MARCH 30, 1990
A Toast
To Jewish Living
- ore
Fully Appreciating Today's Exodus
By ZVI GITELMAN
Zvi Gitelman is professor-
political science at the University of
Michigan and the author of this
month's To Our Readers. For each
issue of L'Chayim, a rabbi, Jewish
educator or other notable will
present an overview of the issue's
theme.
Some of our ancient ancestors
who saw at first hand the miracles
of the exodus from Egypt, the
crossing of the Red Sea and the
giving of the Torah were unable to
perceive the cosmic significance of
these events and created a golden
calf. Similarly, there may be some
today who do not appreciate the
historic dimensions of the current
exodus from the Soviet Union.
The third largest Jewish
community in the world is on the
move. While only 914 Jews were
permitted to leave the USSR in
1986, in 1989 over 71,000 emigrated,
20,000 more than in the previous
peak year, 1979. In the first few
months of 1990 emigration is
running at the same rate as it did in
the previous year, though the
direction of the migratory stream
has shifted to Israel as a result of
restrictions imposed by the
American government.
Thus, a major branch of the
Jewish family, long cut off from the
mainstream of Jewish life, is being
reattached both to the Jewish state
and the world Jewish community.
Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms
have brought both light and shadow
to the lives of Soviet Jews. Religion
is no longer harassed and it is
possible to practice and study
Judaism with relative impunity,
though it is still not socially
acceptable and is disadvantageous
for Jews who seek higher
education, employment or
promotions. Nevertheless, there are
now three small yeshivot in the
USSR, religious books are imported
Continued on Page L-2
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t'lit° Food For Needy Transcends Pesach
.
By RABBI A. IRVING SCHNIPPER
For the poor shall never cease
out of the land, therefore
I command thee saying:
"Thou shalt surely open thy hand
unto thy poor needy brother:"
Deut. 15:11
Let anyone who is hungry come
and eat. In the opinion of some
scholars, the custom on Passover
eve of breaking a matzah called
"bread of poverty," was intended to
prepare us to share our food with
those who have nothing to eat.
At present, it is customary to
provide the Jewish poor with their
needs before the Passover, so that
they need not go begging. For this
purpose a special fund called "Maot
Hittem (wheat money), is collected
from everyone in the community
according to his ability to give. This
money was used in the past to
purchase flour which was distributed
to the poor so that they could bake
matzahs. Other items were also
supplied to them; wine, meat and
fish, or they were given money with
which to buy these themselves.
This custom has nothing to do
with the mitzvah of giving tzedakah,
for that mitzvah has to be
performed throughout the year. It is
rather because of the idea of
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