A day to remember

By Dr. H. Eric Schockman

June 5 marks National Hunger Awareness Day, an opportunity for communities across the country to remember more than 35 million Americans living on the brink of malnutrition, hunger or worse. This year, people of all faiths are taking a stand against this fundamental injustice.

Ours is a faith tradition that urges us toward a vision of a society that takes care of its most vulnerable members, however they worship. The Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), that quintessential Jewish text, makes this abundantly clear. In it, Jews are instructed to help the stranger 36 times, more than any other commandment in the entire document. From our earliest history, we learn the importance of communal responsibility. Indeed, we are told, it is only by sharing obligation and coming together that we can effect lasting and meaningful change.

Nowhere does this have greater relevance than in the struggle against hunger, poverty and economic injustice. Too often we hear stories of parents down on their luck and unable to meet basic needs for their children, or of seniors trying to stretch fixed incomes to pay for housing, medical care and food. Occasionally, these tragedies are offset by tales of individual heroism by concerned advocates dedicating time and resources to improving life for those people living on the bottom rung of the economic ladder.

This year on Hunger Awareness Day, each of us -- Jews, Christians, Muslims and others -- has a challenge to face: deciding how to add our voice to the chorus clamoring for change. But, for each of us, that challenge is also an opportunity to build our ideal society, and to model the change we want to see in the world.

Dr. H. Eric Schockman is president of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger in Los Angeles.