Taking time out to reflect

On a trip as powerful and jam-packed as this week’s, the group has found solace in periodic discussions we’ve held over the past couple days. We’ve taken time out to examine Jewish and non-Jewish texts – from the Talmud to Peter Singer – and have considered how they help us understand our responsibility to help others. On Wednesday, we read quotes from the Tanach, Talmud and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and talked about whether and when we have a responsibility to take action. To whom are we most responsible: our families, our communities, other Jews, impoverished strangers on the other side of the world? We also considered this question in a Jewish context, asking what our responsibility is to other Jews and the larger world.
Yesterday, a day after visiting the genocide museum in Kigali and after getting to know many of the incredible kids here, we discussed if we, as Jews, have a unique responsibility to act in the face of genocide. A number of trip participants shared their relatives’ stories from the Holocaust, and we talked about the actions survivors like Elie Wiesel and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson have taken to change the world. We also had the pleasure of being joined by Tanya Feldman, a yearlong volunteer here who wrote a beautiful, thought-provoking piece about living Jewishly in Rwanda. We discussed for a while if and how Jews should share their experience dealing with genocide.
Today’s talk focused on prioritizing need, and it was one of the most intense conversations we’ve had so far. When faced with overwhelming need, whom do we decide to help – those who need cheaper, basic services in the short term, or those for whom we’d like to provide more expensive, long-term aid? An essay by the controversial ethicist Peter Singer sparked an impassioned debate over whether we do enough to help the poorest of the poor. Is it more effective, we pondered, to provide basic necessities to 20 impoverished children in Africa or to spend the same amount of money to pay for a full year for one student at Agahozo Shalom? How do you balance short-term and long-term solutions?
Over the next couple days, we’re going to talk more about JDC’s work around the world and will question whether our time in Rwanda has been meaningful.