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By Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block There’s something about Thanksgiving that feels Jewish. Like Passover, it’s a holiday focused around a family meal with traditional, symbolic foods and the teaching of values. In a culture where gratitude does not occupy a prominent place in public discourse, it is a wonderful chance to simply appreciate – to give thanks for -- the opportunity and abundance this country has to offer. At the same time, it’s a moment to recognize the moral obligation those of us who have benefited from this opportunity have to preserving it for future generations.
When I think of my own experience of Thanksgiving, I think of the end-of-meal feeling of having a full stomach. The Hebrew word for that feeling is soveyah, which means “satisfaction” or “fullness.” That feeling in my belly is in some ways symbolic of my own family’s experience in America. My grandparents immigrated here from Eastern Europe in the early 20th Century, struggling as sweatshop workers and peddlers to feed their own families. Yet within just one generation, their children experienced relative prosperity -- satisfaction and blessing. Like so many other Jewish Americans, I feel blessed that my family has been able to enjoy the abundance of America. Like so many other Jewish Americans, my gratitude translates into a commitment to ensuring that every American child knows the satisfaction of a full belly.
The word soveyah is most commonly known from the form it takes in the grace after meals, birkat hamazon, which says "v'achalta, v'savata u'verachta (when you eat and you are full, you shall bless).” In fact, the Rabbis understand that passage (originally from the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy) as the basis for the command to say birkat hamazon after eating. But if we look closer at how this word is used in other places, there seems to be ambivalence about the satisfaction of the full stomach. The phrase v'achalta, v'savata is usually followed by a stern warning of the risk of forgetting God. Deuteronomy 6:10-12 warns: “When the Lord your God brings you into the land … flourishing cities that you did not build, houses full of all good things that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant — and you eat your fill (v'achalta, v'savata), take heed that you do not forget the Lord who freed you from the land of Egypt, the house of bondage.” Other passages in Deuteronomy (8:12 and 11:16) contain the same warning: the satisfaction of a full belly holds the risk of forgetfulness.
That risk is real. And it’s not only forgetting the source of all food and life. When our bellies are full, we often forget our friends and neighbors who are having different experiences this year, who aren’t as lucky. When we’re satisfied, we can forget that 46 million Americans are living below the poverty line – the highest number since the Census Bureau began counting. We can forget that suburban poverty increased 53% in the past decade – twice the rate of cities. When our bellies are full, we often forget that many of the people who produce our food and bring it to us do not have adequate wages or even basic job security or safety protections. When we’re satisfied, it’s easy to forget that food processing may be having a devastating impact on the planet and the communities where that food is grown.
While we might forget these realities in our individual homes, when we come together and experience ourselves as part of a larger community, we don’t forget. Civic groups on the local, national, and international levels are working to address each of these challenges. Jewish Americans are playing prominent roles in those efforts – often working as Jews for the common good. Uri L'Tzedek works to support kosher establishments that treat their workers fairly. Rabbis for Human Rights-North America is drawing attention to the plight of tomato pickers who work in near-servitude. Hazon works with Jewish organizations to support healthy and sustainable food practices. The Progressive Jewish Alliance & Jewish Funds for Justice is working in California to address the problem of food deserts – low-income neighborhoods without access to grocery stores that can provide more than soda, chips and overpriced rotting vegetables – and to support low-wage workers in small grocery stores. Far too many of these workers earn poverty wages, endure abuse, work in dangerous environments and lack proper meal and rest breaks. While the Torah warns of the spiritual and ethical risks of the fully belly, it also provides guidance for how a full belly can lead to positive consequences. One place where the word savata isn’t associated with forgetfulness and spiritual disaster is Deuteronomy 14:28, where the phrase is in the plural v'ochlu v'saveyu – when the satisfaction is communal, rather than individual – in can be a blessing. In fact, this phrase refers specifically to the stranger, orphan, and widow.
When the most vulnerable in our society eat until they are full every day then we can truly be blessed.
Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block is PJA & JFSJ’s Senior Director of Leadership Initiatives and Rabbi-in-Residence. On November 17th, Rabbi JKB participated in a food justice panel at Grinnell College’s Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Social Justice, alongside Farm Forward founder Aaron Gross, KOL Foods CEO Devora Kimelman-Block, and Uri L’Tzedek’s Ari Hart. |
