In these alarming times, it’s critical that we not lose sight of our community’s core values as we deal with close-to-home financial emergencies. There probably isn’t a reader of The Jewish Week who didn’t spend much of last week watching the sickening ups and downs – mostly downs – of the stock market. The wealthy among us may have lost fortunes; those of us living on a less grand scale may face disrupted retirements, changed plans for our children’s education and real worries about unemployment. For the first time in generations, economic fear has become contagious.
Frightening as these events are, it is important not to be driven by fear. Our nation remains tremendously affluent in important ways — in resources, in the creativity and resilience of our people, in our democratic institutions. Giving way to panic can only make a bad situation worse.
As a community, we need to remember the things that unite us, starting with concern for our fellow Jews, many of whom still live in poverty and many more who may unexpectedly find themselves in need as the crisis deepens. It may be more difficult to think of our responsibility to give charity when we, as individuals, fear for our own economic well-being. But in reality the mitzvah [god deed] of tzedakah[charity] is more important today than it has been in many years.
We also need to remember our community’s longstanding commitment to a just, compassionate America. Today, our national focus is, appropriately, on saving a tottering financial system, including some of the institutions that helped cause the crisis. But we also need to keep our leaders focused on the needs of millions of Americans whose lives have taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks through no fault of their own.
Polls show that the economy has swept most other issues off the table in this presidential year. But Israel still faces grave threats, Iran continues its march to nuclear armament, and global warming and energy dependence shadow our future. It is vital that we continue to actively seek solutions to these problems even as our attention turns to the economic crisis.
Today’s downturn is scary enough on its own. The damage will only be magnified if we allow fear to blind us to the goals and values that have helped us weather so many storms in the past.
