May 24, 2019 “If thy brother be waxen poor, you shall uphold him” Behar 25:35

Food Stamps (SNAP) are often criticized in racial terms, frequently disparaging those dependent upon them as profiteers. In fact, only 26% of SNAP recipients are Black and, other than impoverished elderly, disabled, and children (80% of SNAP households), the majority of SNAP recipients are actually working poor and the great majority receive the benefit for no more than 9 months. For Jews, confronting poverty with compassion and generosity is a commandment, not an option. The cynicism and meanness of the Right towards the poor is an idolatry of a non-existent social resiliency, a conceit that ignores the crippling poverty virtually every SNAP recipient endures.