Y. Found Nearly 100,000 NIS Of Chametz At A Haifa Festival- And Had It Burnt It To A Cinder

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A highly unusual incident occurred this week in the city of Haifa during the Spring Festival which was held at the local port. At the event, large quantities of chametz such as whiskey, beer barrels, and pizzas were planned to be sold at various food stalls spread across the event grounds.

If the chametz had indeed been sold, thousands of Jews might have inadvertently violated the severe prohibition of consuming chametz during Pesach. But then, an unexpected turn of events took place.

One of the visitors, deeply pained by the situation of chametz being openly sold, decided to take action to save the Jewish people from committing such a serious transgression.

According to reports circulating on social media: Y., a young man from central Israel, was visiting the north with his family during Chol HaMoed (the intermediate days of Passover) and was shocked to see a festival where chametz was being sold freely. He approached the pizza stall and asked to buy all the remaining trays of pizza. The vendor asked, “Are you sure? There’s a huge amount in the storage as well.” Y. confirmed, and just like that, the pizza line was closed.

Later, he approached the event manager with a heartfelt plea:

“How can a Jew cause another Jew to stumble by selling chametz on Passover? Our ancestors fought for this throughout history.”
The manager replied, “What can I do? This is our livelihood.”

Y. responded:

“Calculate how much you’d earn from the chametz sales, and I’ll cover the cost — on the condition that all the chametz is destroyed.”

After some negotiation and a discount, the manager quoted a price of 82,300 shekels.

At that point, Y. contacted a wealthy and devout friend, A. from Or Yehuda, known for his dedication to religious causes. He told him about the painful reality of “chametz for all” during Passover, and asked him to fund the effort to destroy the chametz and prevent thousands of Jews from consuming it.

A. agreed and took on the mitzvah, transferring the requested amount to the business.

Within hours, all the beer taps and barrels were emptied into the sewer, whiskey sales were halted,  and all pizza trays and dough cones were burned in a chametz-burning bonfire.

There’s no doubt this was an extremely unusual act, which, according to eyewitnesses, was carried out peacefully and without confrontation.

However, not everyone saw it positively.
Assaf Danieli, a former Haaretz reporter, criticized the act:

“Like the few others who were there at the time, I was saddened that someone would spend such a large sum of money to stop people from doing something they would likely do anyway — especially when that money could literally save lives if directed elsewhere. Acts like these may make someone feel like they did a great mitzvah, but in my eyes, they push people away from Judaism and cause the opposite effect.”

See also here for an op-ed