I hope that our new Machzor is helping you have a more meaningful High Holiday prayer experience this year. Jewish prayer books, whether the Shabbat Siddur or the High Holiday Machzor, are anthologies of some of the most eloquently expressed thoughts and beliefs of generations of Jews. Some of these texts are difficult to comprehend, even in translation. I hope that the new Machzor is shedding light on them for you. There are others that are crystal clear, speaking powerfully to us, and to our times, if our hearts are open to them.
I want us to open our hearts today to one of those texts, which I have always found deeply meaningful. It is the Haftarah from the prophet Isaiah that we read this morning. Let’s open our Machzor (p.285 in the middle of the passage) and read together the message that Isaiah delivered to the Jewish people in the 6th century BCE.
1. Cry with full throat, without restraint; raise your voice like a ram's horn! Declare to My people their transgression, to the House of Jacob their sin.
2. To be sure, they seek Me daily, eager to learn My ways.
Like a nation that does what is right, that has not abandoned the laws of its God, they ask Me for the right way- they are eager for the nearness of God:
3. "Why, when we fasted, did You not see? When we starved our bodies, did You pay no heed?" Because on your fast day you see to your business and oppress all your laborers!
4. Because you fast in strife and contention, and you strike with a wicked fist! Your fasting today is not such as to make your voice heard on high.
5. Is such the fast I desire, a day for people to starve their bodies? Is it bowing the head like a bulrush and lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call that a fast, a day when ADONAI is favorable?
6. No, this is the fast I desire:
The rabbis were very wise when they chose this text from Isaiah for Yom Kippur morning. They knew that Jews reading it would be well into the fast. By now we would likely be missing our breakfast and perhaps feeling a bit righteous about the discipline showed in having fasted this long.
What is Isaiah saying? He sees the people going through the motions of pious behavior, their prayers and fasting, but he is scornful of it. He tells them clearly, starting in verse 6:
6. No, this is the fast I desire: to unlock fetters of wickedness, and untie the cords of the yoke to let the oppressed go free, to break off every yoke.
7 It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the wretched poor into your home, when you see the naked, to clothe them, and do not ignore your own flesh.
8. Then shall your light burst through like the dawn and your healing spring up quickly…
Strong words. It would be a mistake to conclude from them that Isaiah’s rejects the value of fasting and prayer. Rather he insists that our ritual behavior be aligned with our ethical actions. That is the core message of the Biblical prophets. If Isaiah were in our midst today – what would he observe about our fast and about what is happening around us?
Two weeks ago the front-page of the Star Tribune carried the headline State Poverty Rate hits 10.8%. What did you feel when you read that headline? Did you read further to understand more deeply what is happening or did you simply turn to the next page? If you read on, you learned that the poverty line in this country refers to anyone making less than $11k for an individual and $22k for a family. Think about that kind of income. Can you imagine what it would be like to live on $11 thousand dollars a year or to try to maintain your family on $22 thousand dollars?
The article further revealed that one in four Minnesotans are “near poor” living close to that level of poverty. The numbers are astounding-
1 in 10 Minnesotans are not eating well enough, missing meals, having to turn to assistance. In the last two years the number of people in MN requiring food support has doubled! Doubled in two years!
We hear of growing demands on the food shelves we support. We hear it from STEP- The St Louis Park Emergency Program, which we have long supported as the only food shelf providing kosher food. We hear it from ICA, the Inter-Congregational Foodshelf, a few blocks away on Minnetonka Blvd. Imagine these emergency foodshelves having to handle twice the demand, or more. The director of ICA told me that people who were once middle class volunteers there now show up as clients, requiring assistance for themselves and for their family.
Our state is obviously not alone in seeing people struggling in a difficult economy. The national numbers are even worse as more than 15% of Americans are living in poverty, the greatest rate this country has seen in 52 years; an astonishing fifty million Americans face hunger daily. More than 11 million children experience “very low food security”- they simply do not have enough to eat.
