MAZON gives Jews the opportunity to answer the Torah’s call for justice. Jews respond to those in need by embracing the traditional Jewish commitment to sustain the hungry. Together, MAZON and the Jewish community work together to address the systemic causes of hunger and poverty.

JUDAISM

• MAZON seeks to put into practice the twin Jewish ideals of tzedakah (justice) and tikkun olam (repairing the world). Its drive for social justice is embodied in its commitment to effective public policies that attack hunger at its roots.
• The Torah makes explicit the commandment to help the stranger exactly 36 times, more than any other directive in the text. MAZON takes this commandment seriously; it is its reason for being.
• Historically, rabbis did not allow celebrations to being until the community’s poor and hungry people were seated and fed. Today, through symbolically donating money for hunger relief, Jews fulfill this tradition.

ADVOCACY

• Advocacy and activism is a legitimate – and necessary – means of advancing an anti-hunger agenda. Advocacy has a range of definitions and meanings. At MAZON, advocacy refers to speaking up on behalf of hungry people and communicating their needs to policymakers, the media and the general public.

If knowledge is power, then the quickest route to alleviating – and ending – worldwide hunger is through a nuanced understanding of its symptoms and causes. Learning about hunger’s underlying issues is a critical first step in the ongoing struggle to achieve just and equitable societies across the globe.