November 10, 2025
The Central Conference of American Rabbis is alarmed by the enhanced poverty, hunger, suffering, and disruption facing all Americans—above all, federal public servants and contractors, alongside poor, marginalized, and vulnerable Americans—as the federal government shutdown enters its second month. Federal public servants and contractors at every income level, even those required to continue to serve the public full time, are without paychecks. Despite a federal court order requiring the government to continue funding the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), President Trump has announced that benefits will be reduced and delayed. Across the country, hard-working, low-income Americans are without Head Start and other government-funded childcare that enables them to go to work, support their families, and continue their education.
CCAR rabbis and the communities we serve have already begun to assess and meet emergency needs in our communities and beyond, as have our interfaith partners, and we are grateful that the nonprofit safety net system has mobilized to do the same on a larger scale. We commend governors who have redirected state funds to meet some of the most pressing needs. Still, we know that the suffering will only end when the federal government resumes normal operations.
While vulnerable and marginalized people and communities, among whom federal public servants must be counted in 2025, are our chief concern, all Americans are victims of the shutdown. Air travel has been grievously disrupted. Access to national parks, forests, historic sites, and presidential libraries is unavailable. The American economy is at risk, particularly if the shutdown does not end soon.
The shutdown represents a dramatic failure of leadership and disdain for working across partisan lines. Our rabbinic sages distinguished between מחלקת שהיא לשם שמים (machaloket sh’hi l’sheim shamayim, “a dispute for the sake of Heaven”) and מחלקת שאינה לשם שמים (machaloket she-eina l’shem shamayim, “a dispute not for the sake of Heaven”). The former, concerning substantive matters, is praiseworthy. The latter, about power, is contemptible.[i] The CCAR pleads with President Trump and members of Congress of both parties to stop blaming one another, and focus instead on solutions that end the shutdown and bring relief to suffering Americans.
Until such time that this gets resolved, Reform rabbis demand that federal public servants and contractors be paid, that the hungry be fed, and that childcare and other critical public services be resumed or continued. We are mindful of the Proverb, “If your enemy is hungry, give them bread to eat; If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.”[ii] How much more, then, are we obligated to assure that our fellow Americans receive their paychecks and benefits, enabling them to pay the rent or mortgage, feed themselves and their families, secure healthcare, and go to work knowing that their children are safe and cared for.
The time to end the shutdown and its resulting suffering is now.
Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Execuitve
Central Conference of American Rabbis
[i] Pirkei Avot 5:17.
[ii] Proverbs 25:21.
CCAR statements are grounded in the history of CCAR resolutions and platforms. We strive to represent the overall voice of the CCAR leadership and the Reform rabbinate on critical issues of the day. The CCAR is a diverse community of rabbis, and we recognize the multiplicity of viewpoints that exist within our membership. We encourage those of differing perspectives to engage in respectful dialogue. It is our hope that these statements provide the Reform community with deeper understanding of important issues that impact our lives as Jews and as global citizens.