O PINION
KVETCH ’N’ KVELL
We Must Push Our Leaders
to Address Hunger Crisis
BY ABBY J. LEIBMAN
THIS WEEK, FAMILIES
around the country will
celebrate Th anksgiving amid
a new and devastating reality.

While our celebrations might
look and feel diff erent than
other years, many of us will
likely recall our blessings in
new ways as well. Food on
the table will have heightened
meaning, as we know that
millions of Americans are
struggling to feed themselves
and their families every day.

Eight months into the
pandemic, we are witnessing
a true crisis of food insecurity.

Lines for emergency food distri-
bution stretch long and tens
of millions are unemployed.

Women, racial minorities and
those who were struggling long
before the pandemic are dispro-
portionately suff ering.

As Americans and as Jews,
it is our responsibility to act.

Specifi cally, we must demand
that our leaders in government
respond to growing hunger
with the wisdom, compassion
and urgency that this moment
demands. We urgently need
new legislation that will help
tens of millions of Americans
put food on the table. Th e
stakes have never been higher.

COVID-19 has revealed
just how many Americans are
living at the edge of poverty.

Wedding Bad for Orthodox Image
formerly known as food
stamps — in part due to strin-
gent eligibility requirements
and cumbersome applications.

Hunger is oft en hidden,
silent and overlooked. Nobody
talks about the shame that
comes with not knowing if
you can feed your children
their next meal, eating canned
goods because it’s cheaper than
fresh food or drinking water to
make yourself feel full.

My organization MAZON
Hunger is often hidden, silent and overlooked.

Nobody talks about the shame that comes with
not knowing if you can feed your children their
next meal.

Before the pandemic, nearly 40
million were facing hunger. At
MAZON: A Jewish Response
to Hunger, we now expect
that number has doubled,
particularly given skyrock-
eting unemployment rates
and shocking reports about
the increased need for food.

Th e past nine months have
revealed that millions of
Americans are falling through
the cracks of our federal
government’s nutrition safety
net — assistance programs like
the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program, or SNAP,
does our best to change that,
sharing the stories of people
like Rhonda, who reminds us
that “it’s not normal to eat once
a day, but if you’re struggling,
that’s the only thing you can
do.” And the experience of
people like Charles, who shared
that “there are times towards
the end of the month when all
I can aff ord to eat for days at a
time is bread and milk.” And
the stories of children like John,
who says that “If I am hungry
in school, I can’t focus a lot and
I don’t understand the lesson.”
So many people, in the
See Leibman, Page 27
Linda Cherkas | Philadelphia
Charitable Giving a Must
I have been subscribing to the Jewish Exponent since I was a
teenager. Now I am 84 years old and am looking forward to
continuing for many years.

I usually read most articles before I share the Exponent with
neighbors in my apartment building.

Most of the articles I fi nd inspiring especially when it concerns
the issues of the day like the pandemic and the resultant jobless-
ness and depression and hunger that seems so rampant.

Th e op-ed by Yvette Alt Miller (“Charitable Giving During
the Pandemic Is the Jewish Th ing to Do,” Nov. 29) that I found
myself reading a few times is right on target about the Jewish
approach to saving our society.

What prompted me to reread the article was that my mother, who
was an immigrant from the pogroms from the early last century,
told me that her father used to do the same thing in taking a needy
person to a restaurant instead of giving a pittance and leaving the
needy alone. It awakened my conscience, as I was young when my
grandfather died and did not know him personally. My father came
from Palestine to fi nd a future in America free from the cruelty of
the Ottoman Empire in Israel. I needed to share this. Shalom. ●
Harry Leibson | Elkins Park
Correction A NOTICE TO OUR READERS
Th ere will be no print edition of the Jewish Exponent
the week of Dec. 31. Th at week, please visit us online at
jewishexponent.com, where the paper will be available
in digital form.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM KUDOS TO GARY ROSENBLATT, editor at large of the
Jewish Week, for writing about what is going on in one segment
of the Orthodox Jewish community (“Th e Challenge for the
Orthodox Media,” Nov. 26).

Something that was not mentioned was the Nov. 8 massive wedding
of the Satmar rebbe’s grandson in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

Th is was reported in the press, including Th e New York Times,
where thousands of Chasidim stood maskless shoulder to shoulder.

Th is is positively a chilul Hashem — a desecration of G-d’s
name. First of all, it goes against a key Torah principle of pikuach
nefesh — preserving a life, even if, for instance, one has to violate
laws of Shabbat to save a life. Also there is a principle in the
Talmud of Dinah d’malchuta Dinah — that the law of the land
is the law.

Flagrantly fl aunting Mayor de Blasio and New York state
COVID orders is truly a shanda — a shame. It promotes hatred
of Orthodox Jews among other Jews and increases anti-Jewish
sentiment in the community at large.

JEWISH EXPONENT
In Jesse Bernstein’s story about Grassroots Food Truck (“New
Kosher Food Truck Now Open for Business,” Nov. 19), we
misidentifi ed the authority that provides the truck’s kashrut
certifi cation. Th e correct authority is Keystone-K. Th e Jewish
Exponent regrets the error.

STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER
We are a diverse community. The views expressed in the signed opinion columns and let-
ters to the editor published in the Jewish Exponent are those of the authors. They do
not necessarily reflect the views of the officers and boards of the Jewish Publishing
Group, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia or the Jewish Exponent. Send
letters to letters@jewishexponent.com or fax to 215-569-3389. Letters should be a
maximum of 200 words and may be edited for clarity and brevity. Unsigned letters will not be
published. DECEMBER 3, 2020
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