Thoughts on Freedom from Want

Originally posted on November 6, 2025

At the very end of the Birkat HaMazon, the grace after meals, there is a quotation

from Psalms that raises theological questions and troubles some people to the extent

that they purposely omit it from the prayer. It states, “Na’ar hayiti v’gam zakanti,” “I was young and now I am old, v’lo raiti tzaddik ne’ezav v’zaro m’vakesh lachem, but have never seen a righteous person abandoned – that person’s children begging for bread.” Unfortunately, this verse does not seem to reflect the reality of this world. Even good people may sometimes go hungry and they and their children may need to beg for food. Righteousness does not always correlate with adequate nutrition. How then can we say and even sing this apparently false statement?

Some piously contend that no matter what befalls him, a truly righteous person

never feels forsaken, but trusts in God’s benevolence. Others, out of discomfort, emend the statement, at least in their minds, to say: I have never seen the righteous forsaken and his children begging (only) for bread. A righteous person is one who recognizes that “man does not live by bread alone,” and seeks to fulfill higher spiritual goals in addition to his material needs. Other people, recognizing that in our imperfect world, the righteous can indeed go hungry, see these words as aspirational, more as a challenge to us. When we sing this quotation after filling our own bellies at every meal, we should be inspired to make the statement come true. It is our duty to see that such a state of affairs never exists. As we have eaten our fill, so may every person, righteous or not, have sufficient food to sustain them. God’s benevolence often is dependent on partnership with human agents. God has provided adequate provisions for all, but too often the human delivery system seems to break down. Certainly in this country of surplus and excess, nobody should go hungry. Why then do so many people still lack the food they need?

In 1941, as part of an address to Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

spoke of four freedoms which he saw as essential human rights: Freedom of Speech,

Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear, everywhere in the

world. These four freedoms, famously depicted by Norman Rockwell, were included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the brand-new United Nations organization that emerged from the Second World War. That declaration stated, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services.”

Though Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms were widely acclaimed, some of his critics

were quick to object to the fiscal demands of effecting Roosevelt’s vision of a world

enjoying freedom from want. They opposed the creation of a social safety net in this

country and beyond. They claimed this was overreach. To this day we still hear

objections to governmental efforts to mitigate hunger in this country by providing

assistance to those in need so they might feed their families. Most recently, Project

2025 has called for major cuts in all such programs and the current governmental

shutdown has now inexcusably interrupted funding for such programs in spite of

provisions set up previously to prevent that situation. Most people, I would hope,

recognize that that does not have to be the case. Court orders to release this funding

are being ignored or, at best, slow walked by this administration.

Judaism has a strong tradition of providing assistance to those in need going

back to biblical laws calling for tithing for the poor as well as leaving gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and the corners of our fields for those in need. These rules for farmers are in addition to the general mandate to give generously to tzedakah, providing needed funds for individuals and for agencies that care for those in need. The rabbis do not limit these offerings to the Jewish poor, but the Talmud clearly directs us to provide for all in need, regardless of religious affiliation. On Yom Kippur, each year in the haftarah, we read the words from the book of Isaiah which remind us that religious teachings must not be limited to rituals, prayers and fasting. The prophet teaches, “This is the fast I desire…It is to share your bread with the hungry, and take the wretched poor into your home; when you see the naked, to clothe them and do not ignore your own flesh.”

Judaism is not unique in this message of reaching out to others and providing

them with their basic needs. In Christian scripture, Jesus reminds people to care for

those who are hungry and in need and we see him distributing food himself in the

Gospels. We read in Matthew, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty

and you gave me drink. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Islam, as well, counts among its five

pillars the pillar of Zakat, a requirement to give charity. Islamic teachings specifically in numerous places call for feeding the hungry. Buddhists speak of “dana” as the first of ten perfections. Feeding the hungry is one of the most meritorious of acts of dana. The Buddha taught: “If beings knew, as I know, the results of giving and sharing, they would not eat without having given.” Hindus speak of feeding others as a form of worship. One finds the requirement to provide for the needs of others throughout all of the various religious traditions in the world. It is seen as much more than an act of charity. It represents justice, mercy, and a path to spiritual fulfillment.

