Opinion

A MIX OF IDEAS

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Dry Bones

Editorial

Scourge Of Poverty

A

merican Jews have a host of
critical issues to confront; there's
no mistaking that. One issue
that's as vital, but less of a headline grab-
ber than Israeli-Palestinian peace talks is
poverty assistance.
National Jewish leaders have called
on the U.S. government to increase such
financial aid in the wake of a dishearten-
ing rise in the number of Americans living
at poverty levels.
We echo that call.
While Jews are among the newly disen-
franchised in the wake of America's eco-
nomic unrest, helping the less fortunate is
not just a Jewish thing; rather, it's the right
thing for a nation to do.
In a September news release, the U.S.
Census Bureau indicated that the num-
ber of Americans living at poverty levels
climbed from 39.8 million in 2008 to 43.6
million in 2009. That means one in seven
Americans is distressed. The latest number
is the largest since the government started
tracking poverty levels 51 years ago.
We'll depend on Congress and the presi-
dent to decide how much poverty assis-
tance can be increased against the back-
drop of other funding priorities — keep-
ing in mind the importance of Americans
having shelter, food and medical care.
A good place for Congress to start is
the 2010 Child Nutrition Reauthorization
Act (Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act). The

Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA),
the American Jewish community's public
affairs voice, supports its passage — with
improvements. The act is the major fed-
eral legislation guiding school food policy
and resources. The act is reauthorized only
once every five years; this renewal is espe-
cially important given First Lady Michelle
Obama's hope to curb childhood obesity.
The renewal campaign has merit. Argues
the Healthy Schools Campaign, a Chicago-
based nonprofit: "While the current ver-
sion of the bill does not include adequate
funding to fundamentally transform school
food, it does have the potential to bring
significant benefits for children's health
for generations to come by putting health-
promoting policies in place now"
In a succinct statement, the JCPA, the
umbrella body for Jewish public policy
groups, declared: "Our nation's leaders
must take a proactive approach to end
this suffering by protecting human needs
programs from further cuts, creating sus-
tainable jobs and clearly supporting one
piece of legislation that we've made a sig-
nature concern — a robust Child Nutrition
Reauthorization Act, which provides both
funding for access and improved nutri-
tion:'
Only 2 percent of all kids eat a healthy
diet, a percentage that lifts the risk of
heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes,
which are leading causes of death, disabil-

THE

clue

( ISRAELI CYBER
WARRIORS MAY HAVE
PLANTED COMPUTER
"WORMS" IN OUR
NUCLEAR Facupp,

ity and high healthcare
costs, according to the
American Public Health
Association.
The Jewish Federations
of North America is
one of six national
groups managing the
Emergency Food and
Shelter National Board
THIS MORNING,
AND THEN OD
Program, created in 1983
WHEN
WE
SWITCHED
THREE
VERSES OF
to supplement the work
THE
SYSTEM
ON,
IT
TREIDLE, DREDLE,
of local social service
PLAYED "HATIKVANI,
agencies, both private
DREIDLF!
and governmental, fight-
"HAVA NAGILAH",
ing homelessness, hunger
and supportive services.
The collaborative effort
has disbursed a resound-
ing $3 billion. The pro-
gram is an example of an
area worthy of consider-
DryBonesBlog.com
ation for a higher federal
allocation.
of help. Caseloads at JVS and Jewish Family
Here in Metro Detroit, the Jewish commu-
Service also have risen substantially.
nity knows all too well the travails of many
While Jewish Detroit takes aim at fulfilling
of its own hit hard by Michigan's depressed
communal
emergency needs, and in some
economy. Applications are up substantially
cases
also
aiding
the secular community, ifs
for Yad Ezra, Michigan's only kosher food
heartening
to
know
the American Jewish
pantry, the Jewish Housing Association,
community
is
stepping
out to speak up for
which helps Jewish homeowners meet their
making sure Washington is dialed into the
mortgage payments, and Hebrew Free Loan,
depth of poverty-stricken America. ❑
which provides short-term loans without
interest to Jews who have no other means

This Is My God

New York

I

cannot say that I have ever rejected
God. There were some years in which I
was not interested; and that, perhaps,
is the greatest rejection of all (much more
than hostility or lack of faith). But then,
the world seemed too small, too confined,
far too senseless without Him.
To me, He is the all-embracing, all-
encompassing being, the great Mystery,
the transcending reality that is above,
beyond and behind all that exists.
It is also true that God plays hide-and-
seek with us. He hides and I must seek
Him so that I can cry triumphantly: "I've
found Him!" This rediscovery happens
throughout a lifetime.
There are always periods when there is
a feeling of distance, almost of alienation
— even if one observes the formalities of
ritual and formal prayer; yet these times
are followed by a renewed finding, a new
love.

always identify it. Some people
How can one characterize
get this feeling from seeing or
God? Whatever we say is going
feeling any kind of sublimity.
to be both right and wrong. All
Others may just suddenly expe-
the good, beautiful and sweet
rience,
without any prior prepa-
things in this world are actu-
ration or knowledge, the bliss
ally His attributes and every
and security of this closeness.
day, nay, every moment, we
God is not just the origina-
see Him differently. What is
tor of the universe — an entity
the color of a bubble of water?
that gave the universe an initial
That depends upon the angle
Rabbi Adin
momentum and then left it. I
from which I look at it. And
Steinsaltz
believe that creation is an ongo-
when I gaze at it long enough,
Special
ing process; the world is being
I shall see in it all the col-
Commentary
created anew each and every
ors and hues: Great, Mighty,
day, each and every instant.
Compassionate, Gracious,
The world's existence is the result of God's
Awesome, Un-understandable — but for-
constant presence within it; and there is
ever extremely close to me.
no life and no reality without that constant
It seems to me that every human being,
Presence — at any given moment in time,
not just religious (or exceptionally holy)
in every single particle of matter.
people, experiences such moments of
I also believe that God supervises the
grace — these are moments when one
smallest details and every single indi-
feels the great Presence, how God is close,
vidual: His Providence and interest are
nearby. This feeling is actually a lot more
not confined to human beings, but include
frequent than people think; but we cannot

every created thing. And just as He is the
ruler of the great galaxies, just as He is
in charge of the great eras, so, too, He is
present and oversees every movement that
every human being makes, and also every
flying bird, every fish in the water, every
skipping grasshopper, every leaf drifting
in the wind, every wisp of smoke coming
out of a chimney — God watches over all
these things and cares about them.
Thus, God has a plan for each and every
human being and every single creature.
But I cannot know what His plan is for
me. Every now and then, I ask Him (and
sometimes receive an answer, either
directly or indirectly): "What am I sup-
posed to do now, according to the plan?
Have I done what You wanted me to do or
have I erred and misunderstood You?"
At the same time, no matter whether
we acknowledge it or not, each of us has a
personal relationship with God. My rela-
tionship is always personal and private;
precisely because He is so infinite and

My God on page 42

October 14 • 2010

41

