Rabbi Lauren Kurland

By Cindy Mindell ~

From the ubiquitous food-collection bin in the synagogue lobby to organized lobbying of Congressmembers, the American Jewish community takes hunger seriously as a social-justice issue. From the Yom Kippur fast to the “bread of affliction” noted during the Passover seder, there are many modern-day expressions of the Biblical commandment to feed the hungry.
This month, as a followup to the American Jewish World Service Global Hunger Shabbat in November, Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Bridgeport hosts a scholar-in-residence weekend on hunger education with Rabbi Lauren Kurland, associate director of AJWS. American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is an international development organization dedicated to alleviating poverty, hunger and disease among the people of the developing world regardless of race, religion or nationality.
Rabbi Kurland spoke with the Ledger about the Jewish commitment to feeding the hungry, and AJWS’s efforts to alleviate global hunger.

Please give a brief context for Jewish involvement in hunger activism, both local and global.
A: The Torah repeatedly stresses our responsibility to ensure that all people have food and are treated with dignity. Leviticus 19:9-10, for example, teaches that when you reap the harvest of your fields, “you shall not reap all the way to the corner of your field nor gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not pick your vineyard bare or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.” This seminal text indicates that we must share our resources with those that lack, and as the commentators indicate,do so in a way that is respectful. As the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 25a-b) notes, we are instructed to leave the harvest of the corners of our fields and not their centers precisely so that we do not “waste the time of the poor,” who would otherwise have to enter the fields to gather it.
While the American Jewish community, also inspired by these Leviticus texts, typically responds well to local hunger needs with care and respect, it has not traditionally focused on those who are not Jewish and who live outside of our immediate communities. For the past 26 years, AJWS has filled that gap by working in partnership with international NGO partners around the world who are working toward food sustainability. In these efforts, we assert, as does Aruch HaShulchan Yoreh Deah 251:4, that “it is clear that every person, whether of modest or significant means, is obligated to give a portion of his [or her]tzedakahmoney to needy people who are not relatives.… [Because if we only gave to the people of our own city] in places where there are no wealthy residents, should people be left to starve? How is it possible to say this? Nor do people act this way.”
For additional resources, I recommend On1Foot [www.On1Foot.org], a website hosted by AJWS and co-sponsored by nearly 20 social-justice organization partners. On1Foot contains thousands of source sheets and text studies on hunger and related issues and is a veritable treasure trove of Jewish views on social justice issues.

 What is your personal/ professional interest in this area of activism, and what other tzedakah focuses are you involved in?
A: I was inspired to enter the rabbinate by my hometown rabbi, who was involved in many social justice causes. As I learned more Jewish texts, I came to understand that Judaism not only wants us to take care of the immediate needs of the widow, the orphan, the stranger and others in need, but also to think more systemically about realizing social justice. As education director of Congregation Ansche Chesed in Manhattan for five years, I developed a religious-school curriculum that integrated social justice values and I also consulted to the social justice committee. Notably, Ansche Chesed hosts a homeless shelter for 10 men 365 nights of the year, and the religious school and social justice committee worked with Ansche Chesed to think in an integrated fashion about how to best support these homeless men: not just providing them with shelter every night and by preparing food – as families did on occasion to supplement the government-provided food that was provided at that time – but also by advocating for more housing in New York City and fundraising for related causes. Through my experiences, it became evident that we must use the various resources at our disposal – ranging from material goods to financial donations to our votes at the polling box – in order to effect significant and sustainable Torah-based change. At AJWS, I have found the Jewish Global Citizenship Star, which can be accessed online at www.ajws.org/jewishglobal, an important tool for thinking about how to do this well.

How did AJWS became involved in hunger-related programming? How do AJWS’s activities fit into the larger context of American Jewish responses to hunger?
A: AJWS just hosted our second annual Global Hunger Shabbat last month. We had more than 150 synagogues, 25 college groups, and dozens of homes across the U.S. participate – close to 10,000 individuals. GHS is a weekend of nationwide solidarity, learning, and reflection around food justice and offers Jews the opportunity to discuss the current food crisis and ways they can help end it.
In early October, AJWS announced its new Reverse Hunger campaign, an initiative to rally the American Jewish community to change U.S. food and agriculture policies – which the organization believes are major contributors to global hunger. This year’s Global Hunger Shabbat was part of the campaign and provided participants with resources about the U.S. Farm Bill and its impact on food prices and the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in developing countries. As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Farm Bill in 2012, AJWS is calling on the Jewish community to seize this opportunity to band together and push lawmakers to reform key aspects of the legislation that address food aid. The organization maintains that these misguided policies not only delay the arrival of lifesaving food aid, but also perpetuate a cycle of dependence for developing nations.
In partnership with several Jewish organizations, AJWS is promoting a “Jewish Petition for a Just Farm Bill” – which more than 5,000 people have already signed – in advance of the 2012 Farm Bill debate, to show Congress the Jewish community’s commitment to reforming food aid and promoting a new vision for our agriculture policy at home and abroad. People can view the petition here: www.ajws.org/reversehunger. AJWS works closely with other Jewish and faith-based groups on these issues. AJWS’s area of focus is the global aspect of hunger, whereas these other groups mostly focus on domestic issues.
AJWS has been working on hunger-related issues since our inception. Many of our grassroots grantees in developing nations work on issues surrounding sustainable agriculture, land and resource rights, and food security.

Please give us a preview of your Dec. 16-17 program at Congregation Rodeph Sholom.
A: On Friday night, I will present “Digging Deep into Causes of Hunger,” an interactive program designed to engage adults and teens to learn about global hunger and what they can do to make an impact. [Editor’s note: The program is preceded by a Friday-night dinner fundraiser for Rodeph Sholom’s upcoming 8th-grade social action trip to Atlanta.] During Saturday-morning services, I will give a sermon, “Reverse Hunger: How We Can Work to Help End the Global Food Crisis.” I will also explain AJWS’s U.S. Farm Bill campaign.

For more information on Congregation Rodeph Sholom’s Global Hunger Shabbat: (203) 334-0159 / www.rodephsholom.com