Congregants Fern Heinig and Dale Russakoff are active participants in Social Action at Shomrei. Fern Heinig is a frequent volunteer cooking for Shomrei’s MESH Cafe and spearheaded Shomrei’s first annual Mitzvah Day last year in 2024. Dale Russakoff is the organizer of Shomrei’s Mensch Squad and chairs the Board of Family Promise.

Fern Heinig

Hello Everyone.

Rhetorical question: Has anyone ever woken up in the morning, gone to the refrigerator, opened it, and said, “Uhoh, no milk. I got to pick it up. What am I going to do this morning? Not only about the coffee, but the milk I have to give my kids.”

A second rhetorical question: How many of you right now are counting down the exact minute until you can eat again later today?

Now imagine this is your everyday life.

Dale Russakoff

Every year we read this Haftorah portion from the book of Isaiah, and every year it tells us that merely starving our bodies and bowing our heads to God misses the point of Yom Kippur. “Do you call that a fast?” Isaiah demands. NO, he answers emphatically, not unless we also repent with our whole selves:  free the oppressed, share our food with the hungry, clothe the naked and house those without shelter.

Then, says Isaiah, “when you call, the LORD will answer;

When you cry, He will say: Here I am.

We don’t have to look far to see examples of what this Haftorah asks of us.

Did you realize that the number of children in Essex County who were homeless at some point last year increased 40 percent from the year before? Or that 22 percent of children – more than on in five — went hungry or ate so poorly last year that they didn’t get the nutrition they needed? Enduring this level of instability makes it very hard to get through high school. And young people without a GED or diploma are 5 times more likely than others to experience homelessness as adults, continuing the cycle for their own children

The need feels insurmountable, but here at Shomrei, we have created what we call a “community of giving,” and together we help those who need us in tangible ways. We invite all of you to join one of our projects You’d be surprised what happens when you resolve just to do SOMETHING. How can we not?

When you walked in today, you saw boxes overflowing with cereal that our congregation is collecting for Montclair’s Human Needs Food Pantry through Project Isaiah – named for the prophet whose words we’re about to read. Perhaps you’ve seen the lines of adults and children stretching for blocks around the pantry on distribution days. We will be collecting through Sukkot. How can we not help?

MESH, or Montclair Emergency Services for Hope, provides 50 dinners a night, excepting Sundays, for food-insecure people of all ages When Shomrei’s MESH volunteers started, there fed 20 people a night. Now there are 50, and they need more cooks. How can we not help?

You can buy extra groceries and stock the Little Pantry in Shomrei’s front yard. Or volunteer at Toni’s Kitchen, a vast food ministry providing families, children, and seniors with healthy food.

If you see collective action as an answer, join Shomrei’s chapter of Jersey Together, a multi-racial and interfaith coalition that advocates for economic and social justice at the state and local levels This year their focus is housing affordability and access. How can we not help?

For Mitzvah Days and Holiday Drives, we ask members to donate food, clothing and household supplies for families who were recently homeless and need our help to start over. I’d like to tell you about the impact these donations had on one family.

I happen to chair the board of Family Promise, a nonprofit that supports families with young children facing homelessness. The Romero family, two parents and four children, lost their apartment in Newark last year when the landlord sold the building. They had been comfortable and stable there, and their children were doing well in public schools. But as they looked for another apartment, they couldn’t afford the security deposits, much less meet the income requirement of 3 times the monthly rent. I want to point out that most parents seeking the help of Family Promise are employed, and Mr. Romero, too, had a steady job. But on the margins, that increasingly isn’t enough.

Mr. Romero’s parents lived in senior housing, but they would have lost their lease if the family of six moved in. So they sneaked the children into the grandparents’ home, and Mr. and Mrs. Romero literally slept in their car for months. Over time, the children became so worried about their parents that they began failing at school. Winter arrived, and the parents couldn’t endure the cold in their car. At that point, they found Family Promise and we happened to have an available space for them – an empty parsonage in South Orange. They were thrilled to be under one roof together, but you should have seen the joy on the Romero children’s faces when the case manager arrived with a mountain of clothes and even toys, along with bounteous household supplies, food and linens – the fruits of many mitzvah days and holiday drives at Shomrei and other congregations.

The Romeros worked diligently to rebuild their finances. They found an apartment in Newark that they could afford on Mr. Romero’s income as a chef along with rental assistance from Family Promise. The children are thriving this school year.

So I ask again: how can we not help?

I hope you are moved to contribute to one of more of these efforts. Please go to the Shomrei website and click on social action and volunteer.

Have a meaningful fast!

Fern Heinig

And one final word from me because I’m about to lead the teen discussion in about 15 minutes. And the theme of the teen discussion today is “Nice” is a choice.

When we reach out to you and ask you, can you donate a can of tuna? Can you bring a box of cereal? Can you give two hours once a year to help with MESH?

Your answer is a choice.

Thank you.