Whereas the Torah (Deut. 15:8) enjoins us to provide for the basic needs of the poor (de mahsoro);
Whereas Jewish tradition has always valued work for bringing dignity to the worker, as the Talmud (Nedarim 49b) says, “Great is work, for it honors the workers;”
Whereas the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 profoundly changed the structures within American government and society for meeting the needs of the poor and supporting them while they find work;