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September 20, 2002/Tishri 14 5763, Vol. 55, No. 4
Sukkot and alleviating poverty in America
RABBI DAVID SAPERSTEIN
AND RACHEL WAINER
This Friday evening we begin the celebration of Sukkot. The word Sukkot, of course, means "booths" and refers to the temporary dwellings that we build for the holiday to remember the wandering of the Jews in the desert and to celebrate the fall harvest season.
The sukkah - with fragile walls and a ceiling made of leaves and branches - leads us also to reflect on the fragility of our lives and our possessions and, perhaps, to think about those who are not as fortunate.
Although our harvest is bountiful indeed, not all Americans share in it. Almost 5 1/2 million American families live in unsafe or unhealthy housing conditions. That number pales next to the 31 million Americans who are hungry today or at immediate risk of hunger. Even those who receive government assistance remain in need: Fifty-eight percent of employed former welfare recipients have incomes below the poverty line.
Just as the rhythms of our Jewish calendar have us thinking about our many blessings and those who remain mired in poverty, the congressional calendar is now turning to consideration of the most important federal anti-poverty program. This week, more than half of the members of the U.S. Senate signed a letter asking Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to bring welfare reform reauthorization to the floor of the Senate chamber for a vote before the end of the 107th Congress.
The bill, called the "Work, Opportunity, and Responsibility for Kids Act (WORK) of 2002," has bi-partisan support. The Senate bill is a strong improvement over the current welfare system and a strong improvement over the welfare reform bill passed by the House of Representatives in May.
The House bill would increase the number of hours per week of work required of welfare recipients while limiting the availability of education and training and other services required to make employment viable and attainable. At the same time, the meager increase in funding for childcare falls significantly below the $4.5 billion that is needed to maintain current childcare services, which are provided to only one-seventh of families who are in need.
The WORK Act would maintain the current work week for welfare recipients, increase childcare funding by $5.5 billion, give states the option to restore welfare benefits to legal immigrants, encourage more education and training, and make it easier for individuals to receive substance abuse treatment and mental health counseling.
While significantly better than the House bill, this bill would leave many millions without childcare. Currently, only about 2 million of the 15 million eligible for childcare services actually receive help. The Senate bill would provide childcare assistance for only an estimated 100,000 more low-income children. No parent should be forced to choose between losing benefits because they are not working and leaving their children alone to obtain work.
The Torah and Jewish tradition teach us that providing for the poor is not a matter of charity but an obligation. "If ... there is a needy person among you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand. Rather, you must open your hand and lend whatever is sufficient." (Deu-teronomy 15:7-8)
As Jews and Americans, we should require nothing less from our government today. In a land where one in three children will be poor at some point during their childhood, we can and must do better.
This Sukkot, as we thank God for all of our bounty, let us remember those who do not share in our prosperity. According to tradition, we invite others to join us in our sukkah - friends, family, neighbors, the stranger and the poor - and our ancestors, whose values have been entrusted to us. Indeed, the Midrash admonishes us that if we turn away the poor then our sukkah will in turn be shunned by Avraham avinu ("our father Abraham").
This year, let us help spread a sukkat shalom, a shelter of peace and healing, over those who most need our help. And let us join with them to encourage the Senate to pass just and humane welfare reform during this session.
Rabbi David Saperstein is director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.
Rachel Wainer is the RAC legislative assistant focusing on economic justice issues.
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