I’m not a big fan of fasting, but I’m doing it because the Isaiah verses I mentioned yesterday really spoke to me, connecting fasting with taking action. Let me address a couple of responses I got yesterday.
Why are you doing a useless fast rather than donating food or money to actually feed the hungry? A great comment! In fact, I am doing both. Action is not an either/or proposition. I’m hoping that the idea of fasting to remind ourselves of our obligations to take corrective action ourselves gains traction around and outside of Michigan, such as donating to to Feeding West Michigan or local food pantries. And I’m hoping the Fast for SNAP, especially if it goes viral, will be an effective way to catch the attention of our leadership in DC and prod them to take substantial action.
And speaking of our leadership … why not call on our Senators to change their votes and end the government shutdown? I’m calling on the leadership of the Senate, both majority and minority, and ideally the president as well, to sit down and negotiate an end to the shutdown in which everyone both gives up and gets a little bit of what they want.
And finally, why am I spending time focused on SNAP when we as a Jewish community have our own serious concerns, like antisemitism, that we should address first? Hunger is our concern it’s not just someone else’s problem. There is food need in the Jewish community. This is both our concern and that of every ethnic and religious group in the country.
Please, join me in Fasting for SNAP. Or give to organization working to address the problem of hunger. Or both.
Embodied Torah 