Rabbi's Message

Rabbi Elyse Wechterman
Read about the Rabbi
Dec. 2004

Homelessness and Hanukah

Ufros Aleynu Sukkat Shlomecha (Spread over us the Shelter of Your Peaces).

This simple line from the evening service has come to mean many things to many people who read it daily. For me, it serves as a reminder of the blessings of home and health that most of us enjoy, most of the time. We say this pray at night, when darkness threatens us and reminds us of our inherent vulnerability. The prayer, we hope, brightens our dark night.

For others, it is a plea for protection from very real and nearby dangers. All life's dangers: illness, violence, poverty, lack of opportunity and education - are made so much worse, insoluble and threatening when those who suffer do not have a roof over their heads under which to sleep each night.

Most of us in this congregation say this prayer never having had to worry where we would sleep the following night, or if our children would have a home. For us, the prayer is symbolic, metaphorical, a reminder not to take those blessings for granted. For thousands across our country - including many right here in Attleboro, it is a literal expression of a most basic need: shelter.

Each year at this time, as the weather turns colder, agencies around our nation that work to help those who are homeless prepare for another winter of getting people off the streets and into temporary, if not permanent housing. They put together emergency overnight bags of blankets, flashlights, food and water; gather donations of blankets and clothing; make arrangements with local hotels and motels for emergency shelter; contact police and fire for coordinated planning; and count the homeless living on local streets.

Last week, I attended an emergency meeting of the Attleboro Area Homeless Coalition and learned, among other things, that we have a shortage of short-term emergency facilities for homeless adults living in this city. (There are currently about 27 people in Attleboro living under bridges and behind shopping centers that fall into this category). We also have a growing population of "gap" individuals and families: people who earn too much money to receive social services offered by the government, but not enough to make ends meet. These families may be currently housed, but only just. They are the ones who often have to decide between heat and clothing, rent and food.

With greater funding cuts in social services on the horizon, a serious crises in our health care system and a steady unemployment rate, the challenges for homeless and marginal individuals and families is likely only to get worse. And yet, Attleboro volunteers and officials are hopeful that they can meet the needs of this troubled population and are beginning to address not only immediate needs, but also long term solutions for these families, one at a time.

We are blessed in this community to have tireless volunteers and activists, officials and professionals who spend countless hours and energy helping the people most in need from a variety of vantage points. We have Soup Kitchens every day of the week run out of church basements; clothing resources at several non-profits around the city; services for women and families through New Hope and the Family Resource Center (two of the most impressive organizations of their kind in the state); coordination and referrals through the United Way of Attleboro, financial and volunteer support through the Attleboro Area Council of Churches (of which Agudas Achim is an affiliate).

Recognizing the need to "provide fishing poles (and lessons) rather than simply handing out fish, many of these programs require case management and follow-up to help people out of the cycles of poverty and helplessness in which they find themselves. Coordination is required to make sure individuals are not receiving duplicate services and not doing their part to improve their lives. Many of these services are offered free of charge and supplement the existing government programs designed to help people in poverty. Most of these programs are conceived, funded, staffed and operated through the religious institutions of this area! Why? Two reasons. First, destitute individuals often come to church and synagogue doors looking for help. (Here at the synagogue, I receive at least two requests a month from individuals (mostly non-Jews) looking for emergency assistance of some kind.) Clergy respond because we are asked. But secondly and more importantly, religious organizations respond because their members believe that it is their moral, ethical, spiritual responsibility to be a part of creating that Sukkat Shalom (shelter of peace) we invoke in our prayers every evening.

Through my (very) peripheral involvement in these efforts, I have come to know wonderful individuals who put their Christian beliefs and values to work on the streets of our towns every day of their lives. One individual in particular inspires me and deserves recognition: Dot Embree, Executive Director of the Attleboro Area Council of Churches and President of the Attleboro Homeless Coalition, has housed more individuals, fed more families, stocked more refrigerators and befriended more of the downtrodden than she will ever tell you. And she does it tirelessly and without complaint believing simply that the work needs to get done.

In the Torah, we are commanded that we must not "stand idly by the blood of our brother." An updated version of that sentiment might say that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Providing shelter is our collective responsibility. Our values are the same as our Christian neighbors and friends in this regard. In the coming weeks, I plan to meet with Dot and with members of our many other religious institutions in the area. I invite you to join me on this effort to become a part of the solution and shine a bright light of hope through the dark, cold and long winter nights ahead.

Hag Urim Sameach - May Chanukah, our festival of light - bring bright hope to your home and heart as you bring it to others this winter.

Rabbi Elyse

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