then the puzzle goes on to say that matzos male with a vav, matzos yei achel, you should cause to be eaten, meaning take care of other people and give them matzos, but that's in the male sense, that you should give them all of the matzos that they need.
four shivas yamim, and that's how the igra understands, that's how he answers all of the questions, that it's not a repeat in the pasuk, it's two separate chiyuvim, and that's why one is in the binyan kal, and the other is in the binyan nif al, and that's why one of them is chaser vav, and the other one is not chaser vav, a good vart to have in your back pocket.
But l'mai nafgamina between these three possibilities, whether it's a din tzedakah, a din in tax, or a din in simchas yamtov. So it seems that there might be several nafgamina, four or five nafgamina. One nafgamina might be, can you even be yotze with money? Meaning, If it's a din tzedakah, so that's the best way to do tzedakah.
I mean, not the best way, but that is definitely a key of the mitzvah of tzedakah, is to give money. But if it's a very specific tax, it could be that the nature of this tax is to give a certain amount of wheat, and that's the entirety of the tax. In fact, in Shar Tzion, in Tav Chav Tesh, Os Zayin, he says that it's called a minhag because the mitzvah tzedakah would only be with money.
And that's why it's not a kiyum, ha-mitzvah of tzedakah, it's a minhag. If it's about simchas yom tov, you could debate what creates a level of simcha. L'chaora, it would work either way, with money or with chitim, to have a sense of simcha. But one could argue maybe that simcha is only in your eating your own matzah, knowing that you've allowed someone else to eat matzah.
So maybe if you gave money, that wouldn't give you that same sense of simcha. Another nafkamina, the Ramah writes in Simra, You don't have to give tzedakah if you don't have kedeh parnasasov. You don't have enough for yourself. For your own Shabbos and Yom Tov meals, you have to even borrow money. But you don't have to give tzedakah if you don't have what you need.
If you look in Tulsa, he discusses that idea of borrowing money for your own Shabbos and Yom Tov meals. Now, if it's part of your own mitzvah simcha, maybe you do need to borrow money for it. Because for your own Shabbos and Yom Kippur meals, you need to borrow money.
If you're not fulfilling your mitzvah of simcha, and therefore your own meal is worthless to you unless you took care of somebody else, maybe you would even need to borrow for it, as counterintuitive as that may be. But if it's a din in tzedakah, so if you don't have Kedai Parnassaso, you're potter from giving the tzedakah.
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