Answering a Rambam Through Maos Chitin
The Ropshitzer Rebbe zy”a said the following one year during his Shabbos Hagadol drasha:
There seems to be a contradiction in the Rambam. The Rambam rules (Hilchos Chametz U’Matzoh 6:10) that everyone is obligated to eat matzoh on Pesach. He further rules (ibid 7:7) that even a pauper who is supported by charity is obligated to drink four cups of wine on Pesach. However, in Hilchos Geneviah (1:1-2), he writes that it is forbidden to steal and anyone who steals anything transgresses a Torah prohibition.
The Rebbe asked: According to the Rambam, what is a poor person supposed to do? He must eat matzoh and drink four cups of wine, but he has no money to purchase these items. If he isn’t allowed to steal money, how can he obtain matzohs and wine?
The Rebbe continued, “I tried very hard to find a good answer to this answer, and I concluded that only the wealthy have the answer. If they give Ma’os Chitin generously, the poor people will have enough money for their Pesach needs without the need to steal.”
Enough to Last Until After Pesach:
Kimcha D’Pischa must be given generously. The poor must be given enough to cover all their needs and for them to have enough to last even after yomtov. It is related that Rav Yissochor Dov of Belz zy”a asked one of his attendants before Pesach if a certain pauper was already given money for his Pesach needs. The attendant answered in the affirmative. The Rebbe then asked how much the man had been given, and the attendant answered that he was given enough to purchase matzohs, wine and apples.
The Rebbe said, “That isn’t enough. If you want him to really be able to enjoy yomtov, you must give him enough money so that he will be able to buy food for his family after Pesach. If you don’t give him that much, he will be worried throughout yomtov about how he will feed his family afterwards.”
V’Ahavta L’Reacha Komocha:
When one fulfills the mitzvah of Kimcha D’Pischa, he also fulfills the mitzvah of V’Ahavta L’Reacha Komocha. Sefer Divrei Chana (Chelek 2, page 125) relates that when the Kaloshitzer Rebbe zy”a lived in the city of Kashau, there was a resident of the city who was known as “Red Berish”. This man was very poor, and he was a very coarse and vulgar person.
On Chol Hamoed Pesach, as the Rebbe was entering the bais medrash to daven and was emotionally declaring, “Behold, I accept upon myself the mitzvah to love every Jew like myself”, Red Berish ran over to him and audaciously said, “You claim to love every Jew? The Rebbe has all that he needs for yomtov in his house but my house is empty. My family has no matzoh, meat, eggs or even apples!”
The Rebbe remained silent and did not reply. Instead, he immediately put on his talis and davened quickly, which was very unusual for him.
After davening, he ran home. A few minutes later, he was seen running through the streets with two large bags full of food. He ran for a long time until he came to Red Berish’s house on the outskirts of town, and he handed over the food with a smile. Berish then said that he sees that the Rebbe really does love every Jew like himself.
Salvation Through Tzedakah:
The power of this mitzvah can be seen from the following story (cited in Sefer Sichos Chaim, page 18):
The Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a once visited a certain city and was hosted in the palatial home of a local philanthropist. When it became known that a tzadik was in town, many people hurried to the wealthy man’s house. It was a rainy, muddy day, and the people tracked mud into the man’s house. Within a short time, the floor was filthy, which caused the homeowner to become quite upset. When the Rebbe saw this, he told the rich man that he wanted to tell him a story. He said:
There one was a very poor man who lived in a small village. He had six daughters at home, and his elderly parents also lived with him. As Pesach approached, he didn’t know what to do. He had no money for any expenses, and couldn’t even afford to buy matzohs. He concluded that he would have to travel to the big city to try his hand at business and to see if he could make some profit.
He did just that and, to his joy, he succeeded in earning six gold coins. He happily ran to buy flour, which he took to the baker to make matzohs for him. The baker told him that he first had to bake matzohs for the wealthy men, and he would then take care of him. With no other choice, the poor man stood on the side until the rich men’s matzohs were done, and the baker then took his flour and baked his matzohs.
It was now late at night, and the poor man was afraid to walk home with his matzohs. The roads on the way to his village were full of potholes and puddles, and he was worried that he might fall into one. On the other hand, he knew that his family was waiting for him in the dark, and that they were depending on him to bring them some food and candles to light up their dark home. Since he felt so bad for them, he decided to walk home at night and to rely on Hashem to protect him.
He got on his horse and wagon and began to ride home, but, as he feared, his horse fell into a pit full of mud and dirty water. After a long time and a lot of effort, he still was unable to extricate it, and he began to cry bitterly.
At that moment, a rich man was riding nearby with his attendant. When he heard the man’s cries, he sent his servant to investigate, and the man came back to report that a Jewish man and his horse had fallen into a pit. The wealthy man immediately hurried to help. With the assistance of his servant, he succeeded in getting the horse out of the pit. When he saw that the man was weak and shivering from the cold, he quickly gave him some whiskey to revive him and warm him up. He then escorted him home, making sure he didn’t run into any other obstacles on the way.
When they arrived at the man’s ramshackle home, the rich man could tell that the family was extremely poor. He felt so sorry for them that he took 600 gold coins out of his wallet and gave it to him. He told him to buy whatever his family needed for yomtov and to use the rest of the money to build himself a new house. He then left and went to his own home.
A short time later, the wealthy man died. When his soul ascended to Shomayim, he was brought in front of the Heavenly Court and was asked if he always conducted his business honestly. Before he had a chance to answer, he was surrounded from all sides by thousands of prosecuting angels who screamed that they were created by his aveiros and dishonest actions. The Court immediately sentenced him to gehenim.
However, before the ruling was sealed, one angel ran forward and yelled, “How can you send this man to gehenim? He saved 10 Jewish people – the poor man, his wife, his six daughters, and his two parents!”
The Heavenly Court said that this was a good defense, and they decided that his mitzvos should be weighed against his aveiros.
The man’s mitzvos were placed on one side of the scale and his aveiros were put on the other – and the aveiros outweighed the mitzvos. The defending angel then brought the poor man, his wife, six daughters and parents and placed them on the mitzvos side of the scale. However, the aveiros were still weighing more than the mitzvos. The angel then collected the dirt and mud that the poor man had been trapped in and brought that too, as well as the horse and wagon. Once all that was placed on the scale, the mitzvos side weighed down the aveiros side, and the Court ruled that the man could enter Gan Eden.
The Rebbe then turned to his host and said, “You see? Even mud has the power to save a person from gehenim. Don’t be upset about some mud on your floor. It could be used to help you one day!”
This idea certainly applies to Kimcha D’Pischa. The tzedakah one gives for this cause will be an eternal source of merit that will weigh down the scale in one’s favor, grant him a portion in Olam Haba, and will also be a source of blessing in this world.