A newly published study cites Minneapolis as one of the US cities that has seen the number of malnourished children showing up in emergency rooms double in the past two years. Dr. Megan Sandel of Boston Medical Center’s “Grow Clinic,” says, “People think about acute malnutrition and they may look at Somalia. What we see is chronic malnutrition, stunted growth, kids that are the size of a one year old when they’re two years old.” Dr. Sandel is describing this country; this city.
Recent demonstrations in Israel highlight that the problems we are facing here are experienced there as well. Middle and lower class Israeli have taken to the streets outraged by their government’s misplaced priorities. Now we see similar protests forming in NY, Minneapolis and elsewhere.
So think about the haftarah we read on Yom Kippur. What do you think the prophet Isaiah would be saying to us today about hunger in America, hunger in Israel?
I have had the opportunity to engage elected officials here about these issues the past few years and I am astounded by the responses I have gotten from some of them. I have heard Republicans and Democrats say that hunger is not a legislative priority. I am astonished when some people say that government is the problem not the solution, distorting the valuable work that government has long done in maintaining a safety net for our fellow citizens.
As bad as the poverty level is in this country we at least have thankfully had effective programs, sustained by long time bi-partisan agreement, trying to meet people’s most basic needs for nutrition. In the last two years, 44 million people have had to turn to SNAP, the Federal Supplemental Nutritional program, once known as food stamps. That is 16 million more people than relied on SNAP three years ago. Imagine what the face of poverty in this country would be if we did not have programs like SNAP, WIC and medical assistance to address the basic health needs of our citizens. SNAP benefits alone spared almost 4 million people from crossing the poverty line this year.
And yet the rhetoric that gets the most attention these days is that which attacks government as incapable of doing anything right. Proposals have been made in Congress this summer to cut SNAP by as much as 50 percent, cut of $350 billion over ten years (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 7-27-11). Imagine the impact that would have on people.
In the long run our country needs to address the deficit that has gotten so out of control. There is no question that there are examples of government inefficiencies and mismanagement that need to be addressed. But in the overzealous call for cutting there is an appalling disregard for the damage that would be done to this country’s safety net that protects people from some of the harshest effects of poverty. What would Isaiah say about that?
One thing that I find especially astounding is when those promoting an anti-government agenda claim to be grounded in Biblical religion. They are certainly not being true to the Bible I know. Our Torah speaks of people, in its time, being expected to give both voluntary terumah and an ongoing fixed donations of a chatzi shekel to the ancient Mishkan, the tabernacle, the first civic project of the people of Israel after they left Egypt. When the Israelite arrived in the land they were further expected to make regular offerings according to their ability, to provide maaser, tithings, to leave the corners of their field, and to not pick up that which had fallen from the produce of their fields. The Bible is clear as the Psalmist writes (24:1), “The earth’s bounty is the Lord’s and all that it holds, L’Adonai haaretz umelo’oh.” Those with more have an obligation to provide for those with less and a moral community can legitimately require its citizens to provide for the greater good.
I am proud of this congregation, which has long taken seriously our responsibility to those in need. In my first year at Adath, our congregation responded enthusiastically when we launched our Hesed Committee- our committee on social justice, by becoming partners with MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. In creating MAZON, Leonard Fein a leading Jewish voice for justice was addressing the rising problem of hunger in this country in the early 80s. Excesses in our peoples’ celebration of Bnai Mitzvah and weddings also pained him. At the time Fein called on the American Jewish Community to make a practice of donating 3% of what we spend on simchas to address the growing issue of hunger. The idea caught on nationally. This congregation has responded generously over the years and I expect that people responded generously to last week’s anti-hunger appeal for the STEP Food shelf and for MAZON for which I thank you.
MAZON has become widely respected for its work combating hunger. It is deeply appreciated by the 300 organizations it supports, on behalf of the Jewish community, with anti-hunger grants in the US and internationally. It is a respected for its partnership with other leading hunger organizations, representing our community’s concerns for those who are most vulnerable. Leadership of MAZON played a critical role convincing Walmart, the country’s largest food single food provider, next to the Federal government, to launch its “Fighting Hunger Together Campaign, ” last year, in which they pledged 2 billions dollars in cash and in kind donations over five years to combat hunger. That is an astounding accomplishment.
MAZON has played a significant role in Israel helping to organize Israeli hunger organizations and in getting the Israeli government to face the reality that at least 1-5 Israelis, an incredible 1-3 Israeli children, are going hungry in what we like to proudly refer to as the “Start-up Nation.” MAZON has done superb work bringing Israeli politicians to the US to see the valuable cooperation that exists here between businesses, non-profits and government in addressing hunger.
There was a typo in the brochure that you received in our synagogue’s High Holiday food campaign. Since its founding in 1986 MAZON has given not $53 dollars, but $53 million dollars in grants, more than $850k in grants just in MN. This year seven MN organizations received $61k in grants. That is far more than I could ever imagine our congregation raising in a year for so many local hunger projects, even with our best efforts.
Our people, and many others of goodwill have shown ongoing dedication to doing our part. The idea that we can get ourselves out of the current crisis of hunger as well as address other social needs with private giving alone, and without the leadership of government at all levels is the height of foolishness. Budgets are being proposed that show little apparent regard for the human suffering that would ensue. I spoke of one proposal to cut SNAP in half with cuts of as much as $350 billion dollars. The budget proposal that did pass this summer in the House of Representatives would cut Federal Funding of the SNAP Program by $127 billion in ten years. These are astounding numbers. It would take thousands of organizations like MAZON to replace these billions of dollars. It is not consistent with the partnerships that have long existed between private and public giving and it is not consistent with Jewish or Biblical principles.
It is simply not acceptable.
There was a time in MN when the most visible political leaders coming out of this state, representing us to the broader nation, were those urging people to commit themselves to the civic good. I have recently found myself reading about Hubert Humphrey who would have celebrated his 100th birthday this past May and who was justifiably appreciated by our Jewish community. His voice rings out powerfully to me today when I read quotes of his saying that, “Government is the means by which all the people acting together, do for themselves those things that the people cannot do one by one. That is the great principle of government.”
He drew from the depth of genuine religious principles when he said in the 1960s, “We have forgotten that we are our brother’s keeper. We have forgotten about each other. We are the victims of neglect. We have neglected cities and farms and people and children and elderly. And we have had as the measure of our success that those who already have too much shall have some more... rather than those who have too little shall get enough!”
That is a voice that harmonizes beautifully with the voice of the prophet Isaiah. That is the kind of voice this state was once best known for.
On this Yom Kippur, I pray that we will open our hearts and really listen to the voice of the prophet Isaiah urging those who represent us in government to show respect for each other and to work across party lines to attend to the civic good and not to the basest of people’s instincts to get the best deal for themselves.
I want you to know that in the coming years I will be focusing more of my attention, and dedicating more of my spare time, such as it is, to work nationally with MAZON and other local efforts to address issues of hunger and poverty. I hope that all of you will join me in committing to this endeavor not only with your financial resources, but also in raising your voices in common concern about the need to maintain a safety net for those who are most vulnerable.
Three years ago with the support of MAZON and CAPSH- Community Action Partnership of Suburban Hennepin County, our congregation served as host of a MN Hunger Summit, convening people from across the state doing the grass-roots work of combating hunger. This year, on Sunday Oct 23, again through the great work of our Hesed Committee, our social justice committee, chaired by Marcy Harris, our congregation is hosting a conference called, “Enough for All,” part of a state-wide initiative to end poverty in Minnesota by 2020. It will be an opportunity to hear from and speak to elected officials who represent this district. Seeking to end poverty sounds like a pipe dream, but I firmly believe that dedicating ourselves to tackle the blight of poverty and hunger is what God expects of us.
In the future when we read the words of Isaiah, “Is this the fast that I want?”, let each of us know that we have done our part. May our fast inspire us to make it possible that others can eat. As Isaiah concludes his powerful speech in our haftarah V. 8, “Then shall your light burst through like the dawn and your healing spring up quickly.”