TAMCHUI
"I get to make a difference as a child."
"So, too, collectors are appointed who fetch bread and foodstuffs from every courtyard as well as fruit products or money, from anyone who donates for the needs of the moment. They distribute the collections among the poor… this is called the Tamchui."
— Maimonides, Yad, Gifts to the Poor, 9.2
In medieval times, a Tamchui was a pool of tzedakah funds established in every community to provide for the urgent needs of the moment.
At Rashi, Tamchui is a two-week schoolwide philanthropy project that engages students in meaningful social justice learning and action and helps them become educated and empathetic young philanthropists. Tamchui is an annual tzedakah tradition that takes place at the Purim holiday, a customary time for giving in the Jewish calendar.
Since 1997, the Rashi community has contributed over $100,000 to 70 charitable organizations serving children and families in need locally, nationally, and internationally.
Week One: Education
Students at all grade levels spend a week learning about the work of specific local, national, and international organizations that benefit children. They participate in age-appropriate activities designed to help them learn more about each organization.
Week Two: Donation
Families are asked to contribute to Tamchui. Each child receives five "chips" (each chip representing a portion of the total collected) and chooses the organization(s) to which to contribute their chips.
Middle School Consensus
Middle School students participate in a Tamchui Community Consensus Meeting, during which they learn about consensus as a collaborative method of decision making. Through discussion, debate, and assessment of how well each organization embodies specific Jewish values, the students decide as a group how their communal chips will be allocated.