Why the Jewish People Should Care about the Events in Japan

Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald, Director of our parent organization, the National Jewish Outreach Program, tells us why the Jews should help Japan and any other country in need. Even though the Jews tend to be an ethnocentric people, we should do more than care, we should reach out to them.



The Talmud tells a story of a man who starts drilling a hole under his seat on a boat. The other passengers started screaming. He said, its my seat, I can do what I want. And they said, but its going to affect us all. We can learn from this, that what happens in Japan will affect us all.

The Bible also tells us we must be concerned with all humanity. We learn this in the story of Jonah. Jonah was sent to Nineveh, a non-Jewish city, to tell the people there to repent. He was reluctant to do it so he tried to hide by getting on a boat. He was thrown overboard and swallowed by a big fish. When he was spit out, God again told him to go to Nineveh and to prophecize as he was told to before. And the people listened and repented. When Jonah came out he slept and a gourd protected him from the sun. And then suddenly the gourd disappeared and Jonah was upset that that his protection was gone. God said to him, you're worried about the gourd, but you weren't worried about humanity?

We must all be concerned for humanity. Not only because the radiation or lack of car parts coming from Japan will affect our lives, but because its humanity. We have to care for all of God's children.