From the Rabbi - April 2000

Dear Friends,

Pesach is a time of great joy. One of the central elements of the Pesach Seder is the Ha Lachma Anya Prayer. It says, in part:

"This is the Bread of Affliction, the poor bread, that our ancestors ate in Egypt. Let all that are hungry come and eat. Let all who are in want share the joy of Passover..."

This prayer reminds us that even in the midst of our joy, we need to remember there are still many others who are hungry. Our tradition teaches that it is a mitzvah to share our Seder tables with those less fortunate than ourselves.

Hunger and poverty go hand in hand in America. The following facts come from MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger.

• More than 36 million Americans are poor, most of them children.
• The United States has the highest child poverty rate of any industrialized nation.
• One in every five American children is poor.
• At least 2.5 million elderly Americans worry about where their next meal will come from.
• Childhood hunger can cause lasting impairments that prevent children from growing up to be productive members of society.

There is a bitter irony in the fact that in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, children still go to bed hungry at night.

This year, at Pesach, you are being asked to join with our youth group, TASTY, in helping the hungry in our midst. Please give generously to the food drive featured on the cover of this Bulletin. You can donate food or cash to the effort. Let us reinforce the power and meaning of our Pesach celebrations.

May all of you be blessed with the joy of telling our story of liberation and renewal. Sue, Lani and Ethan join me in wishing all of you a happy and joyous Pesach.

B'Shalom,
Rabbi Joseph R. Black

P.S. To learn more about hunger in American and how you can make a difference in its eradication, contact MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger at 12401 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 303, Los Angeles, CA 90025-1015. Phone: 310-442-0020.

(To visit the Mazon web site at www.mazon.org, please click here)

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