Each year during the Holiday of Passover, our local community joins with Jewish communities around the world in reading the Haggadah. We declare “All who are hungry, let them come and eat”. While the Jewish tradition recognizes that there will always be people in need, the custom of Ma’ot Chitim, translated as “Wheat Fund”, obligates each of us to contribute so the hungry can not only eat, but also celebrate this Holiday of Freedom. One of the beautiful aspects of our tradition is how we can all share in the mitzvot of both giving and enabling others to celebrate.
To honor this tradition, Jewish Family Service, now located on Reef Road in Fairfield, has been distributing Passover Baskets and giving out financial aid for almost 95 years. This year JFS, in conjunction with Project Hope B’nai Brith, already distributed 125 baskets of Kosher for Passover food to deserving people in the Greater Bridgeport area. These baskets included matzah, gefilte fish, borscht, canned vegetables, sweets and other holiday essentials.