created at: 2011-04-07

If you’re hungry for justice, take a seat at TELEM and Temple Israel’s Hunger Seder, next Wednesday, April 13th in Sharon. You’ve never heard of a hunger seder? Well, we’re advertising with the following:

The Passover Haggadah says, “Let all who are hungry come and eat.” During the Seder we are commanded to open our doors and homes and invite all who are hungry to come and eat. Are we really ready and able to feed all those hungry people?

More than 125,000 children in Greater Boston are at risk of going hungry, EVERY DAY. Over 17 million children in the US may be hungry right now. Come learn more about hunger in Boston, the United States, and communities around the world.

These facts seem startling. Really, it is startling- that there are so many hungry children in a country that is as modern, industrialized and powerful as the Unites States. Over 17 million children in the UNITED STATES are food insecure, which means they don’t know where or when their next meal is coming. That’s not even counting adults or seniors who are going hungry.

It’s concerning to me that I consider myself a socially conscious person and I had no idea the crisis was so severe in America. I know there is poverty; I know there are people going hungry- that’s why I feel it’s so important for TELEM and B’nai TELEM students to volunteer at community meals and food pantries. Can we do more though?

Let’s arm ourselves with the information, statistics, and stories of the hunger crisis in America to motivate us to make a change.  We can gather as a community and learn together about other ways to give back and fight this growing problem and discover what Judaism has to say about hunger.

The Haggadah commands us to open our doors and hearts to feed those who are hungry. We are expected to feed any need in the community during this all-important holiday. However, it’s important to remember, 17 million children are food insecure year round. We should take this reflective  time to consider what role we hope to play in this startling crisis.

So we invite you to join TELEM and Temple Israel in Sharon as we get together to explore these issues, and participate in a unique program to understand Judaism’s role: a Hunger Seder. We’ll walk through the innovative Haggadah, but instead of learning about how the Jewish people broke the bonds of slavery, we’ll learn how to educate and advocate to break the cycle of hunger today.

For more information about Hunger Seders, please visit the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. To RSVP or get more information about TELEM’s Hunger Seder with Temple Israel Sharon, please contact Emily Reichman or visit our website, www.telemyouth.org. You can also respond on Facebook or JewishBoston.com.

Bryanne Mahoney is the Senior Program Coordinator for TELEM at the JCRC and a passionate advocate of social justice and service learning. Bryanne attended Northeastern University in Boston, where she received her Bachelor’s in History and Jewish Studies, and Master’s degree in History, with a certificate in Public History. In her spare time she is also an avid reader, a Top Chef fan, and is currently training for a 200-mile relay race.

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