It is incumbent upon Jews in every community to provide the means for those who cannot afford to purchase the ingredients for their own Passover seders. In a nutshell, that is the purpose of the Ma’ot Chittim, the organization that collects monetary and food donations before Passover and distributes them to those who need it, just before the Passover holiday.
In the Milwaukee community, the Ma’ot Chittim goes back many years. Last year, more than 600 families were able to have their own seders, thanks to generosity of the community and the hard work of the committee. Food donations are collected at locations around the community, then sorted at the JCC and brought to the Jewish Home and Care Center to be distributed a week before Passover. All the work is done by volunteers.
In 2016, however, the future of Ma’ot Chittim in Milwaukee is at risk. Monetary donations have decreased, and in the past couple of years, food donations were down. While matzo is always donated in large amounts, other necessities are not. And so the committee is hard at work trying to figure out ways to make this year’s donations stretch to serve as many families as possible.
Judy Baruch, executive director of Tikkun Ha-Ir, says, “Although we will have enough money to cover our costs for this year, we do not, at this point, have enough to start our nest egg for next year. This may be the last year we are able to provide this service to the community.”
Rabbi Shari Shamah, Jewish family specialist at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, agrees. “We are relying on our community to help provide the basics: gefilte fish, horseradish, chicken soup mix, grape juice. This committee has worked so hard to help provide Passover food and we hope that, together with the greater community, we will be able to continue to do this holy work.”
A donation from the Salinsky Fund to Feed the Hungry through Congregation Emanu-el B’ne Jeshurun will once again provide frozen chickens for each food bag given out at the Jewish Home and Care Center.
The committee is made up of community organizations: Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee, Jewish Home and Care Center, Coalition for Jewish Learning and Jewish Community Relations Council (both of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation), Harry & Rose Samson Jewish Community Center, Hillel Milwaukee, Jewish Community Pantry, Jewish Family Services, the Rabbi Scheinfeld Maos Chitim Fund, and the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis.
To make a donation to continue the work of Ma’ot Chittim, send a check, payable to the Jewish Community Pantry, Jewish Community Pantry, c/o Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC, 6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53217. Please put Passover on the memo line, so the donation doesn’t get confused with the Food Pantry.
Marlene Heller is the director of marketing and communications of the Jewish Home and Care Center. She represents that organization on the Ma’ot Chittim committee.
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· Here’s how to make a donation for Ma’ot Chittim, to help purchase the ingredients for Passover seders for those who cannot afford them.
· Send a check, payable to the Jewish Community Pantry, to Jewish Community Pantry, c/o Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC, 6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53217.
· Put Passover on the memo line, so the donation doesn’t get confused with the Food Pantry.
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