Yom Kippur, Haftorah Introduction: Becoming a Community of Giving

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Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova.

As we all gather this morning, in the midst of a meaningful fast and without that morning coffee I know I am missing right now…I have the privilege of talking to you about, what else? Food…and housing, and the basics of the blessings of what it means to have enough…

And thinking about our neighbors and friends who don’t.

The timing of my brief talk today is no coincidence.  Rabbi Julie asked me to speak because of the relevance to the themes of Judaism being about love that she spoke about in her Kol Nidre remarks AND because of the Haftarah we read today– from the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 58, which imparts the message to Isaiah that God does not simply want us to fast—but rather to understand the moral and ethical reasons underlying fasting—to recognize what it is like to be hungry and to literally share our bread with neighbors, strangers and those in need all around us.

This simple, but profound message not only moves me, but has become a social action rallying cry for our Shomrei community.

We live in and around a diverse community where there is both affluence and poverty at every turn.  The juxtaposition is palpable.  We need only to open our eyes every day to see the work that is and needs to be done.

And in this coming year of 5785, together, we on the social action committee of Shomrei, are focusing our efforts around food and housing insecurity.

We are inviting you to join us in truly becoming The Shomrei Community of Giving, a wonderful characterization that Linda Ariel has coined for us,  that moves us and connects us and engages us in critical work we can do so meaningfully together.

Many of you probably know that Shomrei has long been committed to well-known partner organizations in our beloved Montclair community.  Several of us are on Boards of what we like to refer to as The Big 5— MESH, The Human Needs Food Pantry, Family Promise, Tonis Kitchen, and The Little Food Pantry.

And in 5785, we are going to double down on that commitment, organize our efforts for maximum impact and ask those of you who are moved by today’s reality to share in our work.

I don’t want to stand here and recite statistics you won’t remember.  But I do want to help you visualize why we want to focus as a K’hilat K’dosha, a holy community of giving in our OWN backyard.

I’ll start with The Human Needs Food Pantry where Alex Kent and I are so involved and probably many of you in the congregation, as well—and where Rabbi Julie met with the Executive Director just last week.

I ask you–Have you ever dropped off donations to the Human Needs Food Pantry on a Tuesday or Thursday morning of distribution day, right next door to Egans, and seen the line of clients waiting for their bags that goes all the way down to the soccer dome and beyond?

They have distributed 28,000 bags of groceries so far this year, and have already added 1200 new households!  The need keeps growing.

And did you know that our own beloved MESH program that Lynne Kurzweil and Aileen Grossberg run, is now preparing 50 meals every other week for the homeless, up from 30 meals each week,  just over a year ago.

Dale Russakoff, who is on the Board at Family Promise of Essex County, a group that is dedicated to helping families on the brink of homelessness get back on their feet again…shared a staggering statistic, that they get 300 calls per week from clients seeking their assistance, and of those calls, from Newark, Irvington, East Orange, etc…Montclair is the 4th on the list in terms of # of calls.

Toni’s Kitchen, which started as a faith-based soup kitchen keeps expanding their services to mobile units, senior meals, general food distribution, and so many other activities, because no one can keep up with the sheer volume of need.

Or have you noticed that our own Little Pantry right outside Shomrei, one of 20 in town, that Sarita Eisenberg ensures is stocked regularly, is often empty the very day after it is stocked?

Again,  this need is right outside our doors.  Not strangers.  But Neighbors.  Our community.

I was particularly moved by a few stories that make this point more powerfully than I ever could.

For example, Fern Heinig recalls a moment when MESH used to serve our homeless guests pre-COVID, right here in our gallery…and she was leading a group of middle schoolers who were helping to cook and serve meals.  One of the young girls from Buzz Aldrin went out to serve the clients and came running back to the Shomrei kitchen in tears because her good friend from school was there with her single Mom, and this little girl from Shomrei had no idea about her friend.  Whenever they played together, it was always at her house.

This is what it means to put real faces on hunger and homelessness.

Or Toni’s Kitchen serving meals on wheels to seniors, where Shomrei members have been clients.

Or my first time serving for MESH when I was struck by the clients being so appreciative of the well-balanced and delicious meal being served…commenting to me that it wasn’t just another pasta dinner.

Just because someone is down on their luck doesn’t mean they don’t have the same likes and dislikes as any other human being, and appreciate the same great food that we do.

One more anecdote that illustrates this point is as recent as Rabbi Julie’s daughter Noa’s Bat Mitzvah.  There was a lot of sushi left over among other wonderful food.

And every Monday, Aileen Grossberg takes all our Shabbat leftovers to the MESH headquarters on Bloomfield Ave, where clients are served their meals now.

That particular Monday, when she told some of the waiting clients that sushi was among that day’s delivery, they were so excited.  Who doesn’t love great sushi!

Which brings me to one more interpretation that dimensionalizes what we are trying to do together here in our Shomrei Community of Giving.

There is an interpretation of the Commandment “Love Thy Neighbor” that says—what love thy neighbor really means is to “Wish for others to have everything that I have, to the extent that I do.”

While that may not be entirely possible, that is the worthy rallying cry that will bring us together in the coming year as we devote our efforts to doing more for our neighbors around food and housing insecurity.

That is the spirit behind our current Cereal Drive for the Human Needs Pantry—an item every client loves in their biweekly bags, but is so expensive for the Pantry to provide.

That is the spirit behind our intention to adopt two families from Family Promise this year, twice a year, where we cover all their shopping needs for a week.

That is the spirit behind our MESH cooking of 50 meals every other Tuesday.

That is the spirit behind our efforts to involve all cohorts of our Shomrei Community of Giving, from the PreSchool, to JLC, Teens, Families, Boomers, Seniors and everyone.

The possibilities are endless, limited only by our energy and intention.

The names I have mentioned here today represent the social action committee that has kicked off this effort.

But I know many of you in our congregation have also been involved in these terrific organizations.

So come join us.  Come cook.  Come give. Come lead an initiative. Just come.

And as the Shofar Sounds this evening, on what I pray will be a better, peaceful, healthy, meaningful and joyful new year for all…let it awaken us to reflect on our own blessings and to share them with our many many neighbors in need.

525,600 minutes
How do you measure, measure a year???
In love, love, seasons of love

G’mar Chatima Tova

Risa Bernstein
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