מעות חטים

There was a מנהג to buy wheat for distribution to the poor לצורך פסח [1]. This collection, referred to as מעות חטים (lit. wheat money) is from the oldest מנהגים in our tradition, dating back to the period of the תלמוד ירושלמי, where it is first mentioned [2].

The above is on the assumption that grinding one's own wheat into flour was common. In Prague, however, flour would be distributed instead of wheat [3]. Alternatively, money can be given out so that people can buy מצה on their own [4]. This is the common practice today (in addition to money distributed for other פסח-related expenses), as can be observed in just about any shul.

Now, what remains to be explained is why מעות חטים is different than any standard צדקה. -?-

מור וקציעה answers [1] that מעות חטים is distributed to the poor in addition to standard צדקה in honor of יו"ט on account of the חומרא of חמץ, because the poor cannot afford to buy משומר wheat, which is why we add to the צדקה fund now.

What still remains to be explained is why specifically פסח necessitates an established, formal מנהג to distribute extra financial assistance to those in need thereof more than other festivals. -?-

בית יעקב answers [5] that the עבודה of פסח is to serve Hashem out of wealth rather than poverty, which is why כלל ישראל accepted the מנהג to help the poor specifically before פסח so that even the poor should not miss anything in their עבודה of serving Hashem through wealth.

[1] שו"ע או"ח תכט:א

[2] ב"ב א:ד

[3] חוט שני א:ב ;מ"ב שם ס"ק ד ; אליה רבה על הלבוש או"ח שם ס"ק ג

[4] ערוה"ש או"ח שם סעיף ז

[5] cited in מנהג ישראל תורה שם אות ג

The full explanation is as follows: Hashem instructed בני ישראל to ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver items before they left מצרים so that אברהם אבינו should not have any complaints that his descendants were slaves in a foreign country without being compensated, as per the ברית בין הבתרים. Now, this point is puzzling: אברהם withstood 10 tests; why would he suddenly be so lacking in אמונה such that he is questioning whether or not Hashem will compensate בני ישראל for their servitude?

בית יעקב answers that are two forms of עבודה: one form of עבודה is to serve Hashem out of poverty and distress, which is a significant challenge; on the other hand, serving Hashem out of wealth and plenty can potentially be an even bigger challenge! Now, אברהם wanted his descendants to serve Hashem from both ends of the economic spectrum, and, while enslaved, they already experienced serving Hashem from poverty; now that they were asking their neighbors for expensive items, they were then experiencing the challenge of wealth. From here we see that the עבודה of פסח is to serve Hashem from wealth and plenty.

ובזה מבואר ג"כ הדין שיש להשתמש בכלים נאים דוקא בליל הסדר [כדאי' בשו"ע תעב:ב וראה בחק יעקב ובמ"ב ובכה"ח שם], מה שלא מצינו אצל שום יו"ט אחר