May 22, 2008

It has been three weeks since a massive cyclone swept across Myanmar, and over a week since China suffered its worst earthquake in three decades. We have yet to absorb the massive human cost of these twin disasters, whose combined death toll could well reach 150,000.

Pundits and policy-makers continue to debate the geopolitical implications of these natural calamities, and the contrasting ways in which the countries’ repressive governments are responding to the humanitarian challenge and the degree to which they are seeking and accepting outside help. Many Western aid agencies are disgusted at the way Myanmar officials especially, seeking to protect their military regime, have made it difficult for foreign aid to reach sufferers.

Perhaps their intransigence explains in part a disappointing survey by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, which found that Americans have contributed only a trickle of private charity to the recovery efforts. The study’s authors are suggesting Americans are afflicted with “donor fatigue,” the wearying sense that such events overwhelm our capacity for making a difference.

Jewish tradition, of course, begs to differ. Tzedaka is imperative, and we are commanded to dig deep to assist the poor, the widow, and the orphan. At the same time, the Mishna recognizes the limits of human capacity (and wealth), and both admonishes and assures us: “You are not required to finish the task, but neither are you free to desist from it.”

Various Jewish organizations, including United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ, have established emergency mailboxes for Asian disaster relief. The message of these efforts is that fatigue or no, each of us can make a difference.

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