A Day to Remember: Tuesday, June 5, 2007

By DR. H. ERIC SCHOCKMAN, president of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger

Tuesday, June 5 marks National Hunger Awareness Day, an opportunity for communities across the country to remember more than 35 million Americans living on the brink of malnutrition, hunger or worse. On Tuesday, people of all faiths and backgrounds will come together to take a stand against this fundamental injustice.

What does this signify for us as Jews? How are we impacted by a society that does not do a good enough job taking care of its more vulnerable members? And what does our tradition say about the ways in which we are empowered to contribute to the problem’s solution?

For answers, we have no further to look than this week’s parashat, B’haalot’cha. Tired of the monotony brought on by endless desert wandering, the Israelites approach Moses to express their dissatisfaction and longing. Moses is overwhelmed by their pleas and turns to God, saying, essentially, I cannot do this alone. God responds by instructing Moses to gather together 70 elders; to form, in effect, an advisory council that will help Moses manage the burden of communal responsibility.

From Moses’ need of broader support to bear the yoke of leadership, we learn of the importance of shared obligation, of coming together to effect lasting and meaningful change. One person is powerful, but a community united in common purpose multiplies that power exponentially. Nowhere does this have greater relevance than in the struggle against hunger, poverty and economic injustice. Too often we hear stories of parents down on their luck and unable to meet basic needs for their children, or of seniors trying to stretch fixed income to pay for housing, medical care and food. Occasionally, these tragedies are offset by tales of individual heroism concerned advocates dedicating time and resources to improving life for those people living on the bottom rung of the economic ladder.

And yet, as illustrated by Moses’ example, our Jewish tradition teaches us that this is not nearly enough. Individuals acting alone cannot bear the full brunt of our society’s problems. Solving them requires group cohesion and a collective commitment to sharing the load.

This year on Hunger Awareness Day, each of us has a challenge to face: deciding how to add our voice to the chorus clamoring for change. But, for each of us, that challenge is also an opportunity: to build our ideal society, and to model the change we want to see in the world.