Me'ot Ḥittim

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ME'OT ḤITTIM (Heb. מְעוֹת חִטִּים; "wheat money"), collection made before *Passover to ensure a supply of flour for unleavened bread (maẓẓot) for the poor. Residence in a town for 12 months obliged one to contribute to or entitled one to receive communal funds known as Kimḥa de-Fisḥa ("flour for Passover"; tj, bb 1:6, 12d). In medieval Europe it was customary for the communal rabbi and seven notables to draw up a list of those eligible to donate and to receive the tax, at the beginning of the month of Nisan. The custom was codified by *Isserles (oḤ 429:1). In modern times, the term has been broadened to include all the holiday needs of the poor at Passover (e.g., wine, fish, meat).


E. Ki-Tov, Sefer ha-Toda'ah, 1 pt. 2 (1960), 22f.; Eisenstein, Dinim, 342.