Global Hunger Shabbat

AJWS invites you to join us in observing Global Hunger Shabbat—a day of solidarity, education, reflection and activism to raise awareness about global hunger.

Global Hunger Shabbat will be an opportunity for Jews nationwide to unite for this common cause and to raise our collective voices against the injustice that is claiming lives around the world. As Jews, social justice has always been in our prayers and our actions, and this day of solidarity is designed to bring about our deepest impulse for effecting change.

To make it simple to organize Global Hunger Shabbat in your own community, AJWS is providing an array of educational tools to suit various groups and audiences. Use them to organize Shabbat dinner, a day of study or a Shabbat-long program in your home, school, campus or synagogue. Download these below!

In addition, AJWS is able to provide a small amount of funding to offset some of the costs associated with some Global Hunger Shabbat events. Please email Rachel Weinstein at rweinstein@ajws.org for more details about these micro-grants.

Global Hunger Shabbat is part of AJWS’s campaign, Fighting Hunger from the Ground Up.

Find a Global Hunger Shabbat near you

Use this map

to find a synagogue or college campus hosting Global Hunger Shabbat in your area. Dates and times may vary by institution, so contact them directly for details. Register to add your institution’s event!

Please type in your zip code and press enter.

Sign up

to add your name to the growing list of Hunger Shabbat hosts and participants, and then enter the page to download AJWS’s original educational resources for Global Hunger Shabbat.

Let us know how you plan to participate!

I will host Global Hunger Shabbat at: *First Name: *Last Name: *Email: Title:

Institution: City: State / Province: ZIP / Postal Code: Phone Number: Yes, I would like to receive e-mail from American Jewish World Service Age Range

Educational Resources

The following resources are designed to help you organize Global Hunger Shabbat at your congregation, classroom, campus or Shabbat table. There's something here for every setting or age group.


This supplement for college students offers tips and suggestions for organizing Global Hunger Shabbat programming on campus.	Include this original prayer for those living with hunger today, written by Rabbi Shai Held, into your Shabbat service or educational program.

Spark dialogue at your Shabbat table with a seder-style plate and readings that tell the story of hunger through the eyes of communities in Haiti, Colombia and Senegal.	Lead a Jewish text study and discussion that weaves texts from the Torah, Talmud and contemporary justice movements to encourage critical thinking about the way we respond to the needs of others.

Engage children and youth using photography and story-telling, to learn about global hunger and tzedakah, and what they can do to make an impact.	Photocopy and distribute this one-pager to educate people about ways that we can join the fight against hunger.

Use this text to give a sermon or speech about global hunger and the Jewish obligation to take action. Multiple introductions link the theme to the parshah and Passover.

Conference Calls

Join us in a training call to learn more about how to best use the materials and resources to create a meaningful Global Hunger Shabbat experience:

For College Campuses:
Wednesday, March 24, 3:00-4:00 EST
Dial: 866.740.1260
Access Code: 7922901
Web Login

Invite Others

Send an e-card to friends, family, congregants or students, to tell them about Global Hunger Shabbat or to invite them to participate in an event that you're organizing.

Endorsed by

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean’s Chair, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies; Vice President, American Jewish University, Los Angeles, CA	Rabbi Saul J. Berman Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, Stern College of Yeshiva University, New York, NY
Rabbi Les Bronstein Bet Am Shalom, White Plains, NY	Rabbi Sharon Brous IKAR, Los Angeles, CA
Rabbi Kenneth Chasen Leo Baeck Temple, Los Angeles, CA	Rabbi Sharon Cohen-Anisfeld Dean, Rabbinical School of Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA
Rabbi Rachel Cowan Executive Director, Institute for Jewish Spirituality, New York, NY	Rabbi Mark S. Diamond Executive Vice President, Board of Rabbis of Southern California
Rabbi Malka Drucker HaMakom: The Place for Passionate and Progressive Judaism, Sante Fe, NM	Chancellor Arnold Eisen Chancellor, The Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, NY
Rabbi David Ellenson President, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York, NY	Rabbi Laura Geller Temple Emanuel, Beverly Hills, CA
Rabbi Richard Jacobs Westchester Reform Temple, Scarsdale, NY	Rabbi Elie Kaunfer Co-founder, Rosh Yeshiva and Executive Director, Mechon Hadar, New York, NY
Rabbi Joy Levitt Executive Director, Jewish Community Center of Manhattan, New York, NY	Rabbi Dov Linzer Rosh HaYeshiva, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, New York, NY
Rabbi Rolando Matalon Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, New York, NY	Rabbi Shira Milgrom Congregation Kol Ami, White Plains, NY
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld Executive Vice President, Rabbinical Assembly, New York, NY	Rabbi Harold Schulweis Valley Beth Shalom, Encino, CA; Founder, Jewish World Watch
Rabbi David Teutsch Wiener Professor of Contemporary Jewish Civilization and Director, Levin-Leiber Program in Jewish Ethics, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Wyncote, PA	Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies, The Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, NY
Rabbi David Wolpe Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, CA