Passover 2012: The Fifth Question
This Passover, take action for the millions of men, women and children who suffer from hunger every night.
Passover is a magical time when we gather with family and friends to retell the story of our people’s freedom from bondage. We read from a prayer book, perform rituals that are thousands of years old, and eat. We eat A LOT. Many of us eat far more than we should, but the food is so delicious, it’s nearly impossible to resist. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to have that luxury.
Hunger in America is at an epidemic level, despite how it might seem at first glance. 50 million Americans – including 17 million children – struggle with hunger every day. One out of every six people in this country can’t be sure when or if they’ll have their next meal. Hungry people live in every community in the country and come in all colors, shapes and sizes. They wrestle with impossible choices no one should have to make: buy my daughter’s asthma medication or feed my family? Whose turn is it to eat: the children or the adults? It breaks our hearts – it should break yours.
There is another way – an end to hunger is within our reach. Early in the seder we say, “All who are hungry, let them enter and eat.” More than an invitation to join us at the dinner table, we at MAZON see these words as a rallying cry – a call to do more to help those who so desperately need it; to fight for responsible government policies that promote the health and security of everyone in our nation; to provide access to resources that allow people to pick themselves up and build (or rebuild) their lives; to give every man, woman and child a chance not only to live their lives, but to thrive.
Join us in asking a Fifth Question at your Seder: Why on this night are millions of people still going hungry?
Incorporate The Fifth Question into your Passover Seder
Display The Fifth Question table tent on your Seder table. (Contact us & we’ll send you a table tent.)
After the youngest person reads the four questions from the Haggadah, ask The Fifth Question and reflect as a group upon the crisis of hunger, why it persists and what you individually and collectively could do to end it.
Raise awareness about hunger in your community
Print The Fifth Question full page ad and distribute it at local spots where Jews tend to shop and/or congregate, such as delis, markets, JCCs and Judaica shops.
Contact your elected officials to advocate on behalf of those who so desperately need our help.
Organize a campaign in your community to raise awareness about hunger.
Share your blessings
Donate to MAZON. Give as much as you can or what you would have spent feeding one more person at your Seder table.
After your Seder, tell your story to the extended MAZON family. Send us an email or post on our Facebook Page to tell us about your discussion of The Fifth Question or your ideas for fighting hunger. Maybe your words will inspire others to take action and fight hunger themselves.
The Fifth Question downloadable materials
- Full-page ad (pdf – horizontal or vertical; jpg – horizontal or vertical)
- Half-page ad (pdf or jpg)
- Quarter-page ad (pdf – horizontal or vertical; jpg – horizontal or vertical)
- 8 Myths About Hunger in America (.pdf)
- Rabbi letter to congregants (.doc)