Those who support Project 2025 and reducing or eliminating programs that

provide for those whose income is insufficient to feed their families: food stamps or their equivalent, school meal programs and such, often profess to be religious and, indeed, agree with the teachings of their faith about feeding the hungry. Their argument, as I understand it, is over who should provide for this need. They argue it should be left to the churches and the charity of individuals and not paid for out of tax revenue by the government. Admittedly, there are generous programs provided by some churches and other religious institutions, yet they do not provide sufficiently for the needs that exist.

As a nation, we have the resources to see that nobody goes without food. Yet, we’ve seen this administration, supported by these conservative church voices, continue to provide greater wealth to those who could not possibly spend it all in several lifetimes at the expense of providing the basic needs of people who are struggling to manage. The theory of the “trickle down economy” has long since been discredited. For all its flaws and shortcomings, these governmental programs have provided basic needs to many in our inequitable society. They need to be improved, not abolished. Quoting FDR again, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” At present, it seems, we are failing that test, once again.

For forty years now, we have found opportunities in various congregations to

send funds to Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger as a reminder of our own

obligation to provide food for the hungry wherever they may be. The original idea was to donate a 3% tax, self-imposed, on any festive meal: a wedding, a bar or bat mitzvah reception, or any simcha. Also, after hearing the haftarah from Isaiah, to donate the savings from fasting on Yom Kippur as well as providing the traditional gifts to the needy at Purim time or when selling chametz before Pesach.

The President and CEO of Mazon, Abby J. Leibman, released a statement on Tuesday condemning the president’s announcement that the administration will refuse to fund SNAP in spite of court orders, until the Republican-led federal government shutdown ends:

“Today’s announcement from President Trump is horrifying. Two courts were

explicitly clear that SNAP benefits must start flowing immediately, not after the

shutdown. Not after more political games. Not after millions of Americans face the

terrifying prospect of hunger without end. When someone only knows how to punch

down and knows they don’t have a winning argument, this is what you get. This is a

pattern of dangerous recklessness, lawlessness, and disregard for innocent families

who are being trampled underfoot by the Trump administration, and it must stop. This cannot stand one minute longer.”

Even fully funded, SNAP is only a partial solution to a serious problem too many

Americans face. Organizations like Mazon and those sponsored by other religious

groups can only do so much. The federal government has the wherewithal to do much more. On Mazon’s website, I discovered an interesting educational feature about hunger in America, which I call to your attention. They have created a Museum of Hunger. As I searched to see where this lovely campus depicted there is located, I soon realized that I was already there (https://hungermuseum.org/). It is a beautiful, modern building that exists only virtually on the Capitol Mall in Washington, DC, appropriately placed between the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Holocaust Museum. No funds were diverted from the primary mission of Mazon to spend on mortar and bricks. You can take a tour any time you wish to see the history of hunger in this country from 1865 to the present. Don’t forget to stop at the Café and choose your meal and then see how little of it is actually covered by SNAP benefits.

At this time when our country is in an artificially created crisis particularly

affecting those in need, we can help in various ways. Locally, we can send our personal donations to agencies such as the Northern Illinois Food Bank, the Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry, and Hesed House among others. We invite you to join us for our Thanksgiving project on Sunday afternoon, November 16th at noon. We will join with our friends from New Hope Advent Church which holds services in our building each week, in a city-wide project to provide food for families in need so they might celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Both groups have raised funds to purchase grocery items. On the 16th , we will pack boxes to be distributed by the Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry along with Thanksgiving turkeys that they are providing. We had offered to provide 50 boxes for the pantry. However, our donations from members have been generous enough to allow us to exceed our pledge and provide 15 additional boxes. Come join us in this effort.

The vision of a world enjoying “freedom from want” is still a distant dream nearly 85 years since FDR’s famous speech. It still is ultimately up to us to work toward its fulfillment. Let’s do what we can toward making it a reality, a world free from want, everywhere in the world.