Maot Chitim on Righteous Crowd this Week!
Maot Chitim volunteers getting food ready for delivery.
Maot Chitim
Delivering Food to Hungry Individuals Around the Holidays
Tuesday night marks the beginning of Yom Kippur. On the Day of Atonement we read in the Haftarah Isaiah the call to “share your bread with the hungry.” In this spirit, we are supporting a Chicago-based organization that provides food for those in need around the High Holidays and Passover. Just last year, Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago provided food for roughly 32,000 people around these holidays.
Read our interview below with Righteous Crowd member Joel Schneider, Board President of Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago.
What is the mission of Maot Chitim?
The mission of Maot Chitim of Greater Chicago is to assist needy members of the Greater Chicagoland Jewish community with Passover and High Holiday and other food related needs, so that they may observe the holidays and daily life in a traditional and dignified manner. The mission is also to provide a Tzedakah vehicle to unite all members of the Jewish Community.
Why did you decide to start volunteering with Maot Chitim?
I started my involvement in the organization about 15 years ago by taking my children to pick up food boxes to deliver to Maot Chitim recipients. I wanted to give my kids the opportunity to experience tzedakah first-hand.
What are some non-monetary ways for others to get involved in Maot Chitim?
One of the best aspects of Maot Chitim is the ability for someone to roll up their sleeves and help to pack food boxes and deliver those boxes directly to our recipients.
How would you connect your organization to a Jewish text?
Maot Chitim translates to "wheat money," which ties back to Leviticus 19:9 which says: “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest.”
What’s a story about Maot Chitim that is meaningful to you?
One of our donors originally immigrated to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union as a young child whose family was a recipient of our holiday packages. Eventually as an adult he became a donor to the organization.
What has surprised you about your involvement with Maot Chitim?
The total cooperation amongst every facet of Chicago's Jewish community, including Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox, as well as the elderly and families.
To learn more about Maot Chitim visit www.maotchitim.org and check out their Facebook page to see the impact the food deliveries have on the recipients.
We hope you will find a place in your community (if you don’t live in Chicago) to heed Isaiah’s call to “share your bread with the hungry.”