Rabbi Marcus Burstein joined more than 80 rabbis in an effort to bring the issue to the forefront.
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June 25, 2009
Rabbi Marcus Burstein of Temple Har Shalom in Warren joined over 80 rabbis last week in a fast to bring attention to the lack of humanitarian aid in Darfur.
The June 17-18 fast was initiated by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism as a link in a “fasting chain” launched by actress Mia Farrow and various nongovernmental organizations, including the American Jewish World Service.
Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the RAC, began a three-day water-only fast on the evening of June 15. He invited rabbis of all four major streams of American Judaism to join him in forgoing food on the final day.
Burstein, who serves as second rabbi at Har Shalom, decided to participate in the fast, he said, “to bring attention to the suffering in Darfur and to support Rabbi David Saperstein…. To know that at least 80 other rabbis in five different countries were also fasting made me feel part of a larger group.”
“Although fasting in and of itself might not accomplish much,” said Burstein, “doing so as part of a concerted effort with others can bring some publicity and, ideally, bring the issue to the forefront for others.
“Fasting is not a goal in itself — it is an act that throughout Jewish history has symbolized solidarity.”
Fasting on a work day was very different from fasting on Yom Kippur, Burstein said. “On Yom Kippur, I’m leading services in front of a congregation. There is no food around, and I’m focused on so many things other than food. While at work last week, throughout the entire day, I kept thinking of food, and I had to remind myself that I was fasting. It was challenging to stay focused at work during the fast.
“I cannot imagine what it would be like to feel that hunger all the time or not know when I would be able to eat a proper meal.”
Hundreds of thousands have died and millions have been displaced in the southern region of Sudan at the hands of forces that the United States and other governments say were sponsored by the government of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
Al-Bashir expelled humanitarian aid groups from the country three months ago, and activists worry that negotiations about returning aid groups have been futile.
“Fasting is a traditional part of Judaism, usually accompanying the memory of a great tragedy or deep repentance,” Saperstein said in a statement. “But here we must do a fast as a protest and as an emblem of solidarity with the individuals in the camps, sharing the plight of too many in Darfur — water but too little food.”
Johanna Ginsberg contributed to this article.
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