Testimony on the Fair Share Amendment at the Massachusetts State House, April 11, 2019

My name is Rabbi Barbara Penzner, rabbi at Temple Hillel B’nai Torah in West Roxbury, home to Jews from across Greater Boston. I am also the co-chair of the New England Jewish Labor Committee and I am here today to testify in support of the Fair Share Amendment.

The people of Massachusetts are hard-working people. From the janitors who clean our offices to the CEOs of the biotech firms who create medical devices, we are proud to contribute to the economy of Massachusetts. Every worker does their part to create a society that works for everyone.

For those who have the blessing of wealth, which comes from hard work as well as inheritance, investments, and access to the best of our education, housing, health care, and transportation, keeping those foundations of society strong and sustainable for everyone is in their best interest. Employers need workers who are educated. Employers need workers who can travel to their jobs and get there on time. Everyone benefits when our infrastructure works.

Let’s look at a basic moral principle. Namely, human society thrives when we share our blessings. In the Book of Deuteronomy we read:

“There shall be no needy among you, since you will be blessed, but if a needy person comes to you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand; give readily and have no regrets when you do so, for you will be blessed in all your efforts.”  (Deut. 15:4, 7,10)

When we share what we have our blessings multiply.

A second moral principle is that no individual is required to carry the burden of the whole; this is the responsibility of the community. As we read in the book of Leviticus (19:9-11):

“When you reap your harvest, you shall not take everything on the land; you must leave the corners of your fields for the poor, the widow, and the orphan. In addition, whatever gleanings fall from your hand, you leave them for the poor and the stranger. When you pick the fruit of your vineyard, do not leave the vines bare or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard, you shall leave them for the poor.”

You can be sure that those with bigger fields left bigger corners.

The extra dollars that we leave on the table can save lives, while we hardly notice.

A rabbinic tale describes how we are all in the same boat. A group of travelers are sitting in a boat when one takes a drill and starts drilling a hole under his own seat. As the water begins to pour into the hull, all the other passengers protest. The one with the drill responds, what business is it of yours? I’m only drilling under my seat.

Prosperity comes to those who share their wealth. We are not asking the wealthy to give away their hard-earned earnings. We are asking them to contribute a small fraction, the corners of their fields, to build up the roads and bridges, to improve the trains and buses and subways, and to create a shining educational system that raises up all people.  We are in the same boat, and together, we can keep the hull strong enough to carry us all.

Thank you.

To learn more about the Fair Share Amendment and Raise up Massachusetts, go here.