MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
{{Short description|American non-profit organization}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2022}}
{{infobox organization
| name = MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
| headquarters = Los Angeles, California, United States
| tax_id = 22-2624532"[http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2014/222/624/2014-222624532-0acad573-9.pdf Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax]". MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. Guidestar. June 30, 2014.
| status = 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
| founded = {{start date and age|1985}}
| leader_name = Abby J. Leibman
| leader_title = President, Chief Executive Officer
| leader_name2 = Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky{{cite web |title=Board |url=https://mazon.org/who-we-are/board/ |website=MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger |access-date=23 June 2022}}
| leader_title2 = Chair
| services = Partnership grantmaking; education, outreach, and advocacy; strategic initiatives.
| employees_year = 2013
| volunteers_year = 3
| revenue_year = 2014
| expenses_year = 2014
| website = {{URL|https://mazon.org}}
}}
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger is an American nonprofit working to end hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds in the United States and Israel.
MAZON, which means "food" or "sustenance" in Hebrew, practices and promotes a multifaceted approach to hunger relief, recognizing the importance of responding to hungry peoples' immediate need for nutrition and sustenance while also working to advance long-term solutions. This holistic approach—executed through three interrelated strategies of education and advocacy, partnership grant-making and strategic initiatives—symbolizes its desire to embody twin Jewish ideals: tzedakah and tikkun olam.
MAZON has offices in Los Angeles, California (headquarters), and Washington, D.C.
Leadership
Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky of Teaneck, New Jersey is the current chair of the Board of Directors.{{cite web |title=Teaneck Rabbi Selected as Board Chair of MAZON |url=https://www.jewishl.com/teaneck-rabbi-selected-as-board-chair-of-mazon/ | website = Jewish Link |publisher=The Jewish Link Media Group |access-date=23 June 2022 |date=3 June 2021}} The immediate Past Chair is Liz Kanter Groskind of Tucson, Arizona.{{cite web |last1=Blomquist |first1=Mala |title=MAZON: A Jewish Response to Everyone's Hunger |url=https://azjewishlife.com/mazon-a-jewish-response-to-everyones-hunger-2/ |website=Arizona Jewish Life |publisher=MediaPort LLC |access-date=23 June 2022 |date=29 July 2020}} Other former board chairs include Shirley Davidoff of Dallas,{{cite web |title=MAZON names new board chair |url=https://jhvonline.com/mazon-names-new-board-chair-p19992-89.htm |website=Jewish Herald-Voice |access-date=23 June 2022 |date=15 October 2015}} Rabbi Harold Kravitz of Minneapolis, Minnesota,{{cite web |last1=Kravitz |first1=Harold J. |last2=Moriarty |first2=Colleen |title=Hunger: Our leaders need to feel the pain |url=https://www.startribune.com/hunger-our-leaders-need-to-feel-the-pain/211481251/ |website=Star Tribune |publisher=Star Tribune Media Company, LLC |access-date=23 June 2022 |date=13 June 2013}} Joel E. Jacob, Eve Biskind Klothen, Theodore R. Mann, David Napell, and Rabbi Arnold Rachlis.
Abby J. Leibman is MAZON's President and Chief Executive Officer. Leibman has held this position since March 2011.
Inspiration and establishment
The founding of MAZON was inspired by the horrors of the Ethiopian famine of 1985, and was conceived by former Moment magazine publisher Leonard Fein, who wanted to build a bridge between the Jewish community and millions of hungry people around the world.{{Cite news |last=Weber |first=Bruce |date=2014-08-16 |title=Leonard Fein, Provocative Writer on Jewish Affairs, Dies at 80 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/17/us/leonard-fein-80-provocative-writer-on-jewish-affairs-dies.html |access-date=2023-07-20 |issn=0362-4331}}
According to Jewish tradition, rabbis did not allow celebrations to begin until the community's poor and hungry people were seated and fed. Fein's notion was to incorporate this ancient tradition into modern day celebrations such as bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings, anniversaries, and other joyous occasions, to help feed those who are less fortunate. One way for people to symbolically follow this tradition is to donate a portion of the cost of these events to MAZON, either directly or through MAZON's many partner synagogues across the nation.
Hunger Museum
The MAZON Hunger Museum opened in March 2023.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-22 |title=MAZON to host tours of Hunger Museum |url=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/local_news/mazon-to-host-tours-of-hunger-museum/article_65e19c76-f589-11ed-8e41-3f1911d0faeb.html |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=Cleveland Jewish News |language=en}} The museum is entirely virtual, with six galleries and several other interactive spaces.{{Cite web |last=Luxner |first=Larry |date=2023-03-28 |title=New all-digital Hunger Museum charts US response to food insecurity through a Jewish lens |url=https://www.jta.org/2023/03/28/united-states/new-all-digital-hunger-museum-charts-us-response-to-food-insecurity-through-a-jewish-lens |access-date=2023-07-27 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}}
References
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