Bob Schwartz

Tzedahah is a Hebrew word often translated as charity, but in the Bible means righteous behavior. It is a requirement of Jewish life. On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, tzedakah, along with tefilla (prayer) and teshuvah (repentance), is how we are written in the Book of Life.

The famine in Gaza is at the highest level on the scale: Catastrophic food insecurity.

The International Rescue Committee explains:

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) scale is how hunger crises are measured. Famines are only declared if and when certain criteria defined by this system are met.

More than 1.1 million people in Gaza are already experiencing Level 5 catastrophic food insecurity, and the entire population is facing some level of hunger.

As it stands, children and families don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and they are already going hungry.

The entire population in Gaza is at imminent risk of famine. Without immediate assistance, thousands are likely to face starvation that leads to death.

This crisis is entirely man-made. Once famine is classified, people are already dying. Stopping famine from taking hold is a race against time.

As an act of simple charity, of tzedakah, donating to the International Rescue Committee would be a good thing. It does seem that Jewish people like me have a special responsibility in this case. Whatever your view is of the current war and how it is being conducted, this is exactly the sort of suffering that tzedakah is meant to relieve. Righteous behavior.

Donate to the International Rescue Committee today.