My words to the Elgin Chamber of Commerce Thanksgiving Luncheon this morning:

We are commanded that when we are eaten and are satisfied we should bless God. Jews have a very long Birkat Hamazon, Grace After Meals, Blessing of the Food. It contains one line that modern Jews struggle with. “I have been young and I have grown old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken and their offspring begging for bread” (Psalm 37:25). It is a beautiful idea of divine righteousness, but it doesn’t always ring true for us today. We have seen good people go hungry and children beg for bread. They are haunting images. What country allows 22% of its children go to bed hungry? What kind of God allows this?

However, Biblical Hebrew is not so clear, and grammatical tenses are almost non-existent. I think that it expresses a hope of the way the world should be..a promise of the future… where children will not go to bed hungry and where the righteous will flourish. It is up to us to make this a reality–to share our bread with the hungry, our clothing with the naked, our homes with those who have not. There is enough food for everyone to be satisfied. We need to learn how to distribute it equitably.

In Judaism, with its 5000 year tradition there are different interpretations of this verse. Rabbi Joseph Hertz, an early 20th century rabbi, read the verse as a positive commentary on the social conditions of the time of the psalmist. That the Israelites were fulfilling the commandments to leave the corners of their fields and that the stranger, the widow and the orphan were cared for.

The Chatam Sofer in his commentary on Deuteronomy 8:10 which we read as part of the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, saw this verse as the prooftext for Birkat Hamazon. He saw it as an example of human agency–exactly what we are celebrating here today. As soon as you would see a righteous person forsaken, because then you would open your hand and support him. Hillel taught “In a place where there are no men, no mensches, no good people, strive to be a man.”

Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, known for working with people with dependencies, see it as a prophetic reading looking forward. He explains, “Whether it is the perspective of the young or the old, it is not a description of the reality that we know. Rather, it is a vision of what can be.” Rabbi Isaac Klein explains, “Since this is an ideal and a hope rather than a fact, it is better said in a hushed voice.” In a whisper, we remember our own failure to make this ideal a reality and are inspired to try.”

Regardless of which interpretation works for each of us, they remind us of our individual responsibility to the other. It is not God alone that alleviates hunger. It is us in partnership with God.

We are about to eat this festive meal and we are very grateful for the abundance we have. We are grateful for the social service agencies that are our safety net. We are grateful for the people who cooked this meal, who wash the dishes, who serve it to us. We are grateful for the people who grew the food and harvested it. We are grateful for rain in its seasons and the sun to warm the earth. We are grateful for being here, for being part of community, for being alive. This is like the old Girl Scout grace, “Back of the mill is the flour and back of the flour is the mill and back of the mill is the wind and the rain and the Father’s will.” Holy One of Blessing, praised are You who brings forth bread from the earth for all.

We are about to eat and will be very satisfied. There is a one line version of that longer grace that satisfies the requirement to bless that the Talmud says fulfill the obligation to give thanks. It calls God Compassionate One,the same word that Muslims use, “Rachamana” in their call to worship. It calls bread pita, a word we all know today. “Brich rachamana, malka d’alma, malcha d’hi’pita. You are the Source of life for all that lives and Your blessing flows through me.”” Here is the Velveteen Rabbi singing it: http://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/files/brich.mp3th

May God allow us to use this bread, this pita, so that we may share God’s bounty, so that all might give thanks and none may go to bed hungry. Amen.