Rabbi Yehudah said: They issued a proclamation in Sodom saying: “Everyone who strengthens the hand of the poor and the needy with a loaf of bread shall be burnt by fire!”
Pirke DeRabbi Eliezer 25
Most of us think of the sins of Sodom in the biblical tradition connected to sexual immorality above all else, with the brutal story of the Sodomites wanting to rape the strangers who have been taken in by Abraham’s nephew Lot. Truthfully, for the rabbis of the Talmud and Midrash, the lack of hospitality to guests (hachnassat orachim), to the point that outsiders were abused and ignored, rather than greeted with love; and the blatant refusal to help the poor and hungry were the greatest moral threats to that civilization. These are central values of a just and compassionate society in Jewish tradition.
It is hard to imagine a society that could legislate against feeding the hungry and it might seem like an aberration of a corrupt, ancient world. Yet in late 2014, Arnold Abbott, a 90 year old resident of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was arrested twice for giving food to the homeless in that city. It turns out that some 40 cities across the US made attempts between 2013 and 2014 to criminalize this compassionate act of helping someone poor and vulnerable. It seems beyond comprehension that our civilized, prosperous nation could legislate in this way and that our modern, sophisticated cities could mirror the paradigm of a depraved society. I hear the voices of dissent that claim contemporary homelessness as a lifestyle choice and that our dollar bills will feed a drug and alcohol habit, rather than feed bodies with nourishment. There may be some legitimate concerns about a homeless culture that is based on contempt for society and even breeds violence, and yet Jewish tradition is clear: If someone comes and says, “feed me,” you don’t check him to see if he is an imposter, but you feed him right away. (Shulchan Aruch, Laws of Tzedakah 251:10). The real point is that we can never know the full story of someone’s circumstances and what led them to the humiliation of asking for food on the streets. We may choose to buy them a sandwich or give them a protein bar rather than our cash, but can we really ignore them?
I am thrilled that our wonderful, remodeled Bonai Shalom has now become an emergency warming center for a small group of homeless woman through BOHO (Boulder Outreach for Homeless Overflow) on cold Saturday nights in the winter. BOHO’s work is, sadly, in part a response to our own city’s legislation to make it harder to sleep outside, but also an important service on freezing nights to provide a warm, safe, dry space. We are joining many other faith communities, including Har HaShem and Nevei Kodesh, as partners with BOHO to help the homeless community. I applaud the work and the support of our Social Action Committee and the board to enable a quick mobilization of this project back in November. This initiative, together with our Bonai families who volunteer every second Monday at Community Table, are vital in protecting us from complacency, as our society risks becoming more like Sodom.
The celebrations of Purim and Pesach are persistent in their reminders that our festivities be tempered with mindfulness of the less fortunate. The somewhat frivolous and absurd observance of Purim is accompanied by two specific mitzvot about community: mishloach manot encourages us to share food baskets with our friends and neighbors and matanot l’evyonim insists that we give to the poor. Our feasting must include giving. Pesach, of course, is all about celebrating our freedom and yet a central message of the seder is “let all who are hungry come and eat.” Is it even possible to celebrate freedom in the knowledge that there are those among who have no food? Traditionally, Jewish communities help ensure that everyone has the resources to get what they need for Pesach and it is also a time that we can give away food to non-Jews in our community. We are blessed to have some wonderful agencies along with BOHO, like Community Food Share and EFFA, which ensure that our gifts get to where they are most needed. In addition, our Social Action Committee arranges collections for BCAP (Boulder County AIDS Project) between Purim and Pesach.
If Sodom’s immorality is defined by the lack of hospitality and refusal to support the hungry and homeless, our community and others can challenge ourselves to be defined by compassion and goodness in continuing to create a warm and welcoming space for our members, friends, guests and now a group of vulnerable, homeless women. It is my hope that this consciousness deeply informs who we are and who we strive to be in a world that can be so cruel.