Hungry Jews are accommodated and fed for the Seder and during the whole week of
Pesach, when "kol dichfin yeisei veyeichol" is literally carried out.
These days when, unfortunately, you can see Yidden looking for food in garbage
cans, the concept of "kol dichfin" has really become concrete and
significant: There are hungry people amongst us.
Hunger, that burning, gnawing sensation, also includes a sense of humiliation:
"The shame of hunger." Are there really hungry Jews in our day and age?
Much to our sorrow and shame, the answer is: yes. The financial situation in
Israel is difficult, with unemployment rates of more than ten percent; the
terrible financial decrees that have taken the bread and milk out of the mouths
of children of large families have brought thousands and tens of thousands of
people to the point of wanting for bread.
It's a miracle that there are still good-hearted people who want to help. At
Beis HaTavshil, the rule has always been that "when it comes to food, you don't
check up" and, when it comes to hungry Yidden, they never check their ability to
give. First they feed the hungry and only afterwards do they check if their
budget covers it, and if not -- they appeal to their generous brethren.
The need for help intensifies on Erev Pesach, before the holiday itself. These
days, poor people -- the lonely or handicapped or families that cannot function
financially -- find it difficult to cope without a warm cooked meal. This is a
daily problem. And during Pesach, and especially the Seder, it's much harder.
Throughout all the generations, we have learned the first halacha of Hilchos
Pesach: Kimcha DePischa. In all generations every Jewish home has declared:
"Kol dichfin yeisei veyeichol, kol ditzrich yeisei veyifsach." This is not
just a saying; this is our true readiness to accommodate every Jew.
For years, Beis HaTavshil has enabled people to implement an original idea that
is intended to allow every Jew to realize the great declaration of the Seder:
"Kol dichfin yeisei veyeichol." Individual guests and many families will
eat all of their Pesach meals, including of course the Seder, from the kitchens
of Beis HaTavshil, as emissaries of the ba'al habayis who has declared
"Kol dichfin." As the rabbis of Bnei Brak have testified: "Beis HaTavshil
Bnei Brak is a Heavenly emissary and an emissary of ours to support the poor."
We are commanded to remember the day we came out of Mitzrayim, during the whole
year. Beis HaTavshil actually fulfills "Kol dichfin yeisei veyeichol"
during every day of the year non-stop, including Shabbos and yom tov and even
erev and motzei Yom Kippur.
Unfortunately, the fulfillment of this obligation has become increasingly
difficult. On the one hand, the recession in Israel has increased the flow of
the needy to its doors. On the other hand, the number of contributors has
lessened and even those who continue giving cannot always allow themselves to
give as they have in the past. These facts increase the importance of every
donation, large and small alike.
Thousands of meals for the Seder go out from the kitchens of Beis HaTavshil.
Amongst them, hundreds are served at the central Seder of Beis HaTavshil in the
hall of the Beis Knesses Hagodol of Bnei Brak. But this is only a small part of
the picture. There is a special Seder at a hostel for immigrants in the Amnon
Hotel on Hashomer St., a public Seder in Rananana, as well as Sedorim in other
cities.
The major work goes into sending total Sedorim to the most distinguished
families in which the housewife is not functioning and where without this help
they would not be able to make their own Seder. This entails thousands of meals,
not only for the Seder, but for all the meals during the entire Pesach.
The central Seder is a beautiful festive occasion, a high-standard meal served
by waiters. The well-known chazan, Rabbi Chaim Eliezer Hershtik leads the Seder,
accompanied by his sons.
This is really a special family Seder. Hashem declares about Himself that He is,
as if, a korov -- a close relative -- of the poor, as our Rabbis say,
"`Hashem is close to the brokenhearted' and the brokenhearted refers to the
poor."
Beis HaTavshil gives you the opportunity to accommodate the poor. Even if you
don't have room in your dining room . . . even if you can't invite someone to
your home for whatever reasons -- for $150 Beis HaTavshil will accommodate a
needy person for the entire Pesach, for $36 the yom tov seudos for the
first day, $26 for the Seder, $18 for one yom tov seudah and $10 for one
meal on Chol Hamoed.
