I was told I needed to come to Louisville to give this project a push. You probably can't imagine what a boost it gives me to be here and encounter all of you. While obviously moved by the response to the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Community Federation's success through the Louisville Jewish Coalition for Literacy's project in recruiting volunteers to go into the public schools to read with primary school children, Fein did not mince words in describing the urgency of the project and the Jewish nature of volunteering. Louisville's project is right on target. Simply put, Fein continued, it is in our self-interest to promote literacy.
Illiteracy is a prescription for chaos and social instability.
Jews don't do well when chaos reigns. Projects like ROAR allow all Jews to come together in a single cause. Fein noted that in the Haftarah that will be read on Yom Kippur, Isaiah 58, G-d challenges the people on the nature of their fast. A fast without action, Fein insisted is meaningless. We must clothe the naked and shelter the homeless.